- The middle half earn between $13.37 and $16.79 an hour.
- New Mexico is 46th of the 50 states and DC, in the bottom ten for this trade.
- New Mexico pays more than 1 of its 5 neighboring states.
- BLS counts about 1,820 auto detailers on payrolls in New Mexico.
- At the state median wage, a detailing business needs to bill about $96.18 an hour on the labor rate calculator's starting numbers.
Auto Detailer pay in New Mexico, bottom to top
BLS has no separate figure for auto detailers. These are its numbers for cleaners of vehicles and equipment, the group that holds auto detailers along with car wash attendants and equipment cleaners.
| Pay level | Hourly | Yearly | National hourly |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $12.91 | $26,860 | $13.17 |
| 25th percentile | $13.37 | $27,810 | $14.62 |
| Median | $14.57 | $30,310 | $17.23 |
| 75th percentile | $16.79 | $34,910 | $19.73 |
| 90th percentile | $19.78 | $41,140 | $22.89 |
| Average (mean) | $15.77 | $32,810 | $17.78 |
Pay is bunched up in New Mexico. The top tenth earn $19.78 an hour or more, about 1.5 times the $12.91 at the bottom tenth. Nationally that gap is 1.7 times, so the step from the bottom of the scale to the top is shorter here than in most places.
Both ends trail the national figures. The bottom tenth earn $0.26 an hour less than the bottom tenth nationally, and the top tenth $3.11 less than the national top tenth.
The average wage, $15.77, sits 8% above the median. A smaller group of higher earners pulls the average up, so the median is the better guide to what a typical auto detailer makes.
How New Mexico compares with other states
Over a full year, the New Mexico median of $30,310 is $5,520 less than the national $35,830.
In the state ranking, New Mexico sits 46th, between Georgia ($14.72) and Texas ($14.16). The range runs from $13.27 in Louisiana to $20.53 in the District of Columbia.
Against its neighboring states, New Mexico is in the middle: Arizona, Colorado, Oklahoma and Utah pay more, and Texas pays less.
BLS wages are not adjusted for living costs. Lower pay often comes with lower housing costs, so the gap in take-home value can be smaller than the gap in wages.
How many auto detailers work in New Mexico
About 1,820 auto detailers work on payrolls in New Mexico, 0.5% of the 380,430 nationwide, the 38th largest count among the states.
That is 2.1 of every 1,000 jobs in New Mexico, close to the trade's share of jobs nationally.
What a detailing business in New Mexico should charge
A lower wage helps the price less than you might expect, because the overhead does not shrink with it. Here is a detailing business in New Mexico paying the state median of $14.57, on the labor rate calculator's starting numbers: 40-hour weeks, 10 paid days off, 2 unbilled hours a day, 7.65% payroll taxes, $90,000 a year of overhead and 15% profit.
| Step | Math | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Paid hours | 40 × 52 | 2,080 |
| Hours at work | 2,080 − 10 days × 8 | 2,000 |
| Billable hours | 2,000 × 6 ÷ 8 | 1,500 |
| Labor cost | $14.57 × 2,080 × 1.0765 | $32,624 |
| Break-even rate | ($32,624 + $90,000) ÷ 1,500 | $81.75 |
| Rate with 15% profit | $81.75 ÷ 0.85 | $96.18 |
That is $96.18 per billable hour, 6.6 times the wage, and $4.67 less than the $100.85 the same math gives at the national median wage.
Paying the 75th percentile instead, $16.79 in New Mexico, to hire and keep experienced people raises the rate to $100.07.
A cheaper crew saves less than it seems: at the 25th percentile wage of $13.37, the rate only drops to $94.07.
At this wage, overhead is most of the price: $60 of every billed hour goes to it before anyone is paid. Spreading the same overhead over more billable hours, with a second person or less drive time, brings the rate down fastest.
Run it with your own numbers in the labor rate calculator. It is free and shows every step.
Working as an auto detailer in New Mexico
- Running the business. Quotes, invoices, booking and your website in one place: how detailers run on Koira.
- Getting found. The free Koira report checks how your business shows up in search and on maps against shops near you.
Where these numbers come from
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025.
The figures are the BLS state estimates for SOC 53-7061, cleaners of vehicles and equipment, across all industries, read straight from the May 2025 state data file. They cover wage and salary workers, not the self-employed. Where BLS did not publish a figure, this page leaves it out.
All states in one table: auto detailer salary by state.