New Mexico was a Geography and places good articles nominee, but did not meet the good article criteria at the time. There may be suggestions below for improving the article. Once these issues have been addressed, the article can be renominated. Editors may also seek a reassessment of the decision if they believe there was a mistake.
Article milestones Date Process Result April 14, 2010 Good article nominee Not listed June 13, 2010 Peer review Reviewed
Current status: Former good article nominee

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United States: New Mexico Top‑importance This article is within the scope of WikiProject United States, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of topics relating to the United States of America on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the ongoing discussions. Template Usage Articles Requested! Become a Member Project Talk Alerts United StatesWikipedia:WikiProject United StatesTemplate:WikiProject United StatesUnited States Top This article has been rated as Top-importance on the project's importance scale. This article is supported by WikiProject New Mexico (assessed as Top-importance).

Hey folks ... NM native and Wikipedia newbie here. For anyone watching this page, please see the "Other" item that I added at the end of the article. I think it's relevant albeit amusing, but I'm open to discussing it. The geographic ignorance of NM isn't all that common these days, but I think it happens often enough to merit a mention. Thanks. Yesthatbruce (talk) 04:04, 21 June 2023 (UTC)[reply]

I think it's a worthy inclusion and have long enjoyed that segment! But the paragraph you added makes a number of claims ("Since 1970...", "...only state to do this...", "...so as not to be confused...") that should be cited. WP:CITE has some tips on what constitutes a good citation by Wiki standards, but mostly it should be independent (i.e. not written by the magazine itself) and reliable (i.e. not some crazy geocities site).

Thanks for contributing and keep up! SpookyTwenty (talk) 18:02, 21 June 2023 (UTC)[reply]

In the agriculture and food production section, the article says NM has an agricultural sector worth $40 billion annually. This would be >40% of the entire state economy. By comparison, the actual USA agricultural production is worth ~$380 billion/year (USDA figures), which is 1.4% of the economy. The $40 billion number is overstated by at least an order of magnitude. 2601:58A:887F:5E80:FCC6:64E5:9207:4D81 (talk) 20:12, 12 September 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Yes, multiple sources contradict that $40B number:

https://www.ibisworld.com/united-states/economic-profiles/new-mexico/

https://www.statista.com/statistics/1065130/new-mexico-real-gdp-by-industry/

https://web.archive.org/web/20240114193756/https://www.dws.state.nm.us/Portals/0/DM/LMI/NM_Data_Focus_GDP.pdf

https://web.archive.org/web/20230515113308/https://www.dws.state.nm.us/Portals/0/Gross_Domestic_Product_of_New_Mexico.pdf

They all put agriculture+forestry+fishing+hunting at less than $2B.

- Wikkiwonkk (talk) 15:04, 18 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]

#Culture is the longest section, perhaps it should be moved back to culture of New Mexico? Arlo James Barnes 16:19, 14 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]

I've posted a message to the Tea Room to ask how to go about editing the page so that it's consistent with other state pages.

Total page word count (minus footnotes) is ~21,000 words by copying and pasting the text into Word, using the Unformatted Text paste option. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Gamboler (talk • contribs) 02:43, 8 January 2024 (UTC)[reply]

New Mexico's existed as a polity longer than any other U.S. state so the length makes sense. But there should also be a page dedicated to the culture of New Mexico. --Plumber (talk) 22:00, 5 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

I agree. - - Prairieplant (talk) 03:29, 5 May 2025 (UTC)[reply]

In the third paragraph (starts with "New Mexico's economy") it says that NM has a significant military presence "due to its large area and economic climate". First problem: "economic climate" is a vague term. Second problem: the cited source says nothing about New Mexico's economy being the reason for the significant military presence. Just the opposite (sort of) - it says that the significant military presence plays a key role in the state's economy. Perhaps the editor who wrote "economic climate" meant to say something about NM's climate (lots of clear sunny days? I don't know), but the source doesn't say anything about that either. - Wikkiwonkk (talk) 15:48, 18 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Military history details Kearney, Confederate invasion during Civil War, Pershing/Pancho Villa expedition, Manhattan Project, White Sands test range, Cannon AFB, radar installations, etc. Also mention Native American examples includi pueblo agriculture, communications between pueblos. Economic climate includes art scene, tourism, sunsets, 40 degree temperature swings. Lay on the trivia! 173.207.25.14 (talk) 19:38, 22 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]

