Court, Municipal, and License Clerks Salary
Court, Municipal, and License Clerks in Santa Fe, NM make a median of $47,720 a year, or about $22.94 an hour. The range runs from $44K at the entry level to $52K for experienced workers. Adjusted for local prices (RPP 98.77), that's roughly $48,314 in purchasing power. A 2-bedroom apartment runs $1,685/month, about 51.8% of take-home, which is tight.
So what does $48K get you in Santa Fe?
Groceries, utilities, transportation, and healthcare scaled from national averages by Santa Fe’s Regional Price Parity (98.77). Rent from HUD Fair Market Rents. Taxes estimated for single filer, standard deduction. * Healthcare is the employee-paid share only (premiums + out-of-pocket). Actual costs vary by coverage type: employer-sponsored, ACA marketplace, or uninsured.
About court, municipal, and license clerks
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What this looks like in Santa Fe
Court, municipal, and license clerks pay in Santa Fe tracks closely to the national median, $48K locally vs. $49K nationwide, a 2% difference. The catch: housing math doesn't keep up. A 2-bedroom at the HUD median rents for $1,685/month, which is 51.8% of the median worker's take-home, past the 30% guideline most planners use. Cost of living (RPP 98.77) is near the national average, so spending patterns here track the typical American budget fairly closely. Use the affordability calculator above to model your specific situation.
Compared to nearby metros
Median pay for court, municipal, and license clerks in metros near Santa Fe, adjusted for local cost of living.
| Metro | Median pay | COL-adjusted |
|---|---|---|
| Albuquerque | $47K | $49K |
| Las Cruces | $45K | $50K |
| Farmington | $47K | $54K |
| Fort Collins-Loveland | $37K | , |
COL-adjusted = median salary ÷ (BEA Regional Price Parity ÷ 100). Expresses purchasing power in national-average dollars.
Compensation breakdown
Annual earnings by percentile, Santa Fe, NM
Entry-level court, municipal, and license clerks (10th percentile) start around $44K. Mid-career wages sit at $48K. Top earners bring in $52K or more, a $8K spread from bottom to top.
Court, Municipal, and License Clerks pay across states
Median income ranked highest to lowest, compared to the national figure
View Court, Municipal, and License Clerks salary in all states
| State | Median salary | vs. national | Employment |
|---|---|---|---|
| District of Columbia | $66K | +36% | 50 |
| Washington | $65K | +33% | 3,450 |
| California | $63K | +30% | 12,460 |
| Massachusetts | $62K | +27% | 4,360 |
| Rhode Island | $62K | +27% | 660 |
| Oregon | $61K | +26% | 1,820 |
| Connecticut | $60K | +24% | 1,300 |
| Maryland | $58K | +20% | 2,360 |
| Nevada | $57K | +16% | 1,250 |
| Minnesota | $57K | +16% | 5,360 |
| Alaska | $54K | +11% | 650 |
| North Dakota | $54K | +11% | 600 |
| New Jersey | $54K | +10% | 5,710 |
| New York | $54K | +10% | 11,850 |
| Vermont | $53K | +9% | 890 |
| Wisconsin | $52K | +7% | 1,240 |
| Hawaii | $52K | +7% | 510 |
| Utah | $51K | +5% | 1,280 |
| Colorado | $50K | +4% | 7,920 |
| North Carolina | $49K | +1% | 5,240 |
| Arizona | $49K | +0% | 3,560 |
| Michigan | $49K | -0% | 5,620 |
| Maine | $49K | -0% | 1,150 |
| Idaho | $48K | -1% | 1,500 |
| Nebraska | $48K | -1% | 1,210 |
| Iowa | $48K | -1% | 2,390 |
| Ohio | $48K | -1% | 9,550 |
| Florida | $47K | -3% | 11,180 |
| New Mexico | $47K | -4% | 1,040 |
| Illinois | $47K | -4% | 8,370 |
| New Hampshire | $47K | -4% | 550 |
| Texas | $47K | -4% | 15,730 |
| Louisiana | $47K | -4% | 2,900 |
| Wyoming | $47K | -4% | 770 |
| Indiana | $46K | -5% | 3,460 |
| Montana | $46K | -6% | 1,340 |
| Virginia | $46K | -6% | 4,610 |
| Pennsylvania | $45K | -8% | 3,320 |
| Kansas | $45K | -8% | 1,290 |
| Tennessee | $45K | -8% | 3,050 |
| Delaware | $45K | -8% | 980 |
| South Dakota | $44K | -10% | 920 |
| Kentucky | $44K | -10% | 2,370 |
| South Carolina | $43K | -11% | 2,020 |
| Georgia | $43K | -12% | 5,750 |
| Missouri | $41K | -16% | 4,760 |
| Oklahoma | $39K | -20% | 2,730 |
| Alabama | $38K | -21% | 2,050 |
| West Virginia | $38K | -22% | 1,590 |
| Mississippi | $37K | -24% | 2,950 |
| Arkansas | $37K | -24% | 2,090 |
Showing 1–10 of 51 (all 50 states + DC)
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Frequently asked questions
Can a court, municipal, and license clerk afford a 2BR apartment alone in Santa Fe?
It’s a stretch — at the median salary of $48K, rent takes 51.8% of take-home pay. A 2-bedroom at the HUD Fair Market Rent runs $1,685/month. The 30% guideline puts the comfortable ceiling at roughly $1,000/month in rent — so roommates or a 1-bedroom would ease the math significantly.
What’s the entry-level salary for court, municipal, and license clerks in Santa Fe?
The 10th-percentile wage — what new court, municipal, and license clerks typically earn — is $44K/year. Take-home on that works out to about $2,638/month. At HUD’s $1,685/month FMR, rent would take 64% of that take-home — above the 30% guideline, so a 1-bedroom or shared housing is likely necessary starting out.
Is court, municipal, and license clerk a high-paying job in Santa Fe?
Pay here is roughly in line with the national average — $48K locally vs. $49K nationally, a 2% difference.
How does Santa Fe compare to the national average for court, municipal, and license clerks?
Santa Fe pays $48K median vs. the U.S. average of $49K — that’s -2%. After adjusting for local cost of living (RPP 98.77), the purchasing-power equivalent is $48K — below the national median.
How much do court, municipal, and license clerks make in Santa Fe, NM?
The median is $47,720 a year, that works out to about $23 an hour. But the range is wide: entry-level workers start around $43,970, and experienced court, municipal, and license clerks can clear $52,210. These are BLS numbers, based on employer-reported data, not self-reported surveys.
Is $48K enough to live in Santa Fe?
On that salary, you'd take home roughly $3,253/month after taxes. A 2-bedroom here rents for about $1,685/month, which eats 51.8% of your paycheck. That's above the 30% rule of thumb, housing will be a stretch at the median salary, though you can manage with roommates or a smaller place.
How far does a court, municipal, and license clerks salary go in Santa Fe?
Santa Fe has a Regional Price Parity of 98.77 (100 is the national average). That's below average, your money stretches further here than the raw salary number suggests. After cost-of-living adjustment, the median court, municipal, and license clerks salary is worth about $48,314 in national-average purchasing power.
Where do court, municipal, and license clerks get paid the most?
The table above ranks every state by median pay for this role. Keep in mind that the highest-paying states tend to have the highest costs of living, so the top salary doesn't always mean the most money in your pocket.