Teaching Assistants, Except Postsecondary in New Mexico
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$30,449
after federal, FICA and New Mexico tax
Tax takes
$5,451
15.2% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$33,688
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
$35,900
Kept after tax
$30,449
Worth in national money
$33,688
State rank
27
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. New Mexico is 27 of 51 states for this job, with a middle wage of $35,900. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Within New Mexico this is lower-paid work. Of 485 occupations the state publishes figures for, this job ranks 431. That is the bottom quarter locally, whatever the national comparison says.
- New Mexico is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $35,900 the take-home is $30,449; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $33,688 would nationally. The average comes to $36,610, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- New Mexico ranks 27 of 51 for teaching assistants, except postsecondary at $35,900. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Against every occupation New Mexico reports, teaching assistants, except postsecondary ranks 431 of 485, in the lowest quartile of the state's distribution. That position is set by the local labor market and is independent of how the state compares nationally for this work.
- Post-tax income for teaching assistants, except postsecondary in New Mexico, on $35,900, is $30,449 — equivalent to $33,688 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 $36,610 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: Teaching Assistants, Except Postsecondary
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $27,050 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $35,900 |
| Top tenth earn over | $46,390 |
| This salary | $35,900 |
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 | $30,449 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $31,026 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,760 |
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 | $35,183 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,129 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $35,900 as a midpoint for New Mexico, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $27,050 and the ninetieth is $46,390 — 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 $30,449, worked from $35,900. 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 431 of 485.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $33,688 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 431.
- The New Mexico median of $35,900 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $27,050 to $46,390. 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 $30,449, on $35,900 for work ranking 431 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 431 of 485 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $33,688, worked from $35,900, 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 431 of 485 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $27,050 and the top tenth $46,390, 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 $33,688 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 $30,449.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($27,050 to $46,390) 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 $33,688 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 $30,449 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.