Firefighters in New Mexico
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$34,776
after federal, FICA and New Mexico tax
Tax takes
$6,814
16.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$38,476
New Mexico costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in New Mexico — roughly, since only five points along the band are published.
One filer, standard deduction, no dependants and nothing paid in before tax — the same household the rest of this page uses, so the comparison holds. City and school-district income taxes are not included.
Median here
$41,590
Kept after tax
$34,776
Worth in national money
$38,476
State rank
43
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for firefighters is on the low side in New Mexico. The middle earner gets $41,590. That is 43 of 50 states, and about 29.84% under the national figure. Whether that matters depends on what things cost here.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. Firefighters ranks 363 among 485 occupations New Mexico publishes pay for.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $41,590 you keep $34,776 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $38,476 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $43,180, since top earners drag the number up.
- For firefighters, New Mexico sits in the lower band at $41,590, ranking 43 of 50 and trailing the national median by about 29.84%. Nominal rankings routinely invert once tax and regional price level are applied, so this position should not be read as the conclusion.
- Position 363 of 485 in New Mexico places firefighters in the middle of the state's wage distribution. Because within-state and cross-state rankings measure different things, this figure and the national one above should be read together rather than as a single verdict.
- Retained pay in New Mexico is $34,776 after the full tax stack, from $41,590. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $38,476 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $43,180 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Firefighters
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $31,200 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $41,590 |
| Top tenth earn over | $57,780 |
| This salary | $41,590 |
Positions between the published tenth, quarter, half, three-quarter and ninetieth points are estimated by straight line.
The same pay, somewhere else
The state median for this job
| Take-home in New Mexico | $34,776 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $35,598 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,843 |
The raise and the real gain point in opposite directions here.
State income tax and state price levels only. No city income tax, and no housing market.
What you would need there
The state median for this job
| To match take-home only | $40,568 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,229 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- A median is the middle, not an offer. Half of firefighters in New Mexico earn under $41,590 and half over. The published range runs $31,200 at the tenth percentile to $57,780 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind New Mexico's $34,776, worked from $41,590. That is on purpose. It lets states be compared with each other, not with each other's family circumstances. Local city taxes are left out. Locally this work ranks 363 of 485.
- One number stands for prices across all of New Mexico, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $38,476, the adjusted value of that $41,590 median, as a way to compare states fairly, not as a quote for any particular place. The two datasets are also from different years. This job sits at 363 of 485 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for firefighters in New Mexico, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $31,200 to $57,780; within-state dispersion of that width routinely exceeds the dispersion between states, so tenure, employer and metropolitan area predict an individual's pay better than geography does.
- The New Mexico take-home of $34,776, on $41,590 for work ranking 363 of 485 locally, models the simplest household deliberately: holding it constant is what makes the interstate comparison meaningful. It also means the absolute figure overstates liability for most real filers, and municipal income taxes are outside the model entirely. The occupation ranks 363 of 485 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for New Mexico, so $38,476 — the adjusted value of that $41,590 median — establishes comparability between states rather than accuracy within one. The wage and parity series are dated independently, each following its own publication cycle, and neither is projected forward. This occupation sits at 363 of 485 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
No — it is the middle. Half of these workers earn more and half earn less. The average is $43,180, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $31,200 and the top tenth $57,780, so most people doing this work in New Mexico sit within a fairly tight band.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. New Mexico is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $38,476 in national terms.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Four deductions, stacked. The federal layer and the two payroll taxes apply wherever you work; New Mexico then takes its own share, leaving $34,776.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 50 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
How does the published median differ from the mean for this occupation?
The median is the midpoint of the distribution; the mean for this occupation in New Mexico is $43,180. Wage distributions are right-skewed, so the mean exceeds the median wherever a minority earn substantially more. BLS publishes both because substituting one for the other misstates a typical worker's pay.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($31,200 to $57,780) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to New Mexico rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
New Mexico's regional price parity is at or below the national average, so nominal wages understate purchasing power. Take-home deflated by the state price level is $38,476 in national-average terms. The adjustment uses an all-items index and does not isolate housing.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $34,776 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and New Mexico income tax for a single filer with no adjustments. The state layer is levied in addition to the federal one; only its rate and base differ between states.
Why does this occupation lack published estimates in every state?
BLS suppresses estimates failing disclosure or reliability criteria. This occupation has published state-level estimates in 50 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.