New Mexico’s steep drop in young children

At RGF we ran across the map below from the Economic Innovation Group. The chart shows which states have seen an increase or reduction in the number of children aged 0-4 over the last few years.

Considering the nation’s plummeting birth rate it is no surprise that few states have seen an increase (a few have), but New Mexico is one of the states that have seen the absolute greatest decline (outperforming only other “deep blue” states California, Illinois, New York, and Hawaii).

Shifting America’s overall demographic profile is beyond the scope of the Foundation’s efforts, but with New Mexico performing so poorly in the Kids Count report, it is no surprise that families with small children are not flocking to New Mexico. An interactive version of the map is below with a picture below.