Physics Teachers, Postsecondary in New Mexico
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$81,403
after federal, FICA and New Mexico tax
Tax takes
$27,447
25.2% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$90,062
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
$108,850
Kept after tax
$81,403
Worth in national money
$90,062
State rank
6
of 47 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for physics teachers, postsecondary is strong here. New Mexico's middle earner gets $108,850, putting the state 6 of 47 — about 8.51% ahead of the national figure.
- Locally, this pays well. Among 485 occupations New Mexico reports, physics teachers, postsecondary comes in at 46 — comfortably in the upper quarter.
- New Mexico is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $108,850 the take-home is $81,403; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $90,062 would nationally. The average lands at $108,330, below the middle of the range.
- For physics teachers, postsecondary, New Mexico sits in the upper band nationally: a median of $108,850, ranking 6 of 47 and running about 8.51% 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.
- Physics teachers, postsecondary ranks 46 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.
- Post-tax income for physics teachers, postsecondary in New Mexico, on $108,850, is $81,403 — equivalent to $90,062 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 $108,330 the mean undershoots the median, an inversion of the usual skew.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Physics Teachers, Postsecondary
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $80,800 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $108,850 |
| Top tenth earn over | $142,800 |
| This salary | $108,850 |
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 | $81,403 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $85,406 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$2,173 |
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 | $103,160 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$3,001 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in New Mexico earn less than $108,850. The published range is $80,800 up to $142,800, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind New Mexico's $81,403, worked from $108,850. That is on purpose. It lets states be compared with each other, not with each other's family circumstances. Local city taxes are left out. Locally this work ranks 46 of 485.
- Two cautions on $90,062, the adjusted value of that $108,850 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 46 of 485 locally.
- Reported values are medians; for physics teachers, postsecondary in New Mexico the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $80,800 to $142,800. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The New Mexico take-home of $81,403, on $108,850 for work ranking 46 of 485 locally, models the simplest household deliberately: holding it constant is what makes the interstate comparison meaningful. It also means the absolute figure overstates liability for most real filers, and municipal income taxes are outside the model entirely. The occupation ranks 46 of 485 in the state.
- This $90,062 adjusted figure, worked from $108,850, 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 46 of 485 in the state. The occupation ranks 46 of 485 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $80,800 and the top tenth $142,800, so most people doing this work in New Mexico sit within a fairly tight band.
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 $90,062.
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, $81,403 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 47 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 ($80,800 to $142,800) 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 $90,062 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 $81,403 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 47 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.