New Mexico Teacher Salaries

What does the NCES F-33 data show for New Mexico?

New Mexico reports 89 public school districts in the NCES Common Core of Data FY2022 Local Education Agency Finance Survey, with an estimated average teacher salary of $72,715. That places the state in the middle third of US teacher-pay rankings — #33 of 51, materially below the national F-33 estimate of $82,292 (-11.6%). The state's public schools serve 299,234 students across these districts.

Among enrolling districts, pay varies widely: MAGDALENA MUNICIPAL SCHOOLS reports the highest estimated average salary at $131,304, while POJOAQUE VALLEY PUBLIC SCHOOLS sits at the lower end at $54,708 — a spread of $76,595 between top and bottom reporting districts. Licensing rules, state aid formulas, collective bargaining density, and local tax bases all drive this intra-state variation. Urban and suburban districts with larger tax bases typically lead, while rural districts often lag despite lower cost of living.

Teacher compensation here reflects both state policy choices — the statutory minimum salary schedule, pension funding levels, licensure reciprocity — and the funding formula that determines how much state aid each district receives per pupil. A #33 national rank signals where New Mexico sits in the competition for teachers against neighboring states; teacher shortage areas typically correlate with lower pay rank. Figures below are per-district estimates derived from the F-33 instructional salary expenditure field (Z33) divided by estimated teacher FTE — a district-level aggregate, not individual salary records.