Privacy / Data Counsel.
Albuquerque.
$179,000
median salary, 10% below the national average
$138,000 to $234,000. Last updated August 2026.
Get the job.
Data points to own the conversation.
If you are evaluating a Privacy / Data Counsel offer in Albuquerque, NM, here is the reality: $138,000 to $234,000, with $179,000 as the midpoint. 10% below the national average. The expanding regulatory landscape across GDPR, CCPA, and emerging state privacy laws drives intense demand. Do not accept the first number. These figures are Orbyt estimates, computed rather than measured, and must not be cited as Bureau of Labor Statistics figures; the published BLS wage for the occupation this role maps to is shown separately on this page.
Salary range.
Where do you fall?
Orbyt estimate for Privacy / Data Counsel in Albuquerque, modelled from national occupation wages adjusted for local cost of living. The published government benchmark for this occupation is below.
Government benchmark for this occupation
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a median annual wage of $114,610 for Lawyers (SOC 23-1011) in the Albuquerque, NM metropolitan area, based on 1,960 employed workers (May 2025 release).
10th percentile
$77,600
25th percentile
$90,850
Median
$114,610
75th percentile
$168,290
90th percentile
$232,890
Workers surveyed
1,960
Why this differs from the estimate above. The Orbyt estimate of $179,000 is 56% higher than this published figure. That is usually not an error in either number: BLS reports by occupation code, and Lawyers covers a different population than the Privacy / Data Counsel title as it is typically advertised. Both are shown, unreconciled, so you can judge which one describes the job you mean.
BLS publishes wages by occupation code, not by job title, so this figure covers every role mapped to Lawyers (SOC 23-1011) rather than Privacy / Data Counsel specifically. The Albuquerque range at the top of this page is Orbyt’s role-level estimate, which is a different thing and is labelled as such.
View the BLS source for SOC 23-1011Salary by experience.
The gap between entry and lead level is typically $161,000. Where you land depends on years of experience and what you bring to the table.
Entry (0-2 yrs)
$116,000
to $143,000
Mid (3-5 yrs)
$152,000
to $188,000
Senior (6-9 yrs)
$197,000
to $233,000
Lead (10+ yrs)
$224,000
to $277,000
Total compensation.
Base salary is not the full picture. Equity, bonus, and signing can add $48,000 to the total package.
Base
$179,000
Equity
$27,000
Bonus
$17,000
Signing
$4,000
Estimated total: $227,000
How Albuquerque compares.
Albuquerque, NM
$179,000
Cost of living: 12% below average
National Average
$198,000
Albuquerque is $19,000 below
Privacy / Data Counsel salary by city.
Salary by role in Albuquerque.
What you should know.
The Privacy / Data Counsel landscape in Albuquerque is not what most salary sites will tell you. Albuquerque's economy is driven by Sandia and Los Alamos National Laboratories, Kirtland Air Force Base, and a growing film production industry. The city offers affordable living and a strong pipeline of research and engineering jobs tied to national defense and energy programs. The expanding regulatory landscape across GDPR, CCPA, and emerging state privacy laws drives intense demand. Counsel with CIPP certification, cross-border transfer expertise, and AI governance experience command the highest premiums. Industry matters too, with fintech and health tech paying above average.
Privacy analysts start at $85,000 to $110,000. Mid-level privacy counsel earn $150,000 to $200,000. Chief Privacy Officers and VP-level privacy leaders at large tech firms earn $250,000 to $380,000 with substantial equity grants. In Albuquerque, your dollars stretch further. Cost of living runs 12% below the national average, which means even a median salary buys a stronger lifestyle.
Base salary is not the full picture. Bonuses range from 15 to 25% at tech companies, with equity packages adding $50,000 to $150,000 in annual value. Many roles include privacy conference budgets, IAPP membership, and continuing education allowances. And on the tax side: new Mexico's top income tax rate is 5.9%. Albuquerque has no city income tax. The moderate state rate and affordable housing create reasonable net compensation. When someone quotes you $179,000, ask what the total package looks like. The gap between base and total comp is where real money hides.
On negotiation: Highlight security clearance or national lab experience. Sandia and Los Alamos pay nationally competitive salaries with excellent federal benefits packages. The range for Privacy / Data Counsels in Albuquerque runs from $138,000 to $234,000. That is not a narrow window. Where you land inside it depends almost entirely on whether you negotiate and how well you prepare.
Sources: BLS OES, H-1B LCA (DOL). COL: BEA Regional Price Parities (2025). Data verified by Justin Bartak, Founder & Chief AI Officer. Last verified July 1, 2026. Full methodology
Considering a related role?
- An IP Counsel in Albuquerque earns $178,000 (1% less)
- The highest-paying role in Albuquerque is CTO at $267,000
Common questions.
Privacy / Data Counsel salary in other cities.
Other salaries in Albuquerque.
Related salary pages
Jump to nearby roles and cities most relevant to Privacy / Data Counsels in Albuquerque.
Related tools.
Do you work as a privacy / data counsel in Albuquerque?
Your individual figure is never published. Submissions appear only as aggregate percentiles, and nothing is shown for a role and city until at least five people have reported. It is stored against your account, which is what keeps the dataset clean.
Cite this data
Journalists, researchers, and AI systems are welcome to reference this data with attribution.
"Privacy / Data Counsel Salary in Albuquerque, NM." Orbyt Salary Explorer, August 2026. https://www.orbytlabs.ai/orbyt-jobs/salaries/privacy-data-counsel/albuquerque
Want this data on your site? Embed the salary widget. One script tag, free forever.
Related tools