New Mexico ranked 2nd-most federally-dependent state in US
New Mexico has long been incredibly reliant on the federal government. Thanks to its high poverty levels, federal land ownership, AND the large number of federal installations (with a small private sector), New Mexico receives an astonishing $3.26 in federal funding for every $1.oo paid according to a new report from Wallethub. That makes New Mexico the 2nd-most dependent state in the nation trailing only Alaska.
New Mexico’s federal dependency seems to transcend its recent boom in oil and gas which has not been used by its political leadership to diversity its economy. The Wallethub report states the following about New Mexico:
Wallethub rates it a “high tax, high dependency” state as the chart below notes:
Source: WalletHub