EDUCATION
New Mexico ranks 49th in the nation for child well-being, rising one spot from last year
New Mexico State professor asks: 'Are the children in New Mexico healthier? Are they safer? Are they more connected to their families? Are they more successful in school than they were, say 5 years ago?'
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After five years at the bottom, New Mexico is now ranked 49th in the country for child well-being, according to a national report.
The 2026 from the Annie E. Casey Foundation, a national child welfare charity, ranks each state based on four factors: economic well-being, health, education and family and community. Though New Mexico made modest gains in economic outcomes and health, the state ranked last in education and in family and community.
The data book compares figures from 2024 using a set of federal and state databases, including the U.S. Census Bureau and the National Center for Health Statistics.
The report鈥檚 authors assigned New Mexico a score of 281 points out of a possible 1,000 for overall child well-being.
Mississippi ranks last, with a score of 271. New Hampshire is in first place at 838. The national average is 547.
Though there is still much room for improvement, the data showed an upward trend from pandemic-era dips, said Emily Wildau, policy director at New Mexico Voices for Children, a nonprofit that partnered with the Casey Foundation on the data book.
鈥淲e saw some really positive signs of recovery,鈥� Wildau said.
For others, the numbers tell only one part of the story.
鈥淚 think it鈥檚 important to acknowledge that progress whenever progress occurs, but I think that we can鈥檛 get too overly focused on the ranking itself,鈥� said Merranda Marin, a child psychologist and professor at New Mexico State University. 鈥淲e really need to ask ourselves, are the children in New Mexico healthier? Are they safer? Are they more connected to their families? Are they more successful in school than they were, say five years ago?鈥�
Positive economic trends
The report measured economic outcomes using data on child poverty, parental employment status, housing cost burdens and the number of teenagers not in school or working.
While the report鈥檚 authors said the data from 2024 doesn鈥檛 reflect today鈥檚 economic or social realities, New Mexico made some of the largest advancements in childhood economic well-being of any state that year, according to the data.
New Mexico has one of the lowest median household incomes of any state in the nation and one of the highest rates of child poverty. Around 22% of children in New Mexico live in poverty, according to the report 鈥� well over the U.S. average of 15%, but still the lowest number recorded in more than 15 years, according to Wildau.
鈥淚t鈥檚 still high,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 still something that we as a state can continue to work on, but it is moving in the right direction pretty consistently, and the overall improvements that we saw in economic well-being were really, really positive.鈥�
Wildau suspects the economic gains are due in part to the lingering effects of the state鈥檚 minimum wage increases in 2022 and 2023.
New Mexico has also amended several tax rebates and credits, including its child tax credit, which allows families to claim anywhere from $26 to $637 per child in income tax refunds, which Wildau said could have a residual effect on poverty rankings.
Tax credits for parents and working families are 鈥渕aking a difference to really move the needle on poverty in families in New Mexico, especially for lower income families and families with children,鈥� said Stephanie Schardin Clarke, secretary of the New Mexico Taxation and Revenue Department.
One of New Mexico鈥檚 biggest investments into the well-being of its children is the state鈥檚 universal childcare program, launched late last year. Since the data book is two years behind, it also won鈥檛 show the full impacts of the program until later.
Universal childcare might mean fewer children in households with a high housing cost burden because families could have more money to spend on housing or more young children who are enrolled in school, Wildau said.
鈥淯ntil then, we hope to be monitoring closely,鈥� she said.
Moderate strides in children鈥檚 health
Though New Mexico has one of the rates of homicide and suicide in the country, the state made progress in its health rankings by reducing its rate of child and teen death by 22% from 2023 to 2024.
Gun violence is the cause of death for children in the United States, and in 2024, New Mexico had the second-highest of death by firearm in the country, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Wildau said the drop between 2023 and 2024 could be attributable to a drop in suicides after worsening mental health during the pandemic.
鈥淲e are hopeful that that鈥檚 the beginning of a trend now that the state is really spending money on trying to really rebuild and bolster behavioral health services,鈥� she said.
'A glaring siren' for education
In the Kids Count data book, New Mexico was ranked last in education, consistent with its performance in the last decade.
The report also assigned each state a score from 1 to 1,000, which compared states to their own education statistics from five years prior. New Jersey, in first, scored 731 points. New Mexico scored one point, showing that not only does the state have the worst test results, it has made the least amount of progress from 2019 to 2024.
鈥淚 think those two things together are the most alarming data points I鈥檝e seen out of our education system in the entire time I鈥檝e run this organization, which is eight years,鈥� said Amanda Aragon Bernabe, executive director of education policy group New Mexico Kids Can.
Aragon Bernabe said she鈥檇 like to see sweeping education policy changes at the state level, like requiring schools to tutor students who are falling behind.
鈥淲hen I look at that data, I think it causes a glaring siren for the adults who are in charge of New Mexico鈥檚 education system,鈥� she said.
'A useful piece of the picture'
Marin attributes New Mexico鈥檚 historically poor rankings in part to its high rates of poverty and vast rural pockets, where access to certain services is difficult.
鈥淲hen people are stressed out and when they're having financial difficulties, it鈥檚 hard to really focus on nurturing healthy relationships with one鈥檚 child,鈥� she said.
Though the numbers paint a bleak picture, Marin said, they indicate an abundance of opportunity.
鈥淚 think sometimes when researchers look at some of these issues, they look at it from a deficit perspective, and I think we've got to change that narrative a little bit,鈥� she said.
Despite the troubling statistics, Wildau contends there is much to love about New Mexico that is unquantifiable in data.
鈥淚 think it鈥檚 a very useful piece of the picture, and it鈥檚 good information to have and understand,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t also doesn鈥檛 account for our culture here, our beautiful communities, the resilience of our people, and a lot of those things that do draw people to move here, whether or not they鈥檙e aware of the rankings.鈥�
Natalie Robbins covers education for the Journal. You can reach her at nrobbins@abqjournal.com.
