Optometrists in New Mexico
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$104,384
after federal, FICA and New Mexico tax
Tax takes
$40,276
27.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$115,487
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
$144,660
Kept after tax
$104,384
Worth in national money
$115,487
State rank
18
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- New Mexico sits in the middle of the pack for optometrists. The median is $144,660, ranking 18 of 51 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- This is one of the better-paid jobs in New Mexico. It ranks 13 out of 485 occupations the state publishes figures for, which puts it in the top quarter locally.
- New Mexico is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $144,660 the take-home is $104,384; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $115,487 would nationally. The average comes to $153,180, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- New Mexico occupies the middle band for optometrists: a median of $144,660, ranking 18 of 51. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- Within New Mexico, optometrists ranks 13 of 485 occupations by median pay, placing it in the top quartile of the local distribution. This is the comparison a resident actually makes — against neighbors rather than against the same job elsewhere.
- Post-tax income for optometrists in New Mexico, on $144,660, is $104,384 — equivalent to $115,487 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 $153,180 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Optometrists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $88,160 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $144,660 |
| Top tenth earn over | $202,980 |
| This salary | $144,660 |
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 | $104,384 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $110,141 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$2,144 |
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 | $136,237 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$3,047 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $144,660 as a midpoint for New Mexico, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $88,160 and the ninetieth is $202,980 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- In New Mexico the take-home figure of $104,384, from $144,660, 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 13 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 $115,487 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 13.
- The New Mexico median of $144,660 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $88,160 to $202,980. 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 $104,384 from $144,660. 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 13 of 485 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $115,487, worked from $144,660, 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 13 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 $153,180, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
One title, many jobs. The lowest tenth take $88,160, the highest tenth $202,980, and what separates them is experience, employer and what exactly the role does.
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 $115,487.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Four deductions, stacked. The federal layer and the two payroll taxes apply wherever you work; New Mexico then takes its own share, leaving $104,384.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like 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 $153,180. 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 drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($88,160) and the ninetieth ($202,980) exceeds the family median dispersion. SOC codes aggregate roles differing in seniority, industry and specialisation, and BLS does not disaggregate below the detailed occupation level, so within-title variance is not separable from the published series.
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 $115,487 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 $104,384 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.