Albuquerque, NM

Across all occupations in the Albuquerque, NM metropolitan area, the median wage is $48,060 a year ($23.11 an hour) and the mean $64,480, May 2025. That median is −6% against the US median of $50,980 and +2% against New Mexico's $47,210. BLS counts 404,700 jobs in the area. The highest-paying occupation is emergency medicine physicians; the largest is home health and personal care aides.

All occupations: Albuquerque, NM vs New Mexico and the United States

All occupations: wage percentiles, mean and employment in the Albuquerque, NM area, New Mexico and nationally, May 2025
Area	Basis	Percentile wage					Mean	Employment
Area	Basis	10th	25th	Median	75th	90th	Mean	Employment
Albuquerque, NM	Hourly	$14.18	$17.27	$23.11	$37.12	$56.33	$31.00	404,700
Albuquerque, NM	Annual	$29,500	$35,910	$48,060	$77,220	$117,170	$64,480	404,700
New Mexico	Hourly	$13.83	$16.95	$22.70	$36.07	$52.92	$29.96	870,970
New Mexico	Annual	$28,760	$35,260	$47,210	$75,030	$110,070	$62,330	870,970
United States	Hourly	$15.00	$18.07	$24.51	$38.71	$61.81	$33.54	155,495,730
United States	Annual	$31,200	$37,590	$50,980	$80,520	$128,560	$69,770	155,495,730

Annual wage at the 10th, 25th, 50th (median), 75th and 90th percentiles across all occupations in the metro; the line marks the US median. The same numbers are in the table above.

497 detailed occupations publish a median in this area. State profile: New Mexico. Compare any occupation across every area in the wage explorer.

20 highest-paying occupations in Albuquerque, NM

Rank	Occupation	Median annual	Median hourly	Employment
1	Emergency Medicine Physicians	$405,130	$194.77	180
2	Physicians, All Other	$327,670	$157.54	1,060
3	Psychiatrists	$236,320	$113.62	**
4	Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistrates	$216,220	$103.95	80
5	Architectural and Engineering Managers	$215,120	$103.42	1,160
6	Pediatricians, General	$214,520	$103.14	140
7	Family Medicine Physicians	$185,200	$89.04	210
8	Health Specialties Teachers, Postsecondary	$178,290	*	1,270
9	Optometrists	$165,810	$79.71	70
10	Computer and Information Research Scientists	$165,690	$79.66	220
11	Physicists	$165,340	$79.49	330
12	Electrical Engineers	$163,720	$78.71	1,280
13	Engineers, All Other	$163,630	$78.67	1,110
14	Chemical Engineers	$163,380	$78.55	80
15	Surgeons, All Other	$159,960	$76.90	90
16	Electronics Engineers, Except Computer	$153,900	$73.99	500
17	Pharmacists	$147,000	$70.67	1,000
18	Dentists, General	$141,580	$68.07	460
19	Nurse Practitioners	$140,950	$67.77	890
20	Veterinarians	$140,200	$67.40	240

Ranked by median; an occupation whose median BLS withholds or top-codes in this area cannot appear here, however well it pays.

20 largest occupations in Albuquerque, NM

Rank	Occupation	Employment	Jobs per 1,000	Location quotient	Median annual
1	Home Health and Personal Care Aides in New Mexico	16,860	41.67	1.50	$30,170
2	Fast Food and Counter Workers in New Mexico	14,510	35.84	1.45	$29,140
3	Retail Salespersons in New Mexico	11,370	28.09	1.12	$34,160
4	Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive in New Mexico	11,020	27.24	2.48	$46,950
5	Registered Nurses in New Mexico	10,290	25.43	1.17	$96,040
6	Customer Service Representatives in New Mexico	10,270	25.38	1.52	$41,790
7	Stockers and Order Fillers in New Mexico	8,220	20.31	1.11	$36,240
8	General and Operations Managers in New Mexico	7,670	18.96	0.84	$94,640
9	Cashiers in New Mexico	7,460	18.44	0.93	$30,540
10	Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners in New Mexico	7,070	17.48	1.23	$35,450
11	Waiters and Waitresses in New Mexico	5,880	14.52	0.99	$38,050
12	Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand in New Mexico	5,170	12.78	0.67	$37,230
13	Office Clerks, General in New Mexico	5,130	12.69	0.80	$37,000
14	Security Guards in New Mexico	4,440	10.97	1.33	$44,780
15	Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers in New Mexico	4,210	10.40	0.78	$55,840
16	Business Operations Specialists, All Other in New Mexico	4,160	10.28	1.47	$81,070
17	Construction Laborers in New Mexico	4,140	10.22	1.45	$40,440
18	First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers in New Mexico	4,080	10.08	1.09	$64,860
19	Maintenance and Repair Workers, General in New Mexico	3,860	9.53	0.97	$46,900
20	Teaching Assistants, Except Postsecondary in New Mexico	3,490	8.62	0.94	$32,380

