Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers: District of Columbia vs New Mexico pay

Percentile	Published wages	District of Columbia	New Mexico
10th	District of Columbia$49,940New Mexico$37,380	$49,940	$37,380
25th	District of Columbia$77,730New Mexico$45,160	$77,730	$45,160
Median

Place	Employment	Jobs per 1,000	Location quotient	Employment RSE
District of Columbia	400Jobs per 1,000: 0.57 Location quotient: 0.21	0.57	0.21	18.8%
New Mexico	1,950Jobs per 1,000: 2.24 Location quotient: 0.85	2.24	0.85	10.7%

75th	District of Columbia$101,940New Mexico$62,900	$101,940	$62,900

90th	District of Columbia$108,240New Mexico$75,770	$108,240	$75,770

Start with the answer

Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers pay in District of Columbia and New Mexico

The May 2025 BLS OEWS median for Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers is $84,390 per year in District of Columbia. It is $50,270 per year in New Mexico. District of Columbia is 67.9% above New Mexico on the published median.

Both rows use SOC 49-9021 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 400 wage and salary jobs in District of Columbia and 1,950 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.

Pay range

Compare the full Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers wage ladder

A median can hide a wide range. The 10th, 25th, 50th, 75th, and 90th percentile points show more of each area's spread. A percentile is a rank point. It is not a career stage. The 10th point does not mean new-worker pay. The 90th point does not mean a wage that comes after a set number of years.

The lower half can differ from the upper half. One area can lead at the median and trail at another point. Read each field against the same field in the other area. Do not compare one area's 75th percentile with the other area's median. That would answer a different question.

A posted job range can sit below, across, or above these marks. That does not make the post wrong. A listing can differ by employer, level, hours, field, or work rules. Keep the listing tied to that employer. Keep the BLS range tied to the whole role-place row.

10th percentile: District of Columbia is $49,940 per year; New Mexico is $37,380 per year. District of Columbia is 33.6% above New Mexico at this point.
25th percentile: District of Columbia is $77,730 per year; New Mexico is $45,160 per year. District of Columbia is 72.1% above New Mexico at this point.
Median: District of Columbia is $84,390 per year; New Mexico is $50,270 per year. District of Columbia is 67.9% above New Mexico at this point.
75th percentile: District of Columbia is $101,940 per year; New Mexico is $62,900 per year. District of Columbia is 62.1% above New Mexico at this point.
90th percentile: District of Columbia is $108,240 per year; New Mexico is $75,770 per year. District of Columbia is 42.9% above New Mexico at this point.

Shape of pay

Mean and median tell two parts of the Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers story

District of Columbia has a mean of $84,920 per year and a median of $84,390. New Mexico has a mean of $55,330 per year and a median of $50,270. Mean adds all wage values and splits the total by the number of jobs behind the estimate.

District of Columbia's mean is 0.6% above its median on the same published median. New Mexico's mean is 10.1% above its median on the same published median. The gaps show that each wage spread has a shape. They do not explain why the shape differs.

Use median for the middle. Use mean to see how the full set pulls. Use percentiles to see more of the spread. None of the three is a pay promise. A person, team, or listing can sit far from all three for reasons that are outside these BLS rows.

Job scale

How the two Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers job bases differ

District of Columbia has 400 estimated Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers jobs. New Mexico has 1,950. The larger count shows a larger covered job base in this source. It does not show more open roles, faster hiring, or a better chance for one applicant.

District of Columbia has 0.57 Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers jobs per 1,000 local jobs. New Mexico has 2.24 per 1,000. This rate helps compare places of different size. It is not a job-post rate and does not use the MeritLog catalog.

The employment RSE is 18.8% in District of Columbia and 10.7% in New Mexico. RSE means relative standard error. It is a survey precision flag. It is not the chance that the job count or one person's pay is right.

Local share

Where Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers takes a larger share of jobs

The location quotient is 0.21 in District of Columbia and 0.85 in New Mexico. A value of 1 means the role has the same share of local jobs as it has across the nation. A value above 1 means the local share is larger. A value below 1 means it is smaller.

District of Columbia's quotient is 75.3% below New Mexico's. That gap is about the job mix. It is not a wage gap, a job-count gap, or a growth claim.

Read location quotient with employment. A small place can have a high share and few jobs. A large place can have many jobs and a share near the national mark. Then read pay as its own field. The three measures do not form one score.

BEA price view

How price levels differ between District of Columbia and New Mexico

BEA's 2024 all-items price index is 109.9 in District of Columbia and 92.2 in New Mexico. The U.S. level is 100. A higher number means the broad local price level is higher than the national mark. It does not say a place is good or bad.

Housing is 155.0 in District of Columbia and 73.6 in New Mexico. Goods are 106.5 and 96.1. Utilities are 112.8 and 77.9. Other services are 103.0 and 98.5. The parts can move in different ways.

The wage period is May 2025. The price period is 2024. WageScope keeps those clocks visible. It uses the all-items index for one clear proxy. It does not mix BEA prices into the BLS source row, and it does not claim the two releases describe the exact same month.

Price-level proxy

Compare the medians in national-price dollars

In District of Columbia, we start with the $84,390 median. We divide it by 109.9 divided by 100. The result is $76,787 per year. In New Mexico, we start with $50,270. We divide it by 92.2 divided by 100. That result is $54,516 per year.

