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State files updated Oct 27, 2026
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Home / General Contractors / New Mexico

How to become a general contractor in New Mexico

Most general contractors in New Mexico start in an apprenticeship or a helper job and learn on the job. The contractor license comes later, if you run your own business.

1registered apprenticeship programs$36.12median an hour in New Mexico

Pick your way in

Apprenticeship

Earn while you learn

A program hires you, pays you on the job and runs your classes.

Pay
From day one
In NM
1 registered programs
Find a program near you
Trade school

Classroom first

Learn the basics, then find work to log your hours.

Pay
You pay tuition
In NM
11 schools with programs
Compare 11 schools
Helper

Start on a crew

Get hired as a helper by a licensed general contractor and log hours on the job.

Pay
Paid on the job
Start
No experience needed
How to get started

The license steps

  1. Get hired or start training

    Join a registered apprenticeship, take a trade school program, or work as a helper for a licensed contractor.

    Compare the ways in
  2. Work as a general contractor

    Median pay in New Mexico is $36.12 an hour.

    General Contractor pay in New Mexico
  3. Run your own shop

    Four years of work experience within the last 10 years in the classification for most classes (some, such as GA-2, require two). Approved technical training can replace up to half of the required experience, counting each year of training as half a year.

    Issued by
    NM Regulation and Licensing Dept - Construction Industries Division (CID)
    New Mexico contractor license
Pay once you're working

$75,130

a year is the median for general contractors in New Mexico ($36.12 an hour, May 2025).3

Pay by city and percentile
  1. Farmington$36.79
  2. Albuquerque$36.09
  3. Las Cruces$33.02
  4. Santa Fe$32.52
New Mexico median $36.12 an hour

Questions

Do you need a license to work on your own as a general contractor in New Mexico?

Yes. New Mexico licenses general contractors through the NM Regulation and Licensing Dept.1

Are general contractors in demand in New Mexico?

Projections Central expects about 630 general contractor openings a year in New Mexico through 2034, counting new jobs and people leaving the trade.2

Next step

Find an apprenticeship near you

1 registered programs in New Mexico. Enter your ZIP to see the closest ones and what they ask for.

Find a program

More for general contractors in New Mexico

Sources

  1. NM Regulation and Licensing Dept - Construction Industries Division (CID) contractor licensing (rld.nm.gov, 2026-10-27)
  2. Projections Central, long-term occupational projections 2024-2034 (projectionscentral.org, 2024-2034)
  3. BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, New Mexico, May 2025 (bls.gov, May 2025)