Middle School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education in New Mexico
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$59,391
after federal, FICA and New Mexico tax
Tax takes
$15,849
21.1% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$65,708
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
$75,240
Kept after tax
$59,391
Worth in national money
$65,708
State rank
16
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for this job is strong here. New Mexico's middle earner gets $75,240, putting the state 16 of 51 — about 16.89% ahead of the national figure.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 485 occupations New Mexico reports figures for, this is number 136.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $75,240 you keep $59,391 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $65,708 at national prices. Here the average runs under the middle, at $73,110.
- For middle school teachers, except special and career/technical education, New Mexico sits in the upper band nationally: a median of $75,240, ranking 16 of 51 and running about 16.89% above the national midpoint. Nominal advantage of this size is usually, though not always, large enough to survive the state's own tax and price levels.
- In New Mexico's occupational distribution, middle school teachers, except special and career/technical education sits at 136 of 485 — neither quartile. This local position is what a resident compares against, and it is determined by the state's own labor market rather than by national patterns for this occupation.
- Retained pay in New Mexico is $59,391 after the full tax stack, from $75,240. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $65,708 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $73,110 sits under the median, so the lower tail is the longer one.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Middle School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $61,630 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $75,240 |
| Top tenth earn over | $82,880 |
| This salary | $75,240 |
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 | $59,391 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $61,761 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$2,151 |
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 | $71,870 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,971 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $75,240 as a midpoint for New Mexico, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $61,630 and the ninetieth is $82,880 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- In New Mexico the take-home figure of $59,391, from $75,240, 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 136 of 485 occupations here.
- Two cautions on $65,708, the adjusted value of that $75,240 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of New Mexico. No actual address matches that. The wage figures and price figures are also from different years. Each is published on its own timetable. This work sits at 136 of 485 locally.
- The New Mexico median of $75,240 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $61,630 to $82,880. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Take-home for New Mexico is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $59,391 from $75,240. 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 136 of 485 locally.
- This $65,708 adjusted figure, worked from $75,240, rests on a state-level price parity averaging over within-state dispersion larger than much of the between-state dispersion. Wage and price vintages differ by publication schedule. The result is directionally sound and not address-specific, for work at 136 of 485 in the state. The occupation ranks 136 of 485 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $61,630 at the tenth percentile, $82,880 at the ninetieth.
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 $65,708 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, $59,391 remains.
Can I compare this job across every state?
Yes for this one. Pay is published in all 51 jurisdictions, so a state-to-state comparison here rests on the same survey everywhere rather than on a patchwork.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($61,630 to $82,880) 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 $65,708 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 $59,391 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.
Is this occupation's state coverage complete?
State-level estimates are published for all 51 jurisdictions for this occupation, so cross-state comparison is not confounded by suppression. ⚠️ Estimates remain survey-based and carry sampling error; small differences between adjacent states should not be over-read.