State bird
Greater roadrunner
Sources: Designation & background
Local timeSanta Fe ·
U.S. States / West · Card 031
New Mexico
The Land of Enchantment
White Sands contains dunes made of gypsum, a mineral that gives the sand its pale color.
New Mexico and its surroundings
● State capital · Gold highlights New Mexico.
Map: Natural Earth. Neighboring states use postal abbreviations.
Map: Natural Earth. Neighboring states use postal abbreviations.
At a glance
- Capital
- Santa Fe
- Postal abbreviation
- NM
- Population
- 2,125,498July 1, 2025 · Census estimate
- Total area
- 314,917 km²121,590 square miles · land and water
- Statehood
- January 6, 1912State number 47
- Region
- West
Sources: Census · population · Census · area
State symbols & traditions
State song
O Fair New Mexico
Sources: Designation & background
State cookie
Biscochito
Sources: Designation & background
Geography & flag
01
Location
Neighboring states: Arizona, Colorado, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah.
02
Landscape & places
White Sands contains dunes made of gypsum, a mineral that gives the sand its pale color. The dunes lie in the Tularosa Basin and are moved and reshaped by wind.
03
Land and water
The total area includes 314,161 km² of land and 757 km² of water, according to Census area measurements.
State flag
A red Zia sun symbol centered on a yellow field.
Sources: Census · geographic reference · Census · area measurements · National Park Service · White Sands
How the landscape works
White Sands is distinctive because its sand is gypsum. Sand describes particle size, not one universal mineral. Wind transports and reshapes the dunes, so the same pale appearance does not mean the landforms remain in exactly the same position. Mineral composition and the process moving it are separate parts of the explanation.
History
Why Pueblo communities revolted in 1680
Spanish colonial authorities imposed labor demands and tried to suppress Pueblo religious practices. These pressures helped drive resistance among communities with their own governments, beliefs and long-established settlements. Po’pay, a Tewa leader from Ohkay Owingeh, helped coordinate the uprising.
In 1680, Pueblo forces expelled Spanish colonists from much of New Mexico. Spain began reoccupying the region in 1692, and responses differed among Pueblo communities. The revolt shows that Indigenous peoples actively resisted colonial rule. It also explains why New Mexico’s history cannot be reduced to a simple sequence of Spanish, Mexican and American ownership.
Read more: Historical source ↗
Why this mattered
The Pueblo Revolt of 1680 challenged Spanish colonial control and suppression of Pueblo religious life. Cooperation across communities made a coordinated uprising possible. Spanish rule was interrupted, but later returned. The sequence matters: resistance achieved a major change without permanently ending every form of colonial pressure.
Key dates
-
New Mexico Territory organized
-
Arizona Territory separated
-
Statehood · State number 47
Sources: Congressional Research Service · statehood · U.S. Census Bureau · historical geography · National Park Service
People and place
Indigenous history and communities today
The Indian Pueblo Cultural Center presents the histories and continuing life of New Mexico’s Pueblo communities. The Pueblo Revolt belongs to that longer story; it is not the endpoint of Pueblo culture or government.
Continue with Indian Pueblo Cultural Center. This is one starting point, not a complete account of the peoples connected to this land.
Compare
New Mexico and Arizona
| Measure | New Mexico | Arizona |
|---|---|---|
| Population (2025) | 2,125,498 | 7,623,818 |
| Land area (km²) | 314,161 | 294,207 |
| People per km² of land | 6.8 | 25.9 |
Arizona has more people per square kilometer of land. Population density divides population by land area. It is an average across the whole jurisdiction, not a claim that residents are evenly spread out.
Calculated from the Census population series and land-area measurements used on these pages. Rounded figures; water area is excluded. Explore Arizona.
Economy
Main activities
In 2025, government and government enterprises was the largest of the broad industry groups compared here by current-dollar output. Other major groups included real estate and rental and leasing, mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction, and professional and business services.
Total economic output was $152.8 billion in current dollars in 2025.
Largest industry groups · 2025
- Government and government enterprises: 21.3%
- Real estate and rental and leasing: 12.2%
- Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction: 12.1%
- Professional and business services: 11.8%
Share of total current-dollar GDP. These figures measure output, not employment.
Sources: BEA · annual GDP by state, SAGDP2
Production, jobs and wages answer different questions
The industry chart measures the value of production. It does not count workers. An industry with a large share of GDP need not employ the most people or pay the highest wages. Employment and wage data would be needed to answer those questions.
Population & economic trends
Population, 2020–2025
Millions of people2.132025 · millions of people
July 1 resident population estimates, using the Census Bureau’s Vintage 2025 series.
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau
View data table
| Year | People |
|---|---|
| 2020 | 2,118,446 |
| 2021 | 2,117,300 |
| 2022 | 2,112,859 |
| 2023 | 2,119,349 |
| 2024 | 2,126,774 |
| 2025 | 2,125,498 |
Real GDP, 2010–2025
Billions of chained 2017 dollars120.852025 · billions of chained 2017 dollars
Real GDP measures economic output adjusted for inflation. The chart uses BEA’s chained 2017 dollars.
Sources: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
View data table
| Year | Millions of chained 2017 dollars |
|---|---|
| 2010 | 90,721.0 |
| 2011 | 90,552.3 |
| 2012 | 90,762.4 |
| 2013 | 90,104.0 |
| 2014 | 92,621.1 |
| 2015 | 93,503.9 |
| 2016 | 93,043.5 |
| 2017 | 93,210.1 |
| 2018 | 96,077.0 |
| 2019 | 100,342.2 |
| 2020 | 98,004.0 |
| 2021 | 101,499.2 |
| 2022 | 104,212.8 |
| 2023 | 114,059.2 |
| 2024 | 119,044.5 |
| 2025 | 120,851.9 |
Read the trend, then ask what explains it
New Mexico’s population increased by about 0.3% between 2020 and 2025 in this series. That shows the size of the change. The chart alone cannot tell us how much came from births, deaths or migration.
Real GDP adjusts for changes in prices, so it helps compare production over time. Current-dollar GDP includes price changes. Neither measure tells us how income is distributed among residents.
Representation
- Electoral votes
- 52024 & 2028 elections
- Voting U.S. House seats
- 32020 Census allocation
- U.S. Senate seats
- 2
Electoral votes equal the state’s U.S. House seats plus its two U.S. Senate seats. These allocations apply to the 2024 and 2028 presidential elections.
Practice
Test your knowledge
Use the explanations and data on this page to answer ten questions. Hints and links to the relevant sections are available throughout.
10 questions about New Mexico
Show a hint
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Sources & notes
Narrative and quiz updated 5 October 2026. Statistical data prepared 27 September 2026. Population: Census Bureau Vintage 2025, July 1 estimates for 2020–2025. Real GDP: BEA annual state accounts, SAGDP9, millions of chained 2017 dollars; industry shares: SAGDP2, current dollars. Data downloaded 27 September 2026. Area measurements include land and water.
Sources: Census · population estimates · BEA · state GDP · Census · area measurements · Natural Earth · map data
The capital clock shows current local time. Statistical figures are dated estimates and may be revised.
Updated 29 October 2026. Statistics retain the dated series shown in the charts; these are not live figures. Sources are linked beside each topic.