Start with the answer
Electrical Engineers pay in District of Columbia and New Mexico
The May 2025 BLS OEWS median for Electrical Engineers is $143,000 per year in District of Columbia. It is $158,520 per year in New Mexico. District of Columbia is 9.8% below New Mexico on the published median.
Both rows use SOC 17-2071 and the same annual wage metric. Median means the middle of each area's published wage spread. It is not one worker's pay. The larger median is not proof that one place gives a better job or a better result. It is one wage fact from one source period.
BLS lists 330 wage and salary jobs in District of Columbia and 2,560 in New Mexico. Those are survey job counts, not open posts. Read pay, job scale, local share, and price level as separate facts before you make a choice.
Evidence: bls-oews-may-2025 · Rule: same-soc-same-metric-pair · nominal-median-gap · employment-not-openings
