Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers in New Mexico
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$55,412
after federal, FICA and New Mexico tax
Tax takes
$13,768
19.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$61,306
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
$69,180
Kept after tax
$55,412
Worth in national money
$61,306
State rank
32
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- New Mexico sits in the middle of the pack for this job. The median is $69,180, ranking 32 of 51 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Against other work in New Mexico, this sits in the middle: 152 of 485 occupations with published pay. Solidly ordinary for the state, which is not the same as ordinary nationally.
- New Mexico is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $69,180 the take-home is $55,412; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $61,306 would nationally. The average lands at $66,700, below the middle of the range.
- New Mexico occupies the middle band for police and sheriff's patrol officers: a median of $69,180, ranking 32 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.
- Police and sheriff's patrol officers ranks 152 of 485 occupations in New Mexico by median pay, in the middle bands. Within-state and national positions are separate measurements and a job commonly sits in different quartiles on each.
- Post-tax income for police and sheriff's patrol officers in New Mexico, on $69,180, is $55,412 — equivalent to $61,306 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 $66,700 the mean undershoots the median, an inversion of the usual skew.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $48,400 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $69,180 |
| Top tenth earn over | $85,740 |
| This salary | $69,180 |
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 | $55,412 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $57,498 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$2,137 |
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 | $66,251 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,951 |
| 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 police and sheriff's patrol officers in New Mexico earn under $69,180 and half over. The published range runs $48,400 at the tenth percentile to $85,740 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind New Mexico's $55,412, worked from $69,180. 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 152 of 485.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $61,306 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 152.
- Figures are distribution medians for police and sheriff's patrol officers in New Mexico, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $48,400 to $85,740; 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.
- The New Mexico take-home of $55,412, on $69,180 for work ranking 152 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 152 of 485 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $61,306, worked from $69,180, 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 152 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 $66,700, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $48,400 at the bottom tenth to $85,740 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in New Mexico sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $61,306 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
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 $55,412.
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 $66,700. 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 ($48,400 to $85,740) 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 $61,306 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 $55,412 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.