New Mexico

How New Mexico ranks among the states

Among the 50 states and D.C., New Mexico ranks 18th for financial distress, and heavy borrowing isn’t the reason. Household debt per person with a credit report, $49,260 at the end of 2025, was the 13th lowest of any state (Federal Reserve Bank of New York), and bankruptcy filings were the 9th lowest per resident. Even so, many fall behind: in early 2025, 19.8% of New Mexicans with a credit record had a debt 90 or more days late, the 12th highest share (Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia). The biggest push now comes from jobs (see jobs).

Which way it’s heading

Is New Mexico a poor state?

Yes, by most measures, though it isn’t the poorest. Its poverty rate was 15.8% in 2024, the 5th highest of the 50 states and D.C., behind Louisiana, Mississippi, D.C. and West Virginia. Its child poverty rate was 20.5%, the 4th highest rate (Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates). The typical household earned $67,838, the 8th lowest income, against $81,604 nationwide.

New Mexico’s poorest and most distressed counties

By the Census Bureau’s poverty rate, the poorest county is Socorro, at 28.5% in 2024. Luna County, around Deming, has the lowest typical household income, $41,456 (Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates). On our County Distress Index, which rates household financial distress in every U.S. county, Cibola County, around Grants, is the most distressed in New Mexico, just ahead of McKinley County, around Gallup. Both score 95, meaning each is more distressed than 95% of U.S. counties. Los Alamos is the least distressed of all 3,144 U.S. counties.

Every county, by score

Of New Mexico’s 33 counties, 8 score 80 or more, and 26.0% of New Mexicans live in them. Bernalillo County, home to Albuquerque, ranks 26th most distressed in the state; Doña Ana County, home to Las Cruces, 6th; and Santa Fe County 32nd. Los Alamos is the only county below 30.

All 33 New Mexico counties, ranked →

Is New Mexico expensive to live in?

Housing costs less than in most of the country, but incomes are lower too. The median rent, $1,067 a month from 2020 to 2024, was the 16th lowest of the 50 states and D.C., against $1,413 nationwide (Census Bureau). That rent takes 18.9% of the typical New Mexico household’s income, a little less than the 20.8% it takes nationally (our calculation). About one in four renter households, 25.7% in 2024, spent half or more of their income on housing. We don’t track the prices of food, gas or other goods, so we can’t rank New Mexico’s overall cost of living, and we have no figures for Albuquerque alone.

What changed in New Mexico in the past year

1. Oct. 6, 2026

   Regulators’ staff ask for an investigation of PNM’s estimated bills

   PNM, an electric company, told the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission on July 20 that a shortage of meter readers in Alamogordo and Ruidoso could mean more than two months of estimated bills; by Aug. 28 the problem had spread across its service area. PNM suspended late fees and shutoffs, offered payment plans and was reading meters normally again by mid-September. After a Sept. 29 town hall in Alamogordo, the commission’s public-interest staff asked it to open a formal investigation, including independent meter tests, to find out whether customers were overcharged. Alamogordo is in Otero County, the 14th most distressed county in the state.

   New Mexico Public Regulation Commission, Oct. 6, 2026

2. April 1, 2026

   PNM electric bills take their second step up

   The second half of a rate increase the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission approved in May 2025 added about $6.23 a month to the average PNM home bill; a similar step came in July 2025. The money goes to wildfire prevention, grid upgrades and battery storage. As part of the approval, PNM must put $1.5 million of its own money into its Good Neighbor Fund, which helps customers who struggle to pay.

   New Mexico Public Regulation Commission, customer notice

3. March 10, 2026

   Free child care for every family becomes state law

   Since Nov. 1, 2025, New Mexico has paid for child care for families at any income. The governor signed Senate Bill 241 into law on March 10, 2026; the state says it is the first to guarantee no-cost child care. Between the launch and the signing, 12,666 more families and 16,706 more children enrolled, and more than half of the new enrollees already qualified under the old income limits, the governor’s office said. Co-pays can return only under set economic conditions, and then only for households earning more than $163,920 a year.