FROM

'''New Mexico'''{{efn|{{langx|es|link=no|Nuevo México}} In [[Peninsular Spanish]], a spelling variant, ''Méjico'', is also used alongside ''México''. According to the ''[[Diccionario panhispánico de dudas]]'' by [[Royal Spanish Academy]] and [[Association of Academies of the Spanish Language]], the spelling version with J is correct; however, the spelling with X is recommended, as it is the one that is used in [[Mexican Spanish]]. "México" in ''[[Diccionario panhispánico de dudas]]'' by [[Royal Spanish Academy]] and [[Association of Academies of the Spanish Language]], Madrid: Santillana. 2005. {{ISBN|978-8429406238}}.{{IPA|es|ˈnweβo ˈmexiko||Es-Nuevo México.oga}}; {{langx|nv|Yootó Hahoodzo}} {{IPA|nv|jòːtʰó hɑ̀hòːtsò}}}} is a state in the [[Southwestern United States|Southwestern]] region of the [[United States]].

TO

'''New Mexico'''{{efn|{{langx|es|link=no|Nuevo México}} In [[Peninsular Spanish]], a spelling variant, ''Méjico'', is also used alongside ''México''. According to the ''[[Diccionario panhispánico de dudas]]'' by [[Royal Spanish Academy]] and [[Association of Academies of the Spanish Language]], the spelling version with J is correct; however, the spelling with X is recommended, as it is the one that is used in [[Mexican Spanish]]. "México" in ''[[Diccionario panhispánico de dudas]]'' by [[Royal Spanish Academy]] and [[Association of Academies of the Spanish Language]], Madrid: Santillana. 2005. {{ISBN|978-8429406238}}.{{IPA|es|ˈnweβo ˈmexiko||Es-Nuevo México.oga}}; {{langx|nv|Yootó Hahoodzo}} {{IPA|nv|jòːtʰó hɑ̀hòːtsò}}}} is a [[U.S. state|state]] in the [[Southwestern United States|Southwestern]] region of the [[United States]]. 69.181.17.113 (talk) 16:02, 2 April 2025 (UTC)[reply]

 Not done: non-necessary link Good day—RetroCosmos ^talk 05:22, 13 April 2025 (UTC)[reply]

The Hispano-Nuevo Mejicano origins are mostly Native American (both from Mexico and North America) and with some Spanish, European, African, and and some cases Filipino ancestry. This is found in Expedition papers, colonial censuses, baptism records, and Diligencia Matrimoniales volumes. Very few Spaniards arrived in Mexico and mostly males. 2600:1003:A011:6987:BB59:ECB4:D1CD:2F51 (talk) 05:42, 26 May 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Please change "[[Chicano]] [[Nashville, Tennessee|Nashville]]" to "Chicano Nashville" in the Arts and entertainment section per MOS:PARTIALNAMELINK. --2600:1700:6180:6290:7041:AC56:BA1B:EFB8 (talk) 08:54, 28 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]

I'm not certain that partialnamelink would apply here. It's more applicable when linking only part of a name would make for a misleading link not relevant to the overall name. In this case the wikilinks are defining the 2 parts of the name to explain why the 2 terms are being combined. I agree it's suboptimal that it looks like it would be 1 link but is actually 2, but I think that's outweighed by not attempting to explain the term at all. SI09 (talk) 09:02, 28 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]

 Not done for now: please establish a consensus for this alteration before using the {{Edit semi-protected}} template. AlphaBetaGamma (Talk/report any mistakes here) 14:06, 30 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]

I'm not sure if this belongs in the lead: " New Mexico frequently ranks low among U.S. states based on wealth income, healthcare access, and education metrics.^[1][2]" It would be better in the "Wealth and poverty" section, so that way the information can be beter explored, instead of just randomly mentioned. 2601:8C0:80:7E0:65CD:B68D:3CD3:66B3 (talk) 19:08, 26 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]

 Not done: I believe that sentence was designed to summarize the information in "Wealth and poverty". Do agree that it appears misplaced according to its current wording. If you have a suggestion on how to better summarize and integrate this info feel free to reopen the request — 🪫Volatile ^{📲T | ⌨️C} 19:33, 26 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]

I think the sentence should at least be moved, it feels somewhat haphazard where it currently sits. It's in a paragraph discussing history, music, architecture, and cuisine, which doesn’t seem like the right context. Wouldn’t it make more sense to place it in a differenct paragraph, perhaps in the demographic paragraph after the "with just over 2.1 million residents, ranks 36th in population and 45th in population density"? More broadly, I'm still not convinced this belongs in the lead at all. It seems to highlight a current, potentially politically charged, issue rather than a long-standing or defining feature of the state. 2601:8C0:80:7E0:85C6:E40C:8E6F:CC0A (talk) 06:33, 10 September 2025 (UTC)[reply]

