Substance Abuse, Behavioral Disorder, and Mental Health Counselors in New Mexico
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$58,642
after federal, FICA and New Mexico tax
Tax takes
$15,458
20.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$64,880
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
$74,100
Kept after tax
$58,642
Worth in national money
$64,880
State rank
3
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- This is a good state for the work. New Mexico pays this job a middle wage of $74,100, ranking 3 of 51 states and sitting about 24.85% above the national middle.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 485 occupations New Mexico reports figures for, this is number 145.
- Here is where New Mexico does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $74,100 you keep $58,642, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $64,880 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $76,370, because the best-paid pull it up.
- New Mexico's median for substance abuse, behavioral disorder, and mental health counselors is $74,100, about 24.85% above the national figure and 3 of 51 states reporting. Whether that premium reaches the worker depends on the two adjustments below, which is the part a wage table cannot tell you.
- In New Mexico's occupational distribution, substance abuse, behavioral disorder, and mental health counselors sits at 145 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 substance abuse, behavioral disorder, and mental health counselors on $74,100 is $58,642. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $64,880 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 $76,370 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Substance Abuse, Behavioral Disorder, and Mental Health Counselors
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $48,900 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $74,100 |
| Top tenth earn over | $113,420 |
| This salary | $74,100 |
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 | $58,642 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $60,959 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$2,148 |
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 | $70,806 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,968 |
| 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 $74,100. The published range is $48,900 up to $113,420, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- That $58,642 take-home in New Mexico comes from $74,100. 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 145 of 485.
- Two cautions on $64,880, the adjusted value of that $74,100 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 145 of 485 locally.
- Reported values are medians; for substance abuse, behavioral disorder, and mental health counselors in New Mexico the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $48,900 to $113,420. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Retained pay of $58,642, from $74,100, 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 145 of 485 locally, and the state ranks 3 of 51 for it.
- This $64,880 adjusted figure, worked from $74,100, 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 145 of 485 in the state. The occupation ranks 145 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 $76,370 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $48,900 at the bottom tenth to $113,420 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
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 $64,880 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
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, $58,642 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 $76,370. 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 ($48,900) and the ninetieth ($113,420) 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 $64,880 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 $58,642 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.