New Mexico’s Economic & Social Health:
Existing Policies Are Failing

Damon Hill, Fatima Portugal, and Greg Mello, October 20, 2005 

• New Mexico ranked 50^th (last) overall for social health policies two years in a row (2002-2003; Fordham Institute for Innovation in Social Policy).[1]

• New Mexico’s Poverty Rate and State Ranking 1969-2004 (U.S. Census Bureau)

	1969	1979	1989[2]	1998[3]	2004[4]
Poverty Rate	22.8%	17.6%	20.6%	20.4%	19.3%
State Ranking in terms of Poverty Rate  (51 = lowest)	45	45	49	50	48

• Childhood Poverty Rate and State Ranking 1989-2004 (U.S. Census Bureau)

	1989	1993	1998[5]	2001	2004[6]
Poverty Rate	26.6%	30.6%	27.1%	23.6%	27.7%
State Ranking in terms of Poverty Rate  (51 = lowest)	47	49	50	48	48

• The wealth gap between the poorest fifth and the richest fifth has grown from an 8.5 ratio (late 1970s) to a 9.8 ratio (late 1990s), to the third-highest income disparity among the states.[7]

• New Mexico’s per capita personal income rank relative to the states and the District of Columbia has gone from 40^th in 1929 up to a peak of 34^th in 1959 and then down to 48^th in 2004.[8]  See graph on following page.  

• New Mexico’s rural schools ranked second in the country as “most urgently in need of help” according to The Rural School and Community Trust (2005).[9]  New Mexico was 16^th in terms of urgency in 2003 – a drop of 14 places in national rank in just two years.

• New Mexico has the highest rate of rural families with school-age children living below the federal poverty line of any state (23.3%; The Rural School and Community Trust).[10]   

• New Mexico’s high school graduation rate (65%) ranks near the bottom in the nation (39^th) according to a Center for American Progress study.[11]

• New Mexico’s fourth grade students ranked 49^th in reading and 49^th in math on the nation’s report card (NAEP). Eight graders ranked 50^th in reading and 49^th in math.[12]

• New Mexico was the “dumbest” state for three years in a row (2002-2004) in a Morgan Quitno Press national ranking.[13]

• New Mexico’s national rank in five key indicators of educational performance fell significantly from 1992 to 2002 (see table on separate page below).

• New Mexico ranks last in the country for the percentage of children living with a parent who lacks a secure year-round job (34%; Annie E. Casey Foundation “Kids Count” report).[14]

• New Mexico ranks second to last for the percentage of children living in families headed by a single parent (36%; Annie E. Casey Foundation “Kids Count” report).[15]

• New Mexico ranks 46^th in overall child well-being, according to the 2005 “Kids Count” report (released July, 2005).[16]

• New Mexico has fallen from 22^nd (1993) to the 48^th (2005) healthiest state over the last 12 years in a Morgan Quitno Press annual ranking of the fifty states.[17]

• New Mexico’s violent crime rate has risen, driving its national rank down from 40^th (2003) to 47^th (2005) according to the United Health Foundation.[18]

• New Mexico ties with Nevada for the highest rate of violent deaths, including homicide and suicide, per capita (New Mexico Health Policy Commission).[19]

• New Mexico has had the highest rate of total drug overdose deaths in the nation since the 1990's; that rate has steadily increased since 1994 (New Mexico Health Policy Commission).[20]

• New Mexico’s accidental death rate was 65.6% higher than the U.S. rate (2002) and the suicide rate was 75% higher than the U.S. rate (2002) according a New Mexico Health Policy Commission report.[21]