Meat, Poultry, and Fish Cutters and Trimmers in New Mexico
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$26,890
after federal, FICA and New Mexico tax
Tax takes
$4,350
13.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$29,751
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
$31,240
Kept after tax
$26,890
Worth in national money
$29,751
State rank
47
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- New Mexico is among the lower-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $31,240, ranking 47 of 50 states — about 18.43% 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: 461 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 $31,240 you keep $26,890, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $29,751 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $34,050, because the best-paid pull it up.
- New Mexico ranks 47 of 50 for meat, poultry, and fish cutters and trimmers, with a median of $31,240 — about 18.43% 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.
- Meat, poultry, and fish cutters and trimmers occupies position 461 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 meat, poultry, and fish cutters and trimmers on $31,240 is $26,890. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $29,751 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 $34,050 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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Pay band: Meat, Poultry, and Fish Cutters and Trimmers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $29,330 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $31,240 |
| Top tenth earn over | $44,490 |
| This salary | $31,240 |
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 | $26,890 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $27,281 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,676 |
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 | $30,753 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,027 |
| 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 meat, poultry, and fish cutters and trimmers in New Mexico earn under $31,240 and half over. The published range runs $29,330 at the tenth percentile to $44,490 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In New Mexico the take-home figure of $26,890, from $31,240, assumes one filer, no dependants, and nothing paid into a pension before tax. Each of those lowers the bill, so treat it as the plain case. City and school-district income taxes are not included either, and in a few states those are real money. It ranks 461 of 485 occupations here.
- One number stands for prices across all of New Mexico, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $29,751, the adjusted value of that $31,240 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 461 of 485 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for meat, poultry, and fish cutters and trimmers in New Mexico, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $29,330 to $44,490; 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.
- Take-home for New Mexico is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $26,890 from $31,240. Each omitted item reduces taxable income, so the figure is a lower bound on retained pay for this household shape. Municipal and school-district income taxes are excluded, which understates the burden materially in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland. The occupation ranks 461 of 485 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for New Mexico, so $29,751 — the adjusted value of that $31,240 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 461 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 $34,050, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $29,330 at the tenth percentile, $44,490 at the ninetieth.
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 $29,751.
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, $26,890 remains.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 50 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 $34,050. 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 ($29,330 to $44,490) 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 $29,751 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 $26,890 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.