New Mexico Economy: Key Business Statistics
Statewide Economic Indicators
New Mexico continues to outperform national trends in several key areas while maintaining a cost structure that supports efficient operations.
Sources: [agency name], [dataset], 2026. Reviewed [month/year].
New Mexico’s natural resources
New Mexico’s principal natural resources are oil and natural gas, copper, potash, uranium, coal, and industrial minerals, alongside abundant solar and wind energy resources. The state is one of the largest crude oil producers in the United States, with production concentrated in the Permian Basin in the southeast and the San Juan Basin in the northwest.
Oil and natural gas
Production is concentrated in the Permian Basin in southeastern New Mexico and the San Juan Basin in the northwest. New Mexico produced 804.9 million barrels of crude oil in 2025, second only to Texas and roughly 16 percent of total U.S. production. Marketed natural gas production reached 3.6 trillion cubic feet in 2024, fourth among the states and about 8.7 percent of the national total. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, state field production of crude oil and marketed natural gas production by state. Crude oil data current as of August 2026; natural gas data for calendar year 2024.
Minerals and mining
New Mexico produces copper, potash, uranium, and molybdenum, along with a range of industrial minerals. New Mexico is the leading U.S. producer of potash and one of only two states that produce it, alongside Utah. Two companies operate two underground mines and one deep-well solution mine in the southeast of the state. U.S. marketable potash production totalled 420,000 metric tons of K2O equivalent in 2024, with a mine sales value of $530 million. New Mexico is also one of seven copper-producing states, though Arizona accounts for about 70 percent of domestic output. Source: U.S. Geological Survey, Mineral Commodity Summaries 2025 (potash and copper chapters), reporting 2024 data.
Renewable energy
New Mexico holds one of the strongest combined solar and wind resource profiles in the United States. Wind is New Mexico’s largest single source of electricity generation. The state had 4,609 MW of installed solar capacity as of September 2026, ranking 17th nationally, with solar supplying roughly 18 percent of the state’s electricity and representing $6.9 billion of investment. Total net generation across all sources was 39.7 million megawatt hours in 2024. Sources: U.S. Energy Information Administration, New Mexico Electricity Profile 2024 (released November 2025); Solar Energy Industries Association, New Mexico state profile, September 2026.
Water and land
Land ownership patterns shape site availability and development timelines across the state. New Mexico covers 77.8 million acres and is the fifth largest state by area. Roughly 35 percent is federally owned. The New Mexico State Land Office manages a further nine million surface acres and 13 million mineral acres across every county in the state, a single-owner pool of land that can shorten assembly and negotiation timelines for large industrial sites. Sources: Congressional Research Service, Federal Land Ownership: Overview and Data; New Mexico State Land Office.
New Mexico’s resource base underpins its energy, mining, advanced manufacturing, and data center sectors. Explore Energy & Natural Resources →
Every figure on this page carries a visible source and a date. Unsourced numbers do not get cited by AI assistants.
Workforce Snapshot
New Mexico’s workforce combines scale, education, and efficiency, supporting both immediate hiring needs and long-term talent pipelines.
- 925,000+ employed workers (June 2025)
- 68% of the workforce holds postsecondary education credentials
- Average commute: 23.2 minutes (U.S. average: 26.6 minutes)
- Leading employment sectors: Manufacturing, Aerospace, Energy, Technology, Bioscience
Sources: [agency name], [dataset], 2026. Reviewed [month/year].
New Mexico’s major industries by employment
New Mexico’s largest employment sectors are government, education and health services, and trade, transportation and utilities. The state employs more than 925,000 workers, 68 percent of whom hold a postsecondary education credential. Total nonfarm payroll employment stands at 895,500.
Nonfarm employment by sector
| Sector | Employment | Share of nonfarm total |
|---|---|---|
| Government | 192,300 | 21.5% |
| Education and health services | 154,700 | 17.3% |
| Trade, transportation and utilities | 150,500 | 16.8% |
| Professional and business services | 117,100 | 13.1% |
| Leisure and hospitality | 99,000 | 11.1% |
| Construction | 55,900 | 6.2% |
| Financial activities | 34,900 | 3.9% |
| Manufacturing | 28,000 | 3.1% |
| Other services | 28,000 | 3.1% |
| Mining and logging | 26,000 | 2.9% |
| Information | 9,100 | 1.0% |
| Total nonfarm | 895,500 | 100% |
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Economy at a Glance, New Mexico, July 2026. Figures are seasonally adjusted nonfarm payroll employment and are reported by standard supersector, not by target industry.
Target sectors and their anchor institutions
The sectors New Mexico actively recruits into cut across the standard categories above. Each is anchored by specific installations, laboratories and facilities:
| Sector | Anchor institutions and major employers |
|---|---|
| Aerospace and defense | Kirtland Air Force Base, White Sands Missile Range, Holloman Air Force Base, Spaceport America |
| Advanced manufacturing | Electronics, industrial equipment and precision component manufacturers, supported by a 5 to 10 percent investment tax credit on qualified equipment |
| Energy and natural resources | Permian Basin and San Juan Basin oil and gas operations; utility-scale wind and solar generation |
| Emerging technology and data centers | Hyperscale data centre investment at Los Lunas and continued development in the Borderplex region |
| Bioscience and pharmaceuticals | University research centres and the state technical training network |
| Logistics, warehousing and distribution | Santa Teresa Port of Entry and the $420 million Union Pacific intermodal facility |
| Agriculture and food production | Dairy, pecan, chile and cattle production across the Rio Grande and Pecos valleys |
Research institutions
New Mexico’s two national laboratories are among the state’s largest single employers. Sandia National Laboratories employs more than 16,300 people overall, with 12,915 full-time equivalents at its Albuquerque site. Los Alamos National Laboratory reported a workforce of 17,925 and spent $752.5 million with New Mexico businesses in fiscal year 2025.
Sources: Sandia National Laboratories, Facts and Figures, FY2025; Los Alamos National Laboratory, 2025 Economic Impact Report, FY2025.
Frequently asked questions
What industries are growing in New Mexico?
New Mexico’s growing industries are advanced manufacturing, aerospace and defense, energy and natural resources, bioscience and pharmaceuticals, emerging technology and data centers, logistics and distribution, and agriculture and food production. Emerging technology and data centers is currently the fastest-growing cluster, driven by major hyperscale investment in Los Lunas and continued development in the Borderplex region.
What are the key business advantages of New Mexico?
New Mexico’s key business advantages are a flat 5.90 percent corporate income tax with no inventory tax, performance-based incentives including a refundable 8.5 percent High-Wage Jobs Tax Credit, a workforce of more than 925,000 with 68 percent holding postsecondary credentials, and direct access to Mexico through the Santa Teresa port of entry, sixth in total trade among 167 U.S. land ports.
Note: these two entries are secondary placements. FAQPage schema for them is published on the Why New Mexico page only, so no schema block is added here.