Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators in New Mexico
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$42,684
after federal, FICA and New Mexico tax
Tax takes
$9,316
17.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$47,224
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
$52,000
Kept after tax
$42,684
Worth in national money
$47,224
State rank
38
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for this job is on the low side in New Mexico. The middle earner gets $52,000. That is 38 of 51 states, and about 13.12% under the national figure. Whether that matters depends on what things cost here.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 485 occupations New Mexico reports figures for, this is number 257.
- New Mexico is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $52,000 the take-home is $42,684; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $47,224 would nationally. The average comes to $54,810, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- For operating engineers and other construction equipment operators, New Mexico sits in the lower band at $52,000, ranking 38 of 51 and trailing the national median by about 13.12%. Nominal rankings routinely invert once tax and regional price level are applied, so this position should not be read as the conclusion.
- In New Mexico's occupational distribution, operating engineers and other construction equipment operators sits at 257 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.
- Post-tax income for operating engineers and other construction equipment operators in New Mexico, on $52,000, is $42,684 — equivalent to $47,224 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 $54,810 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $44,800 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $52,000 |
| Top tenth earn over | $69,690 |
| This salary | $52,000 |
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 | $42,684 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $43,962 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,984 |
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 | $50,409 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,399 |
| 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 operating engineers and other construction equipment operators in New Mexico earn under $52,000 and half over. The published range runs $44,800 at the tenth percentile to $69,690 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In New Mexico the take-home figure of $42,684, from $52,000, 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 257 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 $47,224 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 257.
- Figures are distribution medians for operating engineers and other construction equipment operators in New Mexico, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $44,800 to $69,690; 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 $42,684 from $52,000. 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 257 of 485 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $47,224, worked from $52,000, 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 257 of 485 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
No — it is the middle. Half of these workers earn more and half earn less. The average is $54,810, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $44,800 at the bottom tenth to $69,690 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
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 $47,224 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 $42,684 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.
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 $54,810. 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 ($44,800 to $69,690) 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 $47,224 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 $42,684 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.