Food Preparation Workers · SOC 35-2021
Food Preparation Workers Salary in the New Mexico
Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025New Mexico
Figures describe the state of New Mexico as a whole.
Food Preparation Workers in the New Mexico earned a median of $33,370 per year ($16.04 per hour) as of the May 2025 BLS OEWS estimates. Pay ranged from $27,290 at the 10th percentile to $38,200 at the 90th. BLS estimates 6,850 people work in this occupation in the area.
Pay distribution
Half of Food Preparation Workers in the New Mexico earn more than $33,370 per year, half earn less; the middle half earn between $28,590 and $35,840.
| Wage | 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Annual | $27,290 | $28,590 | $33,370 | $35,840 | $38,200 |
| Hourly | $13.12 | $13.75 | $16.04 | $17.23 | $18.37 |
A percentile is a cut point: 25% of workers in this occupation and area earn less than the 25th-percentile wage. The median is the 50th percentile — half earn less, half earn more.
How this area compares
- New Mexico$33,370 median for New Mexico; middle half earns $28,590 to $35,840
- United Statesnational$35,320 median for United States; middle half earns $29,950 to $38,550
Bars span the 25th–75th percentile (the middle half of workers); the tick marks the median.
The median here is −6% vs the U.S. median for this occupation.
Metro areas in New Mexico
Metro areas in the same state with published May 2025 medians for food preparation workers, highest first. Areas without published estimates are not listed.
- New Mexicothis page$33,370 median for New Mexico; middle half earns $28,590 to $35,840
- $36,120 median for Santa Fe metro area; middle half earns $34,490 to $38,570
- $34,380 median for Albuquerque metro area; middle half earns $29,500 to $36,250
- $32,360 median for Las Cruces metro area; middle half earns $30,370 to $34,680
- $31,030 median for Farmington metro area; middle half earns $28,860 to $34,990
Bars span the 25th–75th percentile (the middle half of workers); the tick marks the median.
Keep exploring
Other occupations in the same SOC group with published medians here, largest employment first:
Highest-paying metro areas for food preparation workerss · Highest-paying occupations in New Mexico
About this estimate
These figures are survey estimates from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program — modeled from employer reports collected over three years and benchmarked to May 2025. They describe what employers in this area currently pay across all industries, not what any individual worker will be offered.
Employment counts wage-and-salary jobs in the occupation (self-employed workers are excluded). Estimates carry sampling error; percentile wages are rounded by BLS. Some values are suppressed by BLS for confidentiality or quality — suppressed values appear here as “not published”, never as zero. Read the full methodology.
About this data. Estimates are from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program, May 2025 release, retrieved from bls.gov/oes/tables.htm on July 24, 2026. OEWS estimates describe metropolitan/nonmetropolitan areas and states — not city limits — and are not designed for year-over-year comparisons. See BLS methodology, our plain-English methodology, and sources. CitySalaryData is independent and not affiliated with BLS.