Salaries in Roswell, NM

Here’s something that’ll catch you off guard: the highest-paid job in Roswell isn’t some aerospace engineer decoding alien secrets. It’s software development, pulling in a median of nearly $125,000. For a city of 47,000 people, that’s a serious outlier.

Don’t let that fool you into thinking you’re in a high-cost tech hub, though. With a cost of living index of 93.5—about 6.5% below the national average—your paycheck stretches. A median household income of $50,294 feels modest, but pair it with a one-bedroom rent of just $935 a month, and suddenly that salary buys you a decent life. You’re not getting a coastal bargain, but you’re certainly not getting squeezed.

Roswell’s economy runs on the basics: healthcare, education, and trades. You’ll find solid work at Eastern New Mexico University-Roswell or at the local hospital. The city’s top-paying roles after that software developer are your standard middle-class anchors—accountants, registered nurses, and elementary school teachers, all earning in the low-to-mid $80s. The electrician in the top five is no surprise; you need someone to wire the new houses going up.

Here’s my honest take: it’s a stable place, not a growth rocket. Unemployment is a healthy 4%, and the COL-adjusted average salary of about $60,000 means a single earner can live comfortably. But with only 19.6% of folks holding a bachelor’s degree, the ceiling for white-collar pay is pretty clear. This city works best for skilled tradespeople, healthcare workers, and teachers who want their dollars to go far.

The numbers below tell the real story of who wins—and who might want to look elsewhere.