New Mexico’s stagnant population under MLG

Despite beautiful weather and unique outdoor opportunities. Despite being located in the fastest growing part of our nation (the American Southwest) and despite an ongoing oil and gas boom that has unlocked tens-of-billions of dollars, New Mexico remains poorly governed, educated, and flat-out poor. And it seems like everyone outside of New Mexico knows this. That’s a big reason our population has been so stagnant.

Don’t believe me? Check out the full “State of the Workforce” report from NM’s Department of Workforce Solutions. I have posted one particularly relevant page below. It shows population changes by county and overall.

New Mexico’s population growth between 2019 and 2024 was entirely driven by international migration. Since 2019, the natural decrease of the population was
estimated at 4,958 people, the result of 113,730 births and 118,688 deaths. Also, 10,120 more people left New Mexico to move to another state than moved into the State. the ONLY reason New Mexico gained people over this time span was due to international migration.

Also striking is the loss of population in New Mexico’s largest (by population) county Bernalillo. That strongly implies that Albuquerque is losing population (-13,614). Dona Ana and Sandoval were some of the fastest growing.