Surgical Technologists in New Mexico
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$42,517
after federal, FICA and New Mexico tax
Tax takes
$9,263
17.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$47,040
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
$51,780
Kept after tax
$42,517
Worth in national money
$47,040
State rank
48
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- The nominal figure here is modest. New Mexico pays surgical technologists a middle wage of $51,780, 48 of 51 states and about 19.91% 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 258.
- New Mexico is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $51,780 the take-home is $42,517; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $47,040 would nationally. The average comes to $58,580, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- New Mexico's $51,780 median for surgical technologists places it 48 of 51 states, about 19.91% 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, surgical technologists sits at 258 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.
- Post-tax income for surgical technologists in New Mexico, on $51,780, is $42,517 — equivalent to $47,040 once regional price parity is applied. ⚠️ The adjustment uses a statewide index that describes no particular address; within-state price variation, concentrated in housing, routinely exceeds the difference between two states. At $58,580 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
Choose your filing status and local taxes, compare pay, and keep a shortlist.Compare wage and personal-pay outcomes by state, with selected resident local taxes and saved career choices.
Pay band: Surgical Technologists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $42,430 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $51,780 |
| Top tenth earn over | $78,650 |
| This salary | $51,780 |
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 | $42,517 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $43,785 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,982 |
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 | $50,202 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,396 |
| 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 surgical technologists in New Mexico earn under $51,780 and half over. The published range runs $42,430 at the tenth percentile to $78,650 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $42,517 take-home in New Mexico comes from $51,780. 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 258 of 485.
- Two cautions on $47,040, the adjusted value of that $51,780 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 258 of 485 locally.
- Figures are distribution medians for surgical technologists in New Mexico, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $42,430 to $78,650; 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 $42,517, from $51,780, 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 258 of 485 locally, and the state ranks 48 of 51 for it.
- This $47,040 adjusted figure, worked from $51,780, 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 258 of 485 in the state. The occupation ranks 258 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 $58,580, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $42,430 and the top tenth $78,650, so most people doing this work in New Mexico sit within a fairly tight band.
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 $47,040 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 $42,517.
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 $58,580. 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 ($42,430 to $78,650) 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 $47,040 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 $42,517 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.