Report: New Mexico receives $1.69 for every $1.00 it sends to Uncle Sam

New Mexico has always been a big recipient of federal tax dollars (at least since the 1940s). A new report from Key Policy Data sheds some additional light on just how much New Mexico receives and which areas of New Mexico are more and less reliant on Washington, DC.

In Fiscal Year (FY) 2013, New Mexico is the third biggest net receiver of federal spending relative to federal taxes paid. Only Kentucky and Mississippi received more.

The report further breaks the situation down on a county-by-county basis:

The top ten New Mexico counties with the highest federal tax and spending ratios include:

Los Alamos County, NM ($6.52)
Mora County, NM ($3.62)
Hidalgo County, NM ($3.53)
Guadalupe County, NM ($3.49)
Sierra County, NM ($2.59)
San Miguel County, NM ($2.52)
Quay County, NM ($2.51)
McKinley County, NM ($2.49)
Otero County, NM ($2.28)
Curry County, NM ($2.26)

The bottom ten New Mexico counties with the lowest federal tax and spend ratios include (only 2 counties receive less in federal spending than they pay in federal taxes):

Sandoval County, NM ($0.61)
Lea County, NM ($0.86)
Valencia County, NM ($1.04)
San Juan County, NM ($1.08)
Eddy County, NM ($1.17)
Lincoln County, NM ($1.19)
Torrance County, NM ($1.30)
Santa Fe County, NM ($1.48)
Chaves County, NM ($1.51)
Dona Ana County, NM ($1.55)

The image below shows visually which counties receive more and less from Washington.