US News: New Mexico 49th in “Best States” report

Surprising absolutely no one who pays attention to these things New Mexico ranked an absolutely pitiful 49th (out of 50) in the latest US News and World Reports “Best States” index which was just released.  You can see the variables and read the report for yourself, but New Mexico ranks 50th in education, 48th in crime, a shockingly poor 44th in infrastructure, and a surprisingly poor 32nd in natural environment.

While historical data from US News are hard to find, New Mexico has never performed especially well in the report. We did find a 2019 version of the report (Michelle Lujan Grisham’s first year as Gov.) which ranked New Mexico 46th overall. Notable was that in 2019 the State’s infrastructure ranked a respectable 17th. By 2024 New Mexico has fallen to an abysmal 44th.