   Office of the Governor, March 10, 2026; Feb. 19, 2026

4. Jan. 1, 2026

   Federal health plan credits shrink; a state fund keeps paying

   The larger federal tax credits for marketplace health plans expired Dec. 31, 2025. New Mexico’s Health Care Affordability Fund kept lowering premiums and out-of-pocket costs for people who buy coverage through BeWell, the state’s marketplace: lawmakers approved $17.3 million in an October 2025 special session to run through June 30, 2026, on top of the $21.5 million they approved in January 2025.

   Office of the Governor, Jan. 6, 2026

5. Jan. 1, 2026

   New federal SNAP work rules begin

   New federal work requirements for SNAP began Jan. 1, 2026, applied as each household renews; the New Mexico Health Care Authority estimates that about 35,277 SNAP members now face them. After holding steady from April to October 2025, the state’s SNAP count started falling in November 2025, before the rules took effect. It went from 457,974 people in October 2025 to 435,290 in June 2026 (U.S. Department of Agriculture). The count alone doesn’t say why it fell.

   New Mexico Health Care Authority, federal SNAP changes (estimated as of July 8, 2026)

6. Nov. 10, 2025

   The state backs up food benefits during the federal shutdown

   With November SNAP benefits in doubt during the federal government shutdown, lawmakers in a special session passed House Bill 1, letting the state spend up to $20 million a week from its reserves on food benefits through the week of Jan. 19, 2026, only if federal money failed. The state had already paid full November benefits on Nov. 7 for families whose benefits were due between Nov. 1 and Nov. 8.

   Office of the Governor, Nov. 10, 2025

New Mexico’s unemployment rate rose over the past year even as jobs grew

New Mexico’s unemployment rate was 4.7% in August 2026, up from 4.1% a year earlier. New Mexico was one of 10 states where the rise was large enough for the Bureau of Labor Statistics to count it as a real change. Over the same year, employers in the state added 14,500 jobs, a 1.6% gain that tied Louisiana and South Carolina for the fastest of any state. The two figures come from different surveys: the jobless rate counts people where they live, and the job count tallies jobs where employers are, the bureau notes. New Mexico’s rate has been above the nation’s every month since January 2026, though in August the bureau did not count the gap as a real difference.

Unemployment claims are filed with the New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions. The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis publishes the size of New Mexico’s economy.

How many New Mexicans are falling behind on bills?

About one in five. In early 2025, 19.8% of New Mexicans with a credit record had a debt 90 or more days late, the 12th highest share among the 50 states and D.C., against 17.2% for the U.S. (Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia). We weight the states by population to get the national figure. That counts household debts such as car loans, credit cards and mortgages, not state government debt.

Borrowing is lower than in most states. At the end of 2025 New Mexicans owed $49,260 per person with a credit report, against $63,200 nationwide, and $3,520 a person on credit cards, 10th lowest of the 50 states and D.C. (Federal Reserve Bank of New York). Car loans stand out: by the share of borrowers far behind, New Mexico ranks 9th highest.

New Mexico borrowers fall behind on car loans more often than borrowers nationwide; on cards they match the U.S.

Percent of New Mexico and U.S. borrowers at least 90 days late on each kind of loan, and percent with a debt sent to collectors, January to March 2025

People with a debt in collections

New Mexico 15.9% U.S. 13.2%

Card borrowers 90+ days late

New Mexico 13.5% U.S. 13.5%

Auto borrowers 90+ days late

New Mexico 10.6% U.S. 8.5%

Mortgage borrowers 90+ days late

New Mexico 1.4% U.S. 1.2%

New Mexico’s place among the 50 states and D.C., counting from the highest: car loans 9th, mortgages tied for 12th, debts in collections 13th, cards 21st. Each U.S. bar is our population-weighted average of the states.

