Urban and Regional Planners in New Mexico
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$61,012
after federal, FICA and New Mexico tax
Tax takes
$16,698
21.5% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$67,502
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
$77,710
Kept after tax
$61,012
Worth in national money
$67,502
State rank
37
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- New Mexico is among the lower-paying states for urban and regional planners. The middle earner takes $77,710, ranking 37 of 51 states — about 13% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. Urban and regional planners ranks 123 among 485 occupations New Mexico publishes pay for.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $77,710 you keep $61,012 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $67,502 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $78,340, since top earners drag the number up.
- New Mexico ranks 37 of 51 for urban and regional planners, with a median of $77,710 — about 13% 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.
- Position 123 of 485 in New Mexico places urban and regional planners in the middle of the state's wage distribution. Because within-state and cross-state rankings measure different things, this figure and the national one above should be read together rather than as a single verdict.
- Retained pay in New Mexico is $61,012 after the full tax stack, from $77,710. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $67,502 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $78,340 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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: Urban and Regional Planners
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $57,750 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $77,710 |
| Top tenth earn over | $104,730 |
| This salary | $77,710 |
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 | $61,012 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $63,499 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$2,157 |
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 | $74,175 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,979 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $77,710 as a midpoint for New Mexico, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $57,750 and the ninetieth is $104,730 — 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 $61,012, worked from $77,710. 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 123 of 485.
- Two cautions on $67,502, the adjusted value of that $77,710 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 123 of 485 locally.
- The New Mexico median of $77,710 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $57,750 to $104,730. 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 $61,012, on $77,710 for work ranking 123 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 123 of 485 in the state.
- This $67,502 adjusted figure, worked from $77,710, 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 123 of 485 in the state. The occupation ranks 123 of 485 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $57,750 and the top tenth $104,730, so most people doing this work in New Mexico sit within a fairly tight band.
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 $67,502 in national terms.
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 $61,012.
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 ($57,750 to $104,730) 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 $67,502 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 $61,012 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.