Recreation Workers in New Mexico
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$27,400
after federal, FICA and New Mexico tax
Tax takes
$4,500
14.1% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$30,314
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
$31,900
Kept after tax
$27,400
Worth in national money
$30,314
State rank
39
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- New Mexico is among the lower-paying states for recreation workers. The middle earner takes $31,900, ranking 39 of 51 states — about 12.75% 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: 458 of 485 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Here is where New Mexico does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $31,900 you keep $27,400, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $30,314 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $36,620, because the best-paid pull it up.
- New Mexico ranks 39 of 51 for recreation workers, with a median of $31,900 — about 12.75% 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.
- Recreation workers occupies position 458 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.
- After federal, FICA and New Mexico income tax, retained pay for recreation workers on $31,900 is $27,400. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $30,314 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 $36,620 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Recreation Workers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $26,510 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $31,900 |
| Top tenth earn over | $52,960 |
| This salary | $31,900 |
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 | $27,400 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $27,812 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,694 |
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 | $31,387 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,048 |
| 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 recreation workers in New Mexico earn under $31,900 and half over. The published range runs $26,510 at the tenth percentile to $52,960 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $27,400 take-home in New Mexico comes from $31,900. It is the no-frills case: single filer, standard deduction, nothing set aside before tax. Real circumstances almost always reduce the tax. City and school-district taxes are not counted at all. Locally the work ranks 458 of 485.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $30,314 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 458.
- Figures are distribution medians for recreation workers in New Mexico, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $26,510 to $52,960; 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.
- Retained pay of $27,400, from $31,900, assumes a single New Mexico filer with the standard deduction and no elective deferrals. Pre-tax retirement or HSA contributions, dependants and itemized deductions all reduce it further; local income taxes, excluded here, would increase it in the states that levy them. This occupation ranks 458 of 485 locally, and the state ranks 39 of 51 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $30,314, worked from $31,900, 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 458 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 $36,620, 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?
One title, many jobs. The lowest tenth take $26,510, the highest tenth $52,960, and what separates them is experience, employer and what exactly the role does.
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 $30,314 in national terms.
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 $27,400 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 $36,620. 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 ($26,510) and the ninetieth ($52,960) 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 $30,314 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 $27,400 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.