Refuse and Recyclable Material Collectors in New Mexico
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$39,393
after federal, FICA and New Mexico tax
Tax takes
$8,267
17.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$43,583
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
$47,660
Kept after tax
$39,393
Worth in national money
$43,583
State rank
30
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Middling, nationally. New Mexico pays this job around $47,660 at the midpoint, 30 of 51 states. The interesting numbers on this page are the two below it.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 485 occupations New Mexico reports figures for, this is number 304.
- Here is where New Mexico does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $47,660 you keep $39,393, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $43,583 would elsewhere. The average is lower, $46,940, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- For refuse and recyclable material collectors the New Mexico median is $47,660, ranking 30 of 51 states reporting. Mid-band nominal positions are the ones most frequently reordered by the adjustments, because no large wage premium exists to absorb a state's tax or price level.
- In New Mexico's occupational distribution, refuse and recyclable material collectors sits at 304 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 refuse and recyclable material collectors on $47,660 is $39,393. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $43,583 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 $46,940 falls below the median, a left skew that is uncommon in wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Refuse and Recyclable Material Collectors
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $34,870 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $47,660 |
| Top tenth earn over | $61,040 |
| This salary | $47,660 |
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 | $39,393 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $40,475 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,931 |
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 | $46,313 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,336 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $47,660 as a midpoint for New Mexico, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $34,870 and the ninetieth is $61,040 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind New Mexico's $39,393, worked from $47,660. 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 304 of 485.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $43,583 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 304.
- The New Mexico median of $47,660 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $34,870 to $61,040. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- The New Mexico take-home of $39,393, on $47,660 for work ranking 304 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 304 of 485 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $43,583, worked from $47,660, 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 304 of 485 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $34,870 at the bottom tenth to $61,040 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 $43,583 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
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 $39,393 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.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($34,870 to $61,040) 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 $43,583 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 $39,393 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.