New Mexico Prosperity · LFC

Pathways to Prosperity

Where New Mexico Can Invest for Greatest Impact

New Mexico's current fiscal strength creates a rare opportunity to address longstanding gaps in educational attainment and workforce skills. Strategic investments made today can increase future earnings, expand economic opportunity, and strengthen the state's workforce for decades to come.

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The big idea

Education drives economic opportunity.

This LFC dashboard explores how investments in education, upskilling, and workforce development now can turn short-term wealth into long-term prosperity. Scroll on to see what it would actually take to meet three national benchmarks in these areas.

Benchmark 01 · Education

High School Graduation

+0
National average0%
New Mexico0%
~0%
Learn more about educational attainment & earnings
Benchmark 02 · Earnings

Weekly Earnings

$0
National avg. weekly wage$0
New Mexico$0
Why it matters: when earned income rises, reliance on government transfers decreases and the tax base increases.
Learn about weekly wages & purchasing power
Benchmark 03 · Work

Labor Force Participation

The numbers above count only prime working-age people already in the labor force. To match the nation:

+0
National (ages 25–54)0%
New Mexico (ages 25–54)0%
Why it matters: people disengaged from the labor force are far more likely to rely on social services and transfer payments to make ends meet — in New Mexico, transfers are already 25% of personal income, among the highest in the nation.
Learn about labor force participation & the safety net

Closing the Gaps

Learn more:

Educational attainment & earnings Weekly wages & purchasing power Labor force participation & the safety net
Pathways to Prosperity
Sub-page 1 of 3 · Education Next
New Mexico Prosperity · LFC

Educational Attainment

How does New Mexico increase educational attainment?

Educational attainment is a strong predictor of wages and life outcomes. A more educated population will give New Mexico the skilled workers it needs to attract high-wage industries.

+1,580
New Mexico graduates needed to reach the national average high-school graduation rate.
KPI 1.1

Educational attainment among adults 25+

Share of New Mexicans 25 and older at each level of education, compared with the U.S. (ACS 1-year 2024).
New Mexico United States

NM trails where earnings climb

SourceACS 1-year 2024, Table B15003
KPI 1.2

The Earnings Ladder: what each credential pays

Median annual earnings by highest credential, New Mexico vs U.S. — the payoff to each rung of education (ACS 1-year 2024).
New Mexico median

Your starting point matters

SourceACS 1-year 2024, Table S1501 / B20004
KPI 1.3

Bachelor's degree or higher over time, NM vs peers

Share of adults 25+ with a bachelor's degree or higher, 2005–2024. New Mexico and the U.S. are always shown; add up to two peer states to compare.
Add peers:
Data points: 2005, 2010, 2015, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 (no 2020 1-year ACS release). B15002 basis pre-2012.

Growing, but not catching up

SourceACS 1-year, Table B15003 (B15002 pre-2012)

Sector matters too

The biggest gap in earnings by attainment is at the bachelor’s level. The following section on earned income explores how job growth within certain high-wage sectors can help promote statewide prosperity by increasing average weekly wages.

$14,311
how much less a New Mexico bachelor’s-degree holder earns than the U.S. median
Next: Earned Income
Pathways to Prosperity
Sub-page 2 of 3 · Earnings Prev Next
New Mexico Prosperity · LFC

Earned Income

How does New Mexico create more high-wage jobs?

New Mexico has had some of the lowest wages in the nation for two decades. As educational attainment improves, earned income rises and reliance on government transfers falls. However, in order to realize the full potential of educational investments, New Mexico must focus on growing its high-wage industries.

+$326
more each week — what the average New Mexico private-sector worker would need to reach the national average wage (about $17,000 a year).
KPI 2.1

Earned income (net earnings) per capita, 2005–2024

Income from work per person — wages, salaries, and proprietors' (business owners') income, minus Social Security and other social-insurance contributions. New Mexico vs U.S.
New Mexico United States
Data points: 2005, 2010, 2015, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024. Dollars of the day (not adjusted for inflation).

Growing but not converging

SourceBEA SAINC30 line 120 (per-capita net earnings)
KPI 2.2

Personal income minus transfers per capita, NM vs peers (2024)

“Market income” per capita — everything the economy delivers to residents from both labor (what they earn from working) and capital (property income from investments and property), with government transfers removed.
New Mexico United States Peer states

Near the bottom of the peer set

SourceBEA SAINC30 line 110 − line 130
KPI 2.3

High-wage sector employment share (2024)

Share of private jobs in sectors whose average weekly wage exceeds the U.S. private-sector average — how far the job mix is tilted toward better-paying work.
New Mexico United States Peer states

Industry mix limits wage growth

SourceBLS QCEW 2024, high-wage sectors vs US private avg weekly wage
KPI 2.4

Weekly wages by sector, New Mexico (2024)

Average weekly wage by sector compared with each sector's share of NM private employment.
Where the jobs are — share of NM private employment
What each sector pays — average weekly wage

The biggest employers pay the least

SourceBLS QCEW 2024, sector avg weekly wage & employment share
◆ Interactive · What-if

What if New Mexico added jobs in a higher-wage sector?

If New Mexico added employment in a better-paying industry, how much would that add to the total wages paid to New Mexico workers each year?

020,000
$0
Sector avg. weekly wage
$0
Statewide avg. (before)
$0
Statewide avg. (after)
$0
Change per worker
+$0/wk
% change statewide
0%
Baseline workforce
0
How this is calculated

    SourceBLS CES/SAE weekly wages + total nonfarm employment

    Engaging more workers

    Higher-paying jobs lift earnings only for the New Mexicans who hold them. The next section turns to why the state’s labor force participation trails the nation, and how that gap shows up in its fiscal picture.

    Next: Employment
    Pathways to Prosperity
    Sub-page 3 of 3 · Work Prev
    New Mexico Prosperity · LFC

    Employment

    How does the economy change when more New Mexicans work?

    New Mexico has grown its private-sector jobs in recent decades, but many New Mexicans are still not participating in the workforce. That depressed participation has impacts on the state's finances.

    +38,471
    more prime working-age New Mexicans (25–54) would need to join the labor force for the state to match the national participation rate.
    KPI 3.1

    Private-sector employment over time, by sector (2005–2024)

    New Mexico non-farm employment by sector, in thousands of jobs — how the job base has grown and shifted over two decades.
    2005 jobs (thousands) 2024 jobs (thousands)

    Growing, and shifting toward services

    SourceBLS CES / state employment series, 2005–2024
    KPI 3.2

    Labor force participation by peer states (prime-age 25–54, 2024)

    Share of adults 25–54 who are working or actively looking, across New Mexico and its peers.
    New Mexico United States Peer states

    A 30-year structural gap

    SourceACS 1-year 2024, prime-age (25–54) LFPR + population
    KPI 3.3

    Transfer payments as a share of personal income (NM vs US, trend)

    Government transfer receipts (Social Security, Medicaid/Medicare, SNAP, etc.) as a percent of total personal income — a proxy for reliance on the safety net.
    New Mexico United States
    Data points: 2005, 2010, 2015, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024. 2021 reflects the pandemic transfer spike.

    Rises when fewer people work

    SourceBEA SAINC30 line 130 ÷ line 110
    ◆ Interactive · What-if

     

     

    1,00010,000
    10
    years to reach the U.S. participation rate
    +4.8
    points of prime-age participation to close
    Projected NM prime-age (25–54) participation rising toward a flat U.S. rate; the gold marker shows the convergence year at the chosen pace.
    How this is calculated

      SourceACS S2301 prime-age participation + population