Health Profile of New Mexico
New Mexico Health Score
The Map AI Health Index is a score that reflects local life expectancy, disease rates, healthcare access, and physical environment to help you quickly compare the overall health and well-being of different areas.
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B
New Mexico Around average
Source: Map AI Methodology
Healthiest and Least Healthy Counties in New Mexico
- Los Alamos County (106% of U.S. avg)
- Santa Fe County (103% of U.S. avg)
- Bernalillo County (103% of U.S. avg)
- McKinley County (96% of U.S. avg)
- Cibola County (98% of U.S. avg)
- Luna County (98% of U.S. avg)
Ranked by the Map AI Health Index, which combines life expectancy, disease rates, healthcare access, and physical environment.
General Health Overview
| Metric | New Mexico | US Average |
|---|---|---|
| Life Expectancy (years) | 78.6 | 78.3 |
| Uninsured Population (%) | 9.6% | 8.4% |
| Self-Rated Poor Health | 17.9% | 16.3% |
Life expectancy in New Mexico is 78.6 years, about 0.3 years longer than the US average of 78.3 years. The uninsured rate is 9.6%, higher than the US average of 8.4%. Self-rated poor health is reported by 17.9% of residents, higher than the US average of 16.3%.
Population by Age
Older residents
754,521 residents in New Mexico are age 50 or older.
- 85+ 41,360 15,349 men · 26,011 women
- 75–84 110,120 49,772 men · 60,349 women
- 65–74 213,967 101,206 men · 112,761 women
- 50–64 389,073 187,278 men · 201,796 women
Younger residents
452,321 residents in New Mexico are age 17 or younger.
- 12–17 145,580 73,169 boys · 72,412 girls
- 7–12 133,975 67,702 boys · 66,273 girls
- 3–7 99,590 50,793 boys · 48,797 girls
- 0–3 73,176 37,416 boys · 35,760 girls
About 103,999 residents in New Mexico (4.9% of the population) are older than the area's life expectancy of 78.6 years.
The highlighted slice of the age axis is the share of residents older than the life-expectancy mark.
Disease Prevalence
| Disease / Condition | New Mexico | US Average |
|---|---|---|
| Diabetes | 13.5% | 11.3% |
| Cancer | 6.4% | 6.9% |
| Heart Diseases | 7.4% | 7.1% |
| Adult Obesity | 31.4% | 34.3% |
The rate of diabetes in New Mexico is about 19% higher than in US.
Health Behaviors
| Behavior | New Mexico | US Average |
|---|---|---|
| Smokers | 18.0% | 19.0% |
| Binge Drinking | 13.1% | 16.5% |
| Sedentary Lifestyle | 24.9% | 25.1% |
The rate of binge drinking in New Mexico is about 21% lower than in US.
Assuming each smoker smokes 10 cigarettes a day, that's about 3.0 million cigarettes a day, 89.4 million a month, or 1.1 billion a year! At 11 minutes* of life lost per cigarette, that's about 32.8 million minutes a day and 12.0 billion a year lost to smoking overall - and since life expectancy in New Mexico is 78.6 years, that's roughly equivalent to 0.79 lifetimes a day, or 290 lifetimes a year.
* Source: Shaw M, Mitchell R, Dorling D. "Time for a smoke? One cigarette reduces your life by 11 minutes." BMJ. 2000;320:53.
Illustrative only. This is not an estimate of how many people actually die from smoking each day or year - it's a rough, order-of-magnitude comparison meant to help grasp the scale of smoking in this area. We take no responsibility for any decisions made based on this figure.
Air Quality
| Metric | New Mexico | US Average |
|---|---|---|
| Air Pollution (μg/m³) | 4.71 | 6.09 |
With an annual average of 4.7 µg/m³ of fine particulate matter (PM2.5), air quality in New Mexico is very good — well within WHO health guidelines, with minimal health risk from air pollution.
New Mexico Health Compared With Nearby States
New Mexico is the smallest of the 6 states compared here, 2,118,085 residents against a local median of 5,842,429. There is no headline here. Every measure below sits within 15% of the median across the nearest states, which makes New Mexico an unremarkable member of its own neighbourhood rather than an outlier in it.
The largest of those small differences is uninsured, 8% below the local median at 9.6% against 10.5%. New Mexico has the 3rd lowest uninsured of the 6 areas compared here.
Conclusion
Considering all these factors, New Mexico has an overall health index grade of B, making it somewhat better than the country as a whole.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about health in New Mexico.
Is New Mexico a healthy place to live?
New Mexico has a Map AI Health Index grade of B, based on life expectancy, disease rates, healthcare access, and the physical environment; a B grade means residents are somewhat healthier than the U.S. average.
Is New Mexico one of the healthiest states in the U.S.?
New Mexico ranks 30th healthiest out of 51 states in the U.S. by the Map AI Health Index, which measures life expectancy, disease rates, healthcare access, and the physical environment.
How long do people live in New Mexico?
People in New Mexico can expect to live 78.6 years on average, about the same as the US average of 78.3.
What percentage of New Mexico residents are uninsured?
9.6% of residents in New Mexico have no health insurance, about 1 in 10 people, 1.2 points above the US rate of 8.4%.
What percentage of New Mexico residents are obese?
31.4% of adults in New Mexico are classified as obese, about 1 in 3, 2.9 points below the US rate of 34.3%.
How many cigarettes do smokers in New Mexico go through, and how much life does that cost?
Assuming each smoker smokes 10 cigarettes a day, that's about 3.0 million cigarettes a day, 89.4 million a month, or 1.1 billion a year! At 11 minutes* of life lost per cigarette, that's about 32.8 million minutes a day and 12.0 billion a year lost to smoking overall - and since life expectancy in New Mexico is 78.6 years, that's roughly equivalent to 0.79 lifetimes a day, or 290 lifetimes a year.
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