Career outcomes brief

New Mexico State University-Main Campus Career Outcomes & Earnings

Updated September 30, 2026

How much do New Mexico State University-Main Campus graduates earn?

The reported median is $54,874 four years after completion. The peer comparison uses $65,610 as its benchmark; the difference is -$10,736 per year.

Four years after completing a degree, federally aided graduates who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $54,874. That places the university in the 32nd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions, $10,736 below the $65,610 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Graduates earn about $5,442 more than expects for similar students. That puts the gap at the 72nd percentile.

The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $7,735. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $2,293. Azimuth places the return at the 49th percentile.

Earnings vary widely by program at New Mexico State University-Main Campus, with earnings scenarios ranging from $40,233 on the downside to $86,837 on the upside. These scenarios model outcomes from the program mix rather than observed groups.

At four years after completion, Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical/Space Engineering has median earnings of $96,510, Electrical Engineering reaches $95,683, and Computer and Information Sciences reaches $94,024. Those fields show the upper end of the modeled range.

Graduate study affects how to read the earnings snapshot. An estimated 27.3% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure estimated from the program mix rather than observed enrollment.

Four-year earnings cover completers who are working and not enrolled, so this estimate identifies a group outside that measure.

Median earnings · four years after completion: $54,874
Rank for difference from expectations: 72nd percentile

Four-year median earnings against two benchmarks

New Mexico State University-Main Campus reported median: $54,874
Peer schools comparable schools · $10,736 above New Mexico State University-Main Campus: $65,610
Model expectation what similar students would be expected to earn · $5,442 below New Mexico State University-Main Campus: $49,432

School and program earnings use pooled 2017–18 and 2018–19 completion cohorts, measured in 2022 and 2023 and expressed in 2024 dollars. How the model works.

How could earnings differ from the median?

Earnings four years after completion

Planning rangeReported median

Lower estimate: $40,233
Median · reported: $54,874
Higher estimate: $86,837

Downside shows a lower-earning scenario based on the college’s mix of programs; upside shows a higher-earning scenario. Typical is the school’s reported median four years after completion. These are planning scenarios, not a forecast of your salary or percentiles of individual graduates.

Why the downside matters explores the risk hidden by medians, using older ten-year entrant data. Read about the move to four-year earnings.

Do New Mexico State University-Main Campus graduates earn more than expected?

Azimuth models what we would expect graduates to earn based on who the college enrolls, how selective it is and its local economy. The difference between that expectation and reported earnings is what Azimuth calls value added.

New Mexico State University-Main Campus graduates’ reported earnings are $5,442 above that expectation, the 72nd percentile for this measure. Unlike a peer comparison, it adjusts for who enrolls.

The breakdown separates the contribution attributed to observed factors from the remaining difference. Neither component establishes how much attending New Mexico State University-Main Campus caused a student to earn. Read how expected earnings are estimated.

Which fields at New Mexico State University-Main Campus report the highest earnings?

The highest-earning programs at New Mexico State University-Main Campus are concentrated in engineering, and they are not the largest programs by degrees awarded. Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical/Space Engineering graduates earn a median of $96,510 four years after completion, from 68 degrees awarded a year.

Azimuth ranks it #31 nationally among nonprofit four-year institutions in its field. Nursing is the largest single program, with 153 degrees awarded and median earnings of $78,951.

That figure for a high-volume program sits well below the engineering fields. Criminal Justice and Liberal Arts and General Studies are the next largest, awarding 149 and 129 degrees respectively, with earnings at $49,834 and $43,872.

The pattern is one of moderate earnings in the largest programs and a cluster of higher-earning, smaller engineering fields. Computer and Information Sciences is the exception that bridges the two, with 106 degrees awarded and median earnings of $94,024, ranking #77 nationally.

New Mexico State University-Main Campus has 32 bachelor's programs with an Azimuth national rank. Azimuth ranks Engineering Technologies/Technicians #4 within its field, with 47 degrees awarded and median earnings of $81,690 four years after completion.

Azimuth ranks Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical/Space Engineering #31 within its field, with median earnings of $96,510 four years after completion, the highest on the campus, from 68 degrees a year. Computer and Information Sciences also earns strongly, at $94,024.

Azimuth ranks it #77 within its field, with 106 degrees a year. The largest program is Nursing, at 153 degrees a year.

Azimuth ranks it #252 within its field, and graduates earn $78,951 four years out.

Highest reported four-year program earnings

Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical/Space Engineering: $96,510
Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering: $95,683
Computer and Information Sciences, General: $94,024
Chemical Engineering: $90,091
Mechanical Engineering: $85,742
Engineering Technologies/Technicians, General: $81,690
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing: $78,951
Civil Engineering: $74,115

Explore New Mexico State University-Main Campus program cohorts and field ranks for more context.

Further analysis

The program mix frames a broad set of earnings scenarios: $40,233 in the downside case, $54,874 in the typical case, and $86,837 in the upside case. Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical/Space Engineering has median earnings of $96,510 four years after completion, whereas Liberal Arts and General Studies, the lowest-earning field among the largest programs, has $43,872. The spread shows substantial variation by field.

At New Mexico State University-Main Campus, federally aided graduates who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $54,874 four years after completion. That is $10,736 below the $65,610 median for comparable institutions (same type and size), and Azimuth places the figure in the 32nd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Graduates earn about $5,442 more than the model expects for similar students. The gap sits at the 72nd percentile.

Earnings scenarios, estimated from the program mix, show a wide range: a typical scenario of $54,874, a downside scenario of $40,233, and an upside scenario of $86,837. An estimated 27.3% of graduates continue to graduate study, based on the program mix.

Data & methodology

Sources and reporting periods: methodology.

Analysis and methodology by Daniel Rogers, founder of College Azimuth.

Explanatory text is AI-assisted drafting checked against those figures; it is not an additional data source.

Figure notes link to sources and limitations. About College Azimuth.