The share of card borrowers 90 or more days behind climbed from 11.1% at the end of 2019 to 13.5% in early 2025. The share with a debt in collections fell from 24.3% to 15.9% over the same years. Most of that fall came between early 2022 and mid-2023, from 20.1% to 14.7%, so it doesn’t mean fewer people were unable to pay. In 2022, the three big credit bureaus said they would stop reporting certain medical debts. Nationwide, the share of people with a medical collection on their record went from about 14% in March 2022 to about 5% in June 2023 (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau).

Mortgages: a little more trouble than the U.S.

In September 2025, 1.8% of New Mexico mortgages were 30 to 89 days late, an early stage of falling behind, against 1.6% nationwide (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau). In the second quarter of 2026, 5.2% of mortgages had less than 10% equity, a thin cushion if a home must be sold (Federal Housing Finance Agency).

New Mexicans file for bankruptcy at less than half the U.S. rate

New Mexicans filed 1,660 bankruptcy cases in 2025, or 77.9 for every 100,000 residents (2024 population), the 9th lowest rate of the 50 states and D.C., against 167.1 nationwide (U.S. Courts). Filings have still risen three years in a row, up 16.9% in 2025 alone, to the most since 2020. Almost all are Chapter 7 cases, 86.3%, the 3rd highest share. In Chapter 7, a court trustee sells any property the law doesn’t protect to pay creditors, and most remaining debts are wiped out. Only 12.9% were Chapter 13, which repays debts through a court plan over three to five years; nationwide the share is 35.9%.

How foreclosure works in New Mexico

Most New Mexico home foreclosures go through a court. For a home loan covered by the state’s Home Loan Protection Act, the mortgage company must first send a notice giving you at least 30 days to catch up. You can also catch up and keep the loan any time before the home’s title changes hands. Federal rules generally add a wait: on a home you live in, the company usually can’t begin until you’re more than 120 days behind. After the court’s judgment, the sale can’t happen for at least 30 days. After the sale, you can still buy the home back within nine months of the court’s order approving it, unless the mortgage shortens that to as little as one month. The Second Judicial District Court in Albuquerque runs the Statewide Foreclosure Settlement Program, which helps homeowners and lenders reach an agreement. Despite the name, it only covers districts that have joined it, so ask your district court whether it’s offered in your county.

New Mexico received $55.8 million from the federal Homeowner Assistance Fund; through the first quarter of 2026 it had helped 5,703 households with mortgage payments and other housing costs (U.S. Treasury).

What New Mexico homeowners complain about most: problems making payments

New Mexicans have filed 1,911 mortgage complaints with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau since December 2011. The biggest group, 502, was about trouble during the payment process. Next came loan servicing, payments and escrow (371); then loan modifications, collections and foreclosure (337). The bureau used those two categories until April 2017.

What to watch before the next edition

Scheduled dates before the next edition: a jobs report, health plan sign-up and the start of the 2027 legislative session.

1. Oct. 20, 2026

   September’s state jobless rates

   September’s jobless rates for every state are due from the Bureau of Labor Statistics on Oct. 20. New Mexico’s August rate was 4.7%, up from 4.1% a year earlier.

   Bureau of Labor Statistics, State Employment and Unemployment, August 2026

2. Nov. 1, 2026 to Jan. 15, 2027

   Health plan sign-up, with higher 2027 prices

   BeWell’s open enrollment runs Nov. 1 to Jan. 15. The state approved 2027 rates that rise 24.4% on average, starting Jan. 1, 2027; 92% of BeWell enrollees qualify for state and federal premium help based on income, and the state fund is expected to keep lowering costs in 2027, the Office of Superintendent of Insurance said.

   New Mexico Office of Superintendent of Insurance, Sept. 1, 2026

3. Jan. 19, 2027

   The Legislature opens its 2027 session

   Lawmakers may prefile bills from Jan. 4 to Jan. 15. The session opens at noon on Jan. 19 and ends at noon on March 20.

   New Mexico Legislature, session dates

Where New Mexico ranks highest and lowest