Social Science Research Assistants in New Mexico
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$41,655
after federal, FICA and New Mexico tax
Tax takes
$8,985
17.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$46,086
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
$50,640
Kept after tax
$41,655
Worth in national money
$46,086
State rank
34
of 45 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- The nominal figure here is modest. New Mexico pays social science research assistants a middle wage of $50,640, 34 of 45 states and about 18.31% below the national middle. Hold that thought until the adjusted numbers.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 485 occupations New Mexico reports figures for, this is number 263.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $50,640 you keep $41,655 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $46,086 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $66,400, since top earners drag the number up.
- New Mexico's $50,640 median for social science research assistants places it 34 of 45 states, about 18.31% below national. Because both the tax and price adjustments tend to favor lower-nominal states, this ranking is the least stable of the three reported here.
- In New Mexico's occupational distribution, social science research assistants sits at 263 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.
- Retained pay in New Mexico is $41,655 after the full tax stack, from $50,640. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $46,086 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $66,400 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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Pay band: Social Science Research Assistants
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $40,250 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $50,640 |
| Top tenth earn over | $102,950 |
| This salary | $50,640 |
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 | $41,655 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $42,869 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,970 |
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 | $49,129 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,383 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $50,640 as a midpoint for New Mexico, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $40,250 and the ninetieth is $102,950 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- That $41,655 take-home in New Mexico comes from $50,640. 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 263 of 485.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $46,086 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 263.
- The New Mexico median of $50,640 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $40,250 to $102,950. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Retained pay of $41,655, from $50,640, 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 263 of 485 locally, and the state ranks 34 of 45 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $46,086, worked from $50,640, 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 263 of 485 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $66,400, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $40,250 at the bottom tenth to $102,950 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 $46,086 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 $41,655 of this wage survives to your account.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 45 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 $66,400. 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 ($40,250) and the ninetieth ($102,950) 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 $46,086 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 $41,655 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 45 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.