Helpers--Carpenters in New Mexico
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$31,362
after federal, FICA and New Mexico tax
Tax takes
$5,738
15.5% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$34,698
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
$37,100
Kept after tax
$31,362
Worth in national money
$34,698
State rank
38
of 47 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- New Mexico is among the lower-paying states for helpers--carpenters. The middle earner takes $37,100, ranking 38 of 47 states — about 15.26% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Measured against other jobs in New Mexico, this one sits low: 409 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 $37,100 you keep $31,362, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $34,698 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $40,120, because the best-paid pull it up.
- New Mexico ranks 38 of 47 for helpers--carpenters, with a median of $37,100 — about 15.26% below the national figure. A nominal shortfall is not by itself a real one: lower-paying states frequently carry lower tax and lower price levels, and the adjusted figures below are where that is settled rather than assumed.
- Helpers--carpenters occupies position 409 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 helpers--carpenters on $37,100 is $31,362. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $34,698 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 $40,120 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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Pay band: Helpers--Carpenters
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $32,000 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $37,100 |
| Top tenth earn over | $53,310 |
| This salary | $37,100 |
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 | $31,362 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $31,990 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,778 |
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 | $36,318 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,150 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $37,100 as a midpoint for New Mexico, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $32,000 and the ninetieth is $53,310 — 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 $31,362, worked from $37,100. 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 409 of 485.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $34,698 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 409.
- The New Mexico median of $37,100 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $32,000 to $53,310. 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 $31,362, on $37,100 for work ranking 409 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 409 of 485 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $34,698, worked from $37,100, 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 409 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 $40,120, 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?
The range here is narrow. From $32,000 at the bottom tenth to $53,310 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 $34,698.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Into four separate taxes, not one. Federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare apply everywhere, and New Mexico adds its own income tax on top — which is why $31,362 of this wage survives to your account.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 47 states have a published figure for this work; the others had too few responses to release one.
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 $40,120. 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 ($32,000 to $53,310) 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 $34,698 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 $31,362 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 47 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.