New Mexico’s Largest Employers
New Mexico’s largest employers are Los Alamos National Laboratory, Sandia National Laboratories, Presbyterian Healthcare Services, the University of New Mexico, UNM Hospital, Albuquerque Public Schools, Walmart, the City of Albuquerque, and the state and federal governments. Each employs more than 5,000 people in the state.
Employer data current as of August 2025. Laboratory figures current as of fiscal year 2025. Sources listed at the foot of this page.
Employers with 5,000 or more employees
| Employer | Sector | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Los Alamos National Laboratory | Research and development | Los Alamos |
| Sandia National Laboratories | Research and development | Albuquerque |
| US federal government | Government | Statewide |
| New Mexico state government | Government | Statewide |
| Presbyterian Healthcare Services | Health care | Statewide |
| Albuquerque Public Schools | Education | Albuquerque |
| University of New Mexico | Education | Albuquerque |
| UNM Hospital | Health care | Albuquerque |
| Walmart | Retail | Statewide |
| City of Albuquerque | Government | Albuquerque |
The national laboratories
New Mexico’s two national laboratories are the state’s largest single employers and the anchor of its technical workforce.
Los Alamos National Laboratory employs a total workforce of approximately 18,000 people. That figure covers roughly 13,000 Triad National Security employees alongside 1,400 unionized craft workers, 1,600 students, 550 postdoctoral researchers, a 400-strong guard force and around 1,000 contractors. Two thirds of Laboratory employees live outside Los Alamos County, so the Laboratory’s hiring reach extends across northern New Mexico.
Sandia National Laboratories employs approximately 16,000 people and recorded a total economic impact of $5.2 billion in fiscal year 2025, its seventeenth consecutive record year. Labor costs accounted for roughly $2.95 billion of that, at an average salary of about $145,000. Sandia spent $463 million with New Mexico small businesses and paid approximately $144 million in state gross receipts tax.
For an expanding company, the practical significance is the talent pool these institutions create and continually refresh: engineers, physicists, materials scientists, software developers and skilled technicians, many of whom hold security clearances.
Employers with 2,500 to 5,000 employees
| Employer | Sector | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Intel | Manufacturing | Rio Rancho |
| Amazon | Warehousing and distribution | Albuquerque |
| New Mexico State University | Education | Las Cruces |
| Lovelace Hospitals | Health care | Albuquerque |
| Las Cruces Public Schools | Education | Las Cruces |
| Albertsons | Retail | Statewide |
| Smith’s Food and Drug | Retail | Statewide |
Intel’s Rio Rancho campus is the state’s largest private manufacturing employer and the centre of New Mexico’s semiconductor and advanced electronics base. Amazon’s Albuquerque operation is the largest single warehousing and distribution employer in the state.
Employers with 1,000 to 2,500 employees
The next tier spans health care, education, utilities, mining and national retail and food service brands:
Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Mexico, Public Service Company of New Mexico, Freeport-McMoRan, Central New Mexico Community College, Eastern New Mexico University, Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center, Memorial Medical Center, San Juan Regional Medical Center, Gerald Champion Regional Medical Center, TriCore Reference Laboratories, Americare Home Health, Netflix, T-Mobile US, Bernalillo County, the City of Santa Fe, the City of Las Cruces, Philmont Scout Ranch, and the Rio Rancho, Santa Fe, Farmington, Roswell, Hobbs, Clovis, Carlsbad, Gallup, Gadsden, Central and Los Lunas school districts, alongside Home Depot, Lowe’s, Target, Sam’s Club, Dollar General, Dollar Tree, Starbucks, McDonald’s, Burger King, Domino’s Pizza, Sonic Drive-In, Texas Roadhouse, Blake’s Lotaburger and Dion’s.
Netflix’s presence reflects the state’s film and television production sector, which operates from Albuquerque Studios and draws on New Mexico’s film production incentives.
Largest employers in Albuquerque
Albuquerque is New Mexico’s largest labor market. The largest employers based in the Albuquerque metropolitan area are Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque Public Schools, the University of New Mexico, UNM Hospital, the City of Albuquerque, Presbyterian Healthcare Services, Lovelace Hospitals, Amazon and Intel, the last of these at its Rio Rancho campus in the neighbouring Sandoval County.
The concentration matters for workforce planning. A company hiring technical staff in Albuquerque is recruiting in the same market as two national laboratories and a research university, which sets both the available skill level and the wage benchmark.
What this means for an expanding company
An employer list is a starting point for a labor market analysis, not the analysis itself. The questions that decide a location are narrower: how many people in this market hold the specific skills a project needs, what they are currently paid, who else is competing for them, and how quickly a pipeline can be built.
The New Mexico Partnership provides that analysis at no cost and under confidentiality. For a defined project we supply occupation-level labor availability, wage benchmarks, training pipeline capacity and commuting patterns for the specific roles a facility will hire, alongside modelled incentive values.
- New Mexico economic and workforce statistics
- Workforce training programs, including JTIP wage reimbursement
- New Mexico business incentives and tax credits
- Available sites and properties
Request a confidential labor market analysis for your project →
Frequently asked questions
What is the largest employer in New Mexico?
Los Alamos National Laboratory is New Mexico’s largest single employer, with a total workforce of approximately 18,000 people. Sandia National Laboratories is second at approximately 16,000. Excluding federal and state government as a whole, the two national laboratories are the largest employers in the state.
What are the largest private employers in New Mexico?
Presbyterian Healthcare Services and Walmart each employ more than 5,000 people in New Mexico and are among the state’s largest private employers. Intel, at its Rio Rancho campus, is the largest private manufacturing employer, with between 2,500 and 5,000 employees.
What are the largest employers in Albuquerque?
The largest employers in the Albuquerque area are Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque Public Schools, the University of New Mexico, UNM Hospital, the City of Albuquerque and Presbyterian Healthcare Services, each with more than 5,000 employees, followed by Lovelace Hospitals, Amazon and Intel.
How many people do New Mexico’s national laboratories employ?
New Mexico’s two national laboratories employ approximately 34,000 people between them: around 18,000 at Los Alamos National Laboratory and around 16,000 at Sandia National Laboratories. Sandia alone generated $5.2 billion in economic impact in fiscal year 2025.
Sources
- Employer size bands and sector classification: Employment and Economic Information Center of New Mexico for the New Mexico Career Development Association, August 2025. Employer lists are compiled from chambers of commerce, economic development agencies, employer websites and government agencies, and employment numbers are unofficial.
- Los Alamos National Laboratory workforce: Los Alamos National Laboratory, Laboratory Fast Facts.
- Sandia National Laboratories workforce and economic impact: Sandia National Laboratories, fiscal year 2025 economic impact release.
Reviewed August 2026. Employer headcounts change continually. Contact the New Mexico Partnership for current, project-specific labor market data.