The redirect "NM" has been listed at redirects for discussion to determine whether its use and function meets the redirect guidelines. Readers of this page are welcome to comment on this redirect at Wikipedia:Redirects for discussion/Log/2025 August 17 § "NM" until a consensus is reached. ArthananWarcraft (talk) 15:39, 17 August 2025 (UTC)[reply]

I have boldly removed this statement multiple times from the lead because it is unnecessary there (most US states are landlocked) and is a bit clunky for an article lead (such information belongs in the geography section). Rather than keep reverting it, I will first ask if anyone here objects to this and why. If not, I can at least refer such reversion to this talk page. Kehkou (talk) 05:47, 6 November 2025 (UTC)[reply]

I painstakingly scoured a map of the state for a navigable river to the Gulf, only to learn the Rio can float little more than a recreational boat. New Mexico's landlocked status is a cute factoid worth mentioning somewhere other than the lead. Magnolia677 (talk) 11:26, 6 November 2025 (UTC)[reply]

@Kehkou and Magnolia677: Every single article on a landlocked state mentions being landlocked in the opening sentence, besides this one. It's the same situation with articles on landlocked countries. I object to its removal because being inconsistent on this practice does a disservice to readers, especially non-American readers who may not be very familiar with the topography of the U.S. Either they should all mention it in the opening sentence, or none of them should. DigitalIceAge (talk) 20:02, 5 December 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Ah, I was not aware of that. I still think it is clunky, so would prefer the latter as there are more landlock states than coastal ones, but that's fair enough. Thanks for the explanation and have a good one! Kehkou (talk) 01:10, 6 December 2025 (UTC)[reply]

The redirect List of New Mexico state agencies has been listed at redirects for discussion to determine whether its use and function meets the redirect guidelines. Readers of this page are welcome to comment on this redirect at Wikipedia:Redirects for discussion/Log/2026 January 21 § List of US state agencies until a consensus is reached. Squawk7700 (talk) 20:09, 21 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

New Mexico should not be characterized simply as “one of the poorest states in the USA,” and I object to that description as inaccurate and misleading. While the state has struggled historically with poverty, this label ignores important context, recent economic progress, and significant regional differences within New Mexico.First, poverty statistics alone do not fully reflect residents’ actual standard of living. The cost of living in New Mexico is generally lower than in many coastal or urban states, which means that income levels go further in covering housing, food, and basic necessities. Evaluating “poorest” without adjusting for cost of living or purchasing power creates a distorted picture that exaggerates economic hardship relative to other areas.Second, New Mexico has experienced meaningful improvements in key economic indicators in recent years, including growth in family income, expansion in sectors such as energy, technology, film production, and tourism, and targeted investments in infrastructure and education. These developments demonstrate that the state’s economy is dynamic and evolving, not static or uniformly impoverished. Reducing New Mexico to a “poorest state” label erases this progress and discourages investment, business development, and community confidence.Third, the “poorest state” characterization overlooks significant intra‑state variation. Many communities and regions within New Mexico are economically stable or growing, with thriving small businesses, cultural industries, research institutions, and professional sectors. A blanket label fails to distinguish between areas facing deeper challenges and those that are comparatively prosperous, and therefore does not accurately describe the state as a whole.For these reasons, I object to the assertion that New Mexico is one of the poorest states in the United States. A fair assessment must consider cost of living, recent economic gains, sector growth, and regional diversity. The continued use of this outdated and overly negative label is both inaccurate and harmful, and it should not be relied upon for policy, program eligibility, or public characterization of the state. ~2026-82452-5 (talk) 04:49, 6 February 2026 (UTC)[reply]

I don't know about the standards of living in the state, but the household income is not that bad. Per the 2023 estimates in the article on Household income in the United States, New Mexico ranked 44th in the list. It outranked states and areas with more impoverished populations, such as Alabama (45th), Oklahoma (46th), Kentucky (47th), Arkansas (48th), Louisiana (49th), West Virginia (50th), Mississippi (51st), and Puerto Rico (52). New Mexico ranked just below Tennessee in that respect. Dimadick (talk) 13:18, 7 February 2026 (UTC)[reply]