Most concentrated occupations in Albuquerque, NM

The 10 occupations with the highest location quotient among those employing at least 100 people in the area. A quotient of 2.00 means the occupation's share of local jobs is twice its national share.

Rank	Occupation	Location quotient	Employment	Jobs per 1,000	Median annual
1	Plasterers and Stucco Masons	6.32	320	0.79	$37,450
2	Physicists	6.17	330	0.81	$165,340
3	Electronic Equipment Installers and Repairers, Motor Vehicles	4.45	100	0.25	$49,640
4	Electrical and Electronics Drafters	4.42	210	0.51	*
5	Occupational Health and Safety Technicians	4.40	350	0.87	$80,630
6	Reinforcing Iron and Rebar Workers	4.18	150	0.37	$54,960
7	Gambling Cage Workers	3.58	130	0.33	$36,280
8	Communications Teachers, Postsecondary	3.50	270	0.66	$42,680
9	Budget Analysts	3.32	410	1.01	$97,780
10	Physical Scientists, All Other	2.82	160	0.41	$121,890

Occupation groups in Albuquerque, NM

Group	Median annual	Mean annual	Employment	Jobs per 1,000	Location quotient
Architecture and Engineering	$131,720	$131,970	13,810	34.13	2.03
Management	$108,920	$126,500	23,890	59.02	0.82
Computer and Mathematical	$99,120	$104,190	11,100	27.43	0.81
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical	$86,360	$103,680	28,220	69.73	1.10
Legal	$83,770	$110,690	3,480	8.61	1.03
Life, Physical, and Social Science	$83,610	$96,830	4,370	10.80	1.14
Business and Financial Operations	$79,510	$87,670	24,260	59.95	0.88
Educational Instruction and Library	$63,930	$71,100	21,700	53.63	0.92
Community and Social Service	$60,030	$64,920	7,520	18.58	1.08
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media	$54,370	$63,210	3,770	9.33	0.71
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair	$52,200	$58,650	15,390	38.02	0.97
Construction and Extraction	$49,780	$55,390	20,910	51.67	1.25
Protective Service	$47,940	$55,130	11,880	29.35	1.21
Office and Administrative Support	$45,850	$48,260	54,860	135.55	1.19
Production	$43,300	$50,580	13,970	34.53	0.63
Transportation and Material Moving	$41,600	$46,300	28,960	71.57	0.81
Sales and Related	$35,960	$46,640	31,990	79.04	0.92
Personal Care and Service	$35,800	$37,910	8,200	20.26	0.97
Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance	$35,720	$37,400	12,540	30.99	1.06
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry	$34,440	$39,710	860	2.11	0.76
Healthcare Support	$32,390	$35,340	24,780	61.23	1.21
Food Preparation and Serving Related	$30,990	$35,860	38,230	94.46	1.07

Every occupation in New Mexico, and the area's place among the state's metros, is on the state profile. All 497 published occupations for this area are in the wage explorer; other metros are on the metros hub.

Source and notes

Data: BLS OEWS May 2025, released 2026-05-15. Cross-industry estimates, all ownerships. BLS page: OEWS Albuquerque, NM estimates (area 10740).

*: Wage estimate not available.
**: Employment estimate not available.

Annual wages assume 2,080 hours a year at the hourly rate; occupations BLS publishes on one basis only show an en dash (–) on the other.
Employment is rounded to the nearest 10 by BLS. Where BLS withholds a cell, nothing is estimated in its place.
Jobs per 1,000 is the occupation's employment per 1,000 jobs in the Albuquerque, NM area; the location quotient is that share divided by the national share.
The concentration table keeps only occupations with employment of 100 or more in the area, so a quotient built on a handful of rounded jobs cannot top it.