Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education in New Mexico
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$36,663
after federal, FICA and New Mexico tax
Tax takes
$7,407
16.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$40,562
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
$44,070
Kept after tax
$36,663
Worth in national money
$40,562
State rank
17
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- This is a good state for the work. New Mexico pays this job a middle wage of $44,070, ranking 17 of 51 states and sitting about 15.55% above the national middle.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 485 occupations New Mexico reports figures for, this is number 350.
- Here is where New Mexico does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $44,070 you keep $36,663, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $40,562 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $50,510, because the best-paid pull it up.
- New Mexico's median for preschool teachers, except special education is $44,070, about 15.55% above the national figure and 17 of 51 states reporting. Whether that premium reaches the worker depends on the two adjustments below, which is the part a wage table cannot tell you.
- In New Mexico's occupational distribution, preschool teachers, except special education sits at 350 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.
- After federal, FICA and New Mexico income tax, retained pay for preschool teachers, except special education on $44,070 is $36,663. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $40,562 in national-average terms. ⚠️ That figure is purchasing power, not a wage, and nobody is paid it; it is what the take-home buys. The mean of $50,510 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
Choose your filing status and local taxes, compare pay, and keep a shortlist.Compare wage and personal-pay outcomes by state, with selected resident local taxes and saved career choices.
Pay band: Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $32,270 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $44,070 |
| Top tenth earn over | $79,560 |
| This salary | $44,070 |
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 | $36,663 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $37,590 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,879 |
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 | $42,915 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,273 |
| 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 preschool teachers, except special education in New Mexico earn under $44,070 and half over. The published range runs $32,270 at the tenth percentile to $79,560 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 $36,663, worked from $44,070. 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 350 of 485.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $40,562 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 350.
- Figures are distribution medians for preschool teachers, except special education in New Mexico, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $32,270 to $79,560; 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 $36,663, on $44,070 for work ranking 350 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 350 of 485 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $40,562, worked from $44,070, 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 350 of 485 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
Half earn more than this and half earn less. The average sits at $50,510 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $32,270 at the bottom tenth to $79,560 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
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 $40,562.
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 $36,663 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 $50,510. 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 ($32,270) and the ninetieth ($79,560) 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 $40,562 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 $36,663 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.