Molders, Shapers, and Casters, Except Metal and Plastic in New Mexico
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$38,868
after federal, FICA and New Mexico tax
Tax takes
$8,102
17.2% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$43,002
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
$46,970
Kept after tax
$38,868
Worth in national money
$43,002
State rank
21
of 48 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. New Mexico is 21 of 48 states for this job, with a middle wage of $46,970. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. This job ranks 312 among 485 occupations New Mexico publishes pay for.
- New Mexico is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $46,970 the take-home is $38,868; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $43,002 would nationally. The average lands at $45,670, below the middle of the range.
- New Mexico ranks 21 of 48 for molders, shapers, and casters, except metal and plastic at $46,970. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Position 312 of 485 in New Mexico places molders, shapers, and casters, except metal and plastic in the middle of the state's wage distribution. Because within-state and cross-state rankings measure different things, this figure and the national one above should be read together rather than as a single verdict.
- Post-tax income for molders, shapers, and casters, except metal and plastic in New Mexico, on $46,970, is $38,868 — equivalent to $43,002 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 $45,670 the mean undershoots the median, an inversion of the usual skew.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Molders, Shapers, and Casters, Except Metal and Plastic
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $35,320 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $46,970 |
| Top tenth earn over | $54,080 |
| This salary | $46,970 |
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 | $38,868 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $39,920 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,921 |
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 | $45,660 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,324 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $46,970 as a midpoint for New Mexico, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $35,320 and the ninetieth is $54,080 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- That $38,868 take-home in New Mexico comes from $46,970. 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 312 of 485.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $43,002 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 312.
- The New Mexico median of $46,970 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $35,320 to $54,080. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Retained pay of $38,868, from $46,970, 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 312 of 485 locally, and the state ranks 21 of 48 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $43,002, worked from $46,970, 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 312 of 485 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $35,320 at the tenth percentile, $54,080 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 $43,002 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, $38,868 remains.
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.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($35,320 to $54,080) 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 $43,002 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 $38,868 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.