Funeral Attendants in New Mexico
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$29,681
after federal, FICA and New Mexico tax
Tax takes
$5,209
14.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$32,838
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
$34,890
Kept after tax
$29,681
Worth in national money
$32,838
State rank
31
of 48 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- New Mexico sits in the middle of the pack for funeral attendants. The median is $34,890, ranking 31 of 48 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Measured against other jobs in New Mexico, this one sits low: 446 of 485 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Here is where New Mexico does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $34,890 you keep $29,681, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $32,838 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $37,420, because the best-paid pull it up.
- New Mexico occupies the middle band for funeral attendants: a median of $34,890, ranking 31 of 48. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- Funeral attendants occupies position 446 of 485 in New Mexico's occupational wage distribution, in the bottom quartile. National ranking and local ranking answer different questions and frequently disagree; this is the one a resident experiences.
- After federal, FICA and New Mexico income tax, retained pay for funeral attendants on $34,890 is $29,681. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $32,838 in national-average terms. ⚠️ That figure is purchasing power, not a wage, and nobody is paid it; it is what the take-home buys. The mean of $37,420 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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Pay band: Funeral Attendants
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $31,490 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $34,890 |
| Top tenth earn over | $46,770 |
| This salary | $34,890 |
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 | $29,681 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $30,214 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,746 |
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 | $34,227 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,111 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $34,890 as a midpoint for New Mexico, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $31,490 and the ninetieth is $46,770 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind New Mexico's $29,681, worked from $34,890. 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 446 of 485.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $32,838 uses one figure for the whole of New Mexico. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 485 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 446.
- The New Mexico median of $34,890 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $31,490 to $46,770. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- The New Mexico take-home of $29,681, on $34,890 for work ranking 446 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 446 of 485 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $32,838, worked from $34,890, deflates by a statewide parity that conceals substantial intra-state variation, concentrated in housing — so it supports comparison between states rather than the pricing of a move to a particular New Mexico address, on work sitting at 446 of 485 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $37,420, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $31,490 at the bottom tenth to $46,770 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
A smaller wage in a cheaper place is not automatically less. Adjusted for local prices, this is worth $32,838.
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 $29,681.
Why is this job missing from some states?
Because the survey suppresses a figure when too few employers report it. This occupation has published pay in 48 states — the rest are withheld to protect confidentiality, which is not the same as nobody doing the work there.
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 $37,420. 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 ($31,490 to $46,770) 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 $32,838 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 $29,681 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 48 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.