Printing Press Operators in New Mexico
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$31,369
after federal, FICA and New Mexico tax
Tax takes
$5,741
15.5% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$34,706
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
$37,110
Kept after tax
$31,369
Worth in national money
$34,706
State rank
49
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- New Mexico is among the lower-paying states for printing press operators. The middle earner takes $37,110, ranking 49 of 51 states — about 18.94% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Measured against other jobs in New Mexico, this one sits low: 408 of 485 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $37,110 you keep $31,369 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $34,706 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $41,400, since top earners drag the number up.
- New Mexico ranks 49 of 51 for printing press operators, with a median of $37,110 — about 18.94% below the national figure. A nominal shortfall is not by itself a real one: lower-paying states frequently carry lower tax and lower price levels, and the adjusted figures below are where that is settled rather than assumed.
- Printing press operators occupies position 408 of 485 in New Mexico's occupational wage distribution, in the bottom quartile. National ranking and local ranking answer different questions and frequently disagree; this is the one a resident experiences.
- Retained pay in New Mexico is $31,369 after the full tax stack, from $37,110. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $34,706 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $41,400 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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Pay band: Printing Press Operators
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $30,440 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $37,110 |
| Top tenth earn over | $58,230 |
| This salary | $37,110 |
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 | $31,369 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $31,998 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,778 |
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 | $36,328 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,150 |
| 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 printing press operators in New Mexico earn under $37,110 and half over. The published range runs $30,440 at the tenth percentile to $58,230 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In New Mexico the take-home figure of $31,369, from $37,110, 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 408 of 485 occupations here.
- Two cautions on $34,706, the adjusted value of that $37,110 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 408 of 485 locally.
- Figures are distribution medians for printing press operators in New Mexico, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $30,440 to $58,230; 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 $31,369 from $37,110. 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 408 of 485 locally.
- This $34,706 adjusted figure, worked from $37,110, 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 408 of 485 in the state. The occupation ranks 408 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 $41,400, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $30,440 at the bottom tenth to $58,230 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
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 $34,706 in national terms.
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, $31,369 remains.
Can I compare this job across every state?
Yes for this one. Pay is published in all 51 jurisdictions, so a state-to-state comparison here rests on the same survey everywhere rather than on a patchwork.
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 $41,400. 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 ($30,440) and the ninetieth ($58,230) 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 $34,706 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 $31,369 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.