U.S. News & World Report ranks New Mexico high in fiscal stability, pollution

Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA downtown cityscape and street at twilight.

by: Scott Brown

Posted: May 2, 2023 / 11:28 AM MDT

Updated: May 4, 2023 / 07:23 AM MDT

NEW MEXICO (KRQE) – A lot of factors go into a state's greatness; economy, education, how it deals with crime, etc. U.S. News and World Report recently came out with their Best States rankings of all of the states in the country and while New Mexico didn't fair all that high in the main list, it did shine in other areas.

New Mexico ended up in 47th place, beating only Mississippi, Alaska, and Louisiana. When it came to fiscal responsibility, however, the state reached #15 with our short-term fiscal stability being the second-highest in the country. The Land of Enchantment also came in at #10 in affordability and third in pollution.

In some categories though, it was a mixed bag. As far as New Mexico's environment rankings, while the state came in at 48th best in air & water quality, we did come in third best when dealing with pollution.

New Mexico also came in at #47 as far as crime and corrections. But that broke down into two factors: public safety and corrections outcomes. While New Mexico came in dead last in public safety, it was 8th when it came to corrections outcomes.

Utah beat out Washington for the best state in the country. Idaho, Nebraska, and Minnesota rounded out the top five.