Start with the answer
Materials Engineers pay in Nevada and New Mexico
The May 2025 BLS OEWS median for Materials Engineers is $99,010 per year in Nevada. It is $165,600 per year in New Mexico. Nevada is 40.2% below New Mexico on the published median.
Both rows use SOC 17-2131 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 100 wage and salary jobs in Nevada and 450 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
