Mail Clerks and Mail Machine Operators, Except Postal Service in New Mexico
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$33,628
after federal, FICA and New Mexico tax
Tax takes
$6,452
16.1% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$37,205
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
$40,080
Kept after tax
$33,628
Worth in national money
$37,205
State rank
18
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- New Mexico sits in the middle of the pack for this job. The median is $40,080, ranking 18 of 50 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: 368 of 485 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- New Mexico is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $40,080 the take-home is $33,628; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $37,205 would nationally. The average comes to $40,720, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- New Mexico occupies the middle band for mail clerks and mail machine operators, except postal service: a median of $40,080, ranking 18 of 50. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- Mail clerks and mail machine operators, except postal service occupies position 368 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.
- Post-tax income for mail clerks and mail machine operators, except postal service in New Mexico, on $40,080, is $33,628 — equivalent to $37,205 once regional price parity is applied. ⚠️ The adjustment uses a statewide index that describes no particular address; within-state price variation, concentrated in housing, routinely exceeds the difference between two states. At $40,720 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
Choose your filing status and local taxes, compare pay, and keep a shortlist.Compare wage and personal-pay outcomes by state, with selected resident local taxes and saved career choices.
Pay band: Mail Clerks and Mail Machine Operators, Except Postal Service
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $33,340 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $40,080 |
| Top tenth earn over | $48,370 |
| This salary | $40,080 |
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 | $33,628 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $34,384 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,821 |
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 | $39,139 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,203 |
| 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 mail clerks and mail machine operators, except postal service in New Mexico earn under $40,080 and half over. The published range runs $33,340 at the tenth percentile to $48,370 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $33,628 take-home in New Mexico comes from $40,080. It is the no-frills case: single filer, standard deduction, nothing set aside before tax. Real circumstances almost always reduce the tax. City and school-district taxes are not counted at all. Locally the work ranks 368 of 485.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $37,205 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 368.
- Figures are distribution medians for mail clerks and mail machine operators, except postal service in New Mexico, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $33,340 to $48,370; 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.
- Retained pay of $33,628, from $40,080, assumes a single New Mexico filer with the standard deduction and no elective deferrals. Pre-tax retirement or HSA contributions, dependants and itemized deductions all reduce it further; local income taxes, excluded here, would increase it in the states that levy them. This occupation ranks 368 of 485 locally, and the state ranks 18 of 50 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $37,205, worked from $40,080, 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 368 of 485 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $33,340 and the top tenth $48,370, 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 $37,205 in national terms.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Three of them are federal and one is not. After income tax, Social Security, Medicare and New Mexico's own levy, $33,628 remains.
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.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($33,340 to $48,370) 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 $37,205 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 $33,628 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.