Separating, Filtering, Clarifying, Precipitating, and Still Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders in New Mexico
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$34,609
after federal, FICA and New Mexico tax
Tax takes
$6,761
16.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$38,290
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
$41,370
Kept after tax
$34,609
Worth in national money
$38,290
State rank
49
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- New Mexico is among the lower-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $41,370, ranking 49 of 50 states — about 19.84% 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: 364 of 485 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $41,370 you keep $34,609 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $38,290 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $44,420, since top earners drag the number up.
- New Mexico ranks 49 of 50 for separating, filtering, clarifying, precipitating, and still machine setters, operators, and tenders, with a median of $41,370 — about 19.84% 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.
- Separating, filtering, clarifying, precipitating, and still machine setters, operators, and tenders occupies position 364 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 $34,609 after the full tax stack, from $41,370. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $38,290 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $44,420 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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Pay band: Separating, Filtering, Clarifying, Precipitating, and Still Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $32,470 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $41,370 |
| Top tenth earn over | $56,100 |
| This salary | $41,370 |
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 | $34,609 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $35,421 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,840 |
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 | $40,360 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,225 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in New Mexico earn less than $41,370. The published range is $32,470 up to $56,100, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- That $34,609 take-home in New Mexico comes from $41,370. 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 364 of 485.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $38,290 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 364.
- Reported values are medians; for separating, filtering, clarifying, precipitating, and still machine setters, operators, and tenders in New Mexico the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $32,470 to $56,100. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Retained pay of $34,609, from $41,370, 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 364 of 485 locally, and the state ranks 49 of 50 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $38,290, worked from $41,370, 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 364 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 $44,420 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $32,470 at the tenth percentile, $56,100 at the ninetieth.
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 $38,290 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 $34,609.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 50 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
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 $44,420. 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 ($32,470 to $56,100) 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 $38,290 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 $34,609 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.
Why does this occupation lack published estimates in every state?
BLS suppresses estimates failing disclosure or reliability criteria. This occupation has published state-level estimates in 50 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.