New Mexico salaries have lagged slightly behind national inflation rate for last two years

FARMINGTON — While prices have continued to rise for more than two years, the average weekly salary in New Mexico hasn’t quite kept pace with the national inflation rate, according to figures supplied by the New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions.

The agency calculates the average weekly salary across the state and in each of New Mexico’s counties on a quarterly basis, as it has been since the first quarter of 2005. The numbers reveal that since the fourth quarter of 2020 — when the inflation rate began to increase significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic — and the fourth quarter of 2022, the most recent period for which data were available, the state’s average weekly private-sector salary has gone from $1,029 to $1,087. That’s an increase of 5.6%.

By contrast, inflation jumped 7% in 2021 and 6.5% in 2022, according to U.S. Labor Department data, although it has slowed significantly in 2023.

The rate is a little better for the average weekly salary for all public- and private-sector industries in New Mexico. The average weekly salary in New Mexico went from $1,051 in the fourth quarter of 2020 to $1,115 in the fourth quarter of 2022, a jump of 6.1%.

The counties with the highest weekly average salaries in the private sector in the state in the fourth quarter of 2022 were spread out across New Mexico. As expected, Los Alamos County — home of Los Alamos National Laboratory — led the way with a figure of $2,297, followed by Eddy County at $1,434, Lea County at $1,302, Santa Fe County at $1,136, Bernalillo County at $1,109, Sandoval County at $1,078 and San Juan County at $1,041.

In the public and private sector, Los Alamos County again ranked first at $2,217, followed by Eddy ($1,434), Lea ($1,277) Bernalillo ($1,162), Santa Fe ($1,136), Sandoval ($1,079) and San Juan ($1,047) counties.

Doña Ana County, home to Las Cruces and the state’s second-most populous county, finished in the middle of the pack with an average weekly salary of $815 for the private sector and $903 for the public and private sector.

While salaries in many of the state’s counties increased significantly between the fourth quarter of 2020 and the fourth quarter of 2021, that trend did not continue in 2022. For instance, the average weekly private-sector salary fell from $1,440 to $1,434 in Eddy County, $893 to $851 in Otero County and $1,059 to $1,041 in San Juan County, while it remained flat at $815 in Doña Ana County.

In the public and private sectors, Eddy and San Juan counties both made slight gains, but Otero County fell from $936 to $914. Doña Ana County increased from $895 to $903.

Over the last 10 years, private-sector salaries in New Mexico have risen from $787 to $1,087, an increase of 38.1%. In the public and private sectors, they have gone from $803 to $1,115, an increase of 38.9%.

San Juan County has seen nowhere near that kind of increase, however, going from $889 in the fourth quarter of 2012 to $1,041 in the fourth quarter of 2022 in the private sector — a jump of only 17.1%. The rate was a little better in the public and private sectors, where San Juan County went from $858 to $1,047 — an increase of 22%.

Eddy County fared much better in both categories. It went from $980 in 2012 to $1,434 in 2022 in the private sector for a gain of 46.3%. In the public and private sectors, it moved from $972 to $1,434, an increase of 47.5%.

Lincoln County was right on Eddy County’s heels. It went from $517 to $756 in the private sector, an increase of 46.2%. In the public and private sectors, it went from $557 to $798, a jump of 43.3%.

Otero County climbed from $606 to $851 in the private sector, a gain of 40.4%. In the public and private sectors, salaries increased from $648 to $914, a jump of 41%.

Doña Ana County also fared well, moving from $590 to $815 in the private sector for a gain of 38.1%, right in line with the statewide average. In the public and private sectors, it went from $679 to $903, a gain of 33%.

According to the New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions, health care and social assistance was the largest industry in San Juan, Otero and Doña Ana counties, while mining led the way in Eddy County. Lincoln County was paced by the retail trade.

Mike Easterling can be reached at 505-564-4610 or measterling@daily-times.com. Support local journalism with a digital subscription: http://bit.ly/2I6TU0e.

This article originally appeared on Farmington Daily Times: These counties have highest weekly average salary in New Mexico