District of Columbia's proxy is 40.9% above New Mexico's. The nominal gap is 67.9%. The order can stay the same or change after the price-level step. Both results must keep their labels.

The proxy is a narrow math tool. It is not take-home pay. It does not add taxes, benefits, household size, debt, commute, schools, safety, climate, or taste. It does not set a wage target. Use it to see how one broad price index changes the wage view, then check your own costs outside WageScope.

Same-proxy pay

What equal price-level pay would look like in the other place

$84,390 per year in District of Columbia has the same value after this price check as $70,807 per year in New Mexico. We keep the result for District of Columbia fixed. Then we apply the overall price index for New Mexico.

$50,270 per year in New Mexico has the same proxy as $59,913 per year in District of Columbia. This reverse view is useful because the answer depends on which wage you start with. It is not a claim about an offer in either place.

Equivalent nominal pay uses one broad price measure. It does not know what a person buys. It does not know rent, family size, debt, taxes, travel, benefits, or savings. Treat the result as a clean source-backed comparison, not a full move plan or a number an employer must match.

Data care

Check the survey marks before you use the gap

The mean-wage RSE is 2.5% in District of Columbia and 2.3% in New Mexico. The employment RSE is 18.8% and 10.7%. RSE is a precision flag for the field it sits beside. It is not a score for the whole page.

BLS does not publish the same RSE field for the median and each percentile. WageScope does not move a mean RSE to the median. It does not use an employment RSE as a wage care mark. Each value stays tied to its source field. Missing or top-coded values also keep their source state.

New BLS or BEA data can change the result. We check the source dates before release. If a full new release is waiting for review, we cannot call these data current. Each job card has its own check date. New job posts do not make the government data newer.

Use the result

A short check list for District of Columbia and New Mexico

Start with the same Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers wage field. Then read the full percentile spread. Check job count, jobs per 1,000, and location quotient. Add the 2024 all-items and housing price levels. Read the national-price-dollar proxy with its limits. Keep the BLS and BEA dates in view.

Next, inspect one current employer-title match in each place when an exact public place match exists. A job post can show work level, hours, location rules, and pay that the BLS row cannot. The post is dated employer evidence. It does not change the survey median or prove a broad trend.

Last, use your own facts. Compare the job needs with work you have done and can support. A wage gap cannot show fit. A price-level gap cannot show fit. A job count cannot show fit. MeritLog's résumé path starts only after you choose a listing and confirm the work facts you want to use.

Limits

What this Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers comparison does not decide

The page does not choose District of Columbia or New Mexico for you. It does not say what one worker earns. It does not promise a job, offer, raise, or move result. It does not say why the medians differ. It does not turn the larger wage, job count, quotient, or proxy into a place score.

This comparison leaves out people who work for themselves and jobs outside the BLS survey. It does not add taxes, take-home pay, benefits, stock, bonuses, or hours. It leaves out travel, remote work, and your home budget too. Job posts stay separate. There may be none even when all source data is ready.

Use this page for a bounded choice. Compare the same May 2025 BLS role and metric across two exact areas. Add the separate 2024 BEA price view. Inspect dated employer-title matches. Then build a résumé from facts you have confirmed. Keep each source tied to the question it can answer.

Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers: District of Columbia vs New Mexico

Same occupation, same annual wage metric

The winner can change when local prices differ

Housing and all-items indexes explain the adjustment

Matching pay after local prices

Job counts and local share

Compare another job type or two places

Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers: District of Columbia and New Mexico guide

Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers in District of Columbia and New Mexico: common questions

Compare Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers listings by place

District of Columbia

No precise employer-title matches in this place right now.

New Mexico

No precise employer-title matches in this place right now.

Current jobs

Tailor for a real Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers job, not a generic wage number.

Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers pay in District of Columbia and New Mexico

Compare the full Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers wage ladder

Mean and median tell two parts of the Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers story

How the two Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers job bases differ

Where Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers takes a larger share of jobs

How price levels differ between District of Columbia and New Mexico

Compare the medians in national-price dollars

What equal price-level pay would look like in the other place

Check the survey marks before you use the gap

A short check list for District of Columbia and New Mexico

What this Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers comparison does not decide

Compare Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers listings by place

District of Columbia

No precise employer-title matches in this place right now.

New Mexico

No precise employer-title matches in this place right now.

Privacy choices

Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers: District of Columbia vs New Mexico

Same occupation, same annual wage metric

The winner can change when local prices differ

Housing and all-items indexes explain the adjustment

Matching pay after local prices

Job counts and local share

Compare another job type or two places

Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers: District of Columbia and New Mexico guide

Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers in District of Columbia and New Mexico: common questions

Compare Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers listings by place

District of Columbia

No precise employer-title matches in this place right now.

New Mexico

No precise employer-title matches in this place right now.

Current jobs

Tailor for a real Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers job, not a generic wage number.

Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers pay in District of Columbia and New Mexico

Compare the full Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers wage ladder

Mean and median tell two parts of the Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers story

How the two Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers job bases differ

Where Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers takes a larger share of jobs

How price levels differ between District of Columbia and New Mexico

Compare the medians in national-price dollars

What equal price-level pay would look like in the other place

Check the survey marks before you use the gap

A short check list for District of Columbia and New Mexico

What this Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers comparison does not decide

Compare Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers listings by place

District of Columbia

No precise employer-title matches in this place right now.

New Mexico

No precise employer-title matches in this place right now.