Signature · 31.7% low-access (#1 of 50)
Food access in New Mexico
New Mexico sits in the upper third nationally on low-access (31.7%, +9.6 pts vs U.S.), with USDA FARA 2019 + ACS 2024 context for 33 counties.
- 31.7%
- low-access pop.
- 126
- food-desert tracts
- 19.6%
- on SNAP
- 33
- counties
USDA FARA state access plate
State NM · New Mexico
LA-ELEVATED · ABOVE-NATIONAL · LILA-CLUSTER · SNAP-HEAVY · VEH-OK · BOOK-LIGHT
- LA-ELEVATED 31.7% low-access
- ABOVE-NATIONAL +9.6 pts vs US
- LILA-CLUSTER 126 food-desert tracts
- SNAP-HEAVY 19.6% SNAP
- VEH-OK 5.7% no vehicle
- BOOK-LIGHT 33 counties
Nearest low-access peer: Alaska ( -0.8 pts)
New Mexico's slim county book (33)
New Mexico covers 33 counties among 51 states and DC (atlas inventory, not a food-access quality ranking). Orthogonal to the low-access / SNAP charts below.
New Mexico vs all states by county count
Where this state's county inventory sits among every tracked jurisdiction
33 35th of 51 higher than 16 of 51 states
Jurisdictions, banded by county inventory
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more states. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source USDA Food Access Research Atlas / Census county inventory · 2026-06-23
Upper-band statewide picture
According to USDA FARA, New Mexico is in the upper third on low-access (31.7%, #1 of 50; ~653K residents) - +9.6 pts vs the U.S. mean.
- #1
- among states by low-access
- 653K
- low-access residents
- 269K
- food-desert residents
- 5.7%
- households, no vehicle
Population-weighted tract shares (not a county average). Upper-band states often pair elevated low-access with clustered LILA tracts.
New Mexico on the national low-access cartogram
New Mexico ringed at #1 of 50 by population-weighted low-access. Click any state to compare.
USDA Economic Research Service, Food Access Research Atlas (2019), population-weighted · Census ACS 2024 context
Signature read: 31.7% low-access (#1 of 50) (+9.6 pts vs U.S. low-access).
New Mexico sits in the upper third of states by population-weighted low-access share (31.7% , #1 of 50). The Atlas marks 126 food-desert tracts here (269K low-income low-access residents). Catron County alone holds about 0.6% of the state's low-access residents.
States near New Mexico's elevated low-access or SNAP band
Two USDA/ACS-derived peer sets for New Mexico. Neighbourhood chart below is local poles; these panels are full-corpus nearest neighbours excluding this state.
Similar low-access share
Nearest population-weighted low-access rates (31.7% here).
- Alaska · 30.9% low-access
- Georgia · 30.9% low-access
- Wyoming · 29.7% low-access
- South Dakota · 29.1% low-access
Similar SNAP participation
Nearest household SNAP rates (19.6% here), deduped against the low-access panel.
- Louisiana · 17.3% SNAP
- West Virginia · 17.3% SNAP
- Oregon · 16.0% SNAP
- New York · 15.5% SNAP
Source: USDA Food Access Research Atlas (2019) + Census ACS 2024 SNAP. Floor county_count ≥ 5.
New Mexico vs nearby high low-access peers
Poles + nearest state peers, not a full national reprint
- NM
NM 31.7%
31.7 % low-access
- AK
AK 30.9%
30.9 % low-access
- GA
GA 30.9%
30.9 % low-access
- WY
WY 29.7%
29.7 % low-access
- SD
SD 29.1%
29.1 % low-access
- DC 4.6
DC 4.6%
4.6 % low-access
Highest low-access counties in New Mexico
Catron County ~0.6% of statewide low-access residents
- Catron
Catron County, NM
100 % low-access
- Harding
Harding County, NM
100 % low-access
- Mora
Mora County, NM
100 % low-access
- Valencia
Valencia County, NM
58.8 % low-access
- McKinley
McKinley County, NM
54.7 % low-access
- Sandoval
Sandoval County, NM
53.1 % low-access
- Socorro
Socorro County, NM
50.2 % low-access
- San Miguel
San Miguel County, NM
45.4 % low-access
All counties in New Mexico
| County | Low-access | SNAP |
|---|---|---|
| Catron County | 100.0% | 9.3% |
| Harding County | 100.0% | 8.7% |
| Mora County | 100.0% | 20.3% |
| Valencia County | 58.8% | 24.0% |
| McKinley County | 54.7% | 37.7% |
| Sandoval County | 53.1% | 13.8% |
| Socorro County | 50.2% | 24.8% |
| San Miguel County | 45.4% | 29.2% |
| Los Alamos County | 44.6% | 4.2% |
| Torrance County | 40.7% | 27.1% |
| Cibola County | 39.3% | 23.6% |
| San Juan County | 39.1% | 23.1% |
| Lincoln County | 38.4% | 14.7% |
| Rio Arriba County | 38.2% | 18.8% |
| Quay County | 38.0% | 30.5% |
| Luna County | 37.4% | 30.1% |
| Hidalgo County | 34.4% | 21.2% |
| Doña Ana County | 32.9% | 24.1% |
| Curry County | 32.4% | 25.5% |
| Roosevelt County | 31.6% | 21.2% |
| Eddy County | 30.5% | 14.2% |
| Santa Fe County | 30.2% | 11.0% |
| Sierra County | 29.2% | 15.9% |
| Colfax County | 28.5% | 23.4% |
| Guadalupe County | 28.5% | 40.7% |
| Chaves County | 28.2% | 25.0% |
| Taos County | 28.2% | 17.3% |
| Union County | 26.8% | 20.2% |
| Grant County | 26.6% | 19.1% |
| Otero County | 23.9% | 21.6% |
| Lea County | 20.7% | 19.8% |
| Bernalillo County | 19.4% | 17.0% |
| De Baca County | 17.3% | 18.7% |
Source: USDA ERS Food Access Research Atlas (2019) + U.S. Census Bureau ACS (2024 5-year). Sorted by low-access share, highest first.
Figures from USDA Food Access Research Atlas (2019) and Census ACS 2024 5-year. Compiled . Methodology · All states.
PlainFoodAccess renders this state summary directly from the USDA Food Access Research Atlas (2019) and U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (2024 5-year estimates), no number is typed in by an editor. Statewide figures for New Mexico are population-weighted aggregates of county Atlas and ACS records. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026-06-23. Primary sources: USDA Food Access Research Atlas and Census ACS 5-year estimates.