Occupational Therapists in New Mexico
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$75,068
after federal, FICA and New Mexico tax
Tax takes
$24,102
24.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$83,052
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
$99,170
Kept after tax
$75,068
Worth in national money
$83,052
State rank
26
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. New Mexico is 26 of 51 states for occupational therapists, with a middle wage of $99,170. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Locally, this pays well. Among 485 occupations New Mexico reports, occupational therapists comes in at 62 — comfortably in the upper quarter.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $99,170 you keep $75,068 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $83,052 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $101,800, since top earners drag the number up.
- New Mexico ranks 26 of 51 for occupational therapists at $99,170. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Occupational therapists ranks 62 of 485 occupations by median in New Mexico, in the top quartile. Within-state position is largely independent of national position, so this holds regardless of how the state compares to others for the same work.
- Retained pay in New Mexico is $75,068 after the full tax stack, from $99,170. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $83,052 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $101,800 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Occupational Therapists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $69,230 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $99,170 |
| Top tenth earn over | $133,050 |
| This salary | $99,170 |
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 | $75,068 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $78,596 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$2,171 |
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 | $94,154 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,999 |
| 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 occupational therapists in New Mexico earn under $99,170 and half over. The published range runs $69,230 at the tenth percentile to $133,050 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In New Mexico the take-home figure of $75,068, from $99,170, 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 62 of 485 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $83,052 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 62.
- Figures are distribution medians for occupational therapists in New Mexico, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $69,230 to $133,050; 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 $75,068 from $99,170. 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 62 of 485 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $83,052, worked from $99,170, 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 62 of 485 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $69,230 at the tenth percentile, $133,050 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 $83,052 in national terms.
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 $75,068 of this wage survives to your account.
Can I compare this job across every state?
This occupation is published everywhere — all 51 of them — so comparing states measures real differences rather than gaps in the data.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($69,230 to $133,050) 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 $83,052 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 $75,068 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.