Skip directly to searchSkip directly to the site navigationSkip directly to the page's main content

Complete Health Indicator Report of Population Demographic Characteristics - Poverty Among All Persons

Complete Indicator Report Data View Options

Why Is This Important?

Poverty takes into account both income and family size, and has both immediate and long-lasting effects on health. Income provides an assessment of the financial resources available to individual persons or families for basic necessities (e.g., food, clothing, and health care) to maintain or improve their well-being. Persons living in poverty are worse off than persons in more affluent households for many of the indicators tracked by the New Mexico Department of Health.

Definition

The estimated percentage of persons living in households whose income is at or below the federal poverty level. Poverty status is determined by comparing household income to poverty thresholds (income cutoffs). Thresholds vary by family size and number of children under 18 in the household. For instance, the poverty level for a family of four in 2021 is $26,500. For more information, see [https://aspe.hhs.gov/poverty-guidelines].

How Are We Doing?

New Mexico's poverty rate peaked at 21.4% in 2013, the highest it had been over the past two decades. The rate has begun to decline, but at 17.5% is still higher than average for New Mexico, and is 42% higher than the U.S. rate of 12.3%.

How Do We Compare With the U.S.?

In 2019, with 17.5% of its population (nearly 360,000 individuals) living in households with incomes below the poverty threshold, New Mexico's poverty rate was the third highest in the nation, behind Mississippi and Louisiana.

Data Sources

How the Measure is Calculated

  • Numerator:

    Estimated number of persons living in households whose income is below 100% of the federal poverty level as defined by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

  • Denominator:

    Estimated number of persons in the population.

Percentage of Persons Living in Poverty by County, New Mexico, 2019

Data Note

Data by county are from the U.S. Census Bureau SAIPE, modeled Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates.

Data Sources

How the Measure is Calculated

  • Numerator:

    Estimated number of persons living in households whose income is below 100% of the federal poverty level as defined by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

  • Denominator:

    Estimated number of persons in the population.

Data Note

The poverty data by race and Hispanic ethnicity were available from the American Community Survey, but were not reported using New Mexico Department of Health (NMDOH) standard race and ethnicity categories. American Indian and Alaska Native, Asian/Pacific Islander, Black or African American groups excluded multi-racial persons, but included persons who were Hispanic or Latino. The Hispanic category include persons of Hispanic/Latino origin of any race. The White category include White non-Hispanic persons only. Comparisons with data using the NMDOH standard race reporting categories should not be made. For more information on race reporting categories, see the IBIS page on Race and Ethnicity Measurement and Reporting (http://ibis.health.state.nm.us/resource/RacEth.html).

Data Sources

  • New Mexico Population Estimates: University of New Mexico, Geospatial and Population Studies (GPS) Program.
    (http://gps.unm.edu/)
  • U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates
    (http://data.census.gov)

How the Measure is Calculated

  • Numerator:

    Estimated number of persons living in households whose income is below 100% of the federal poverty level as defined by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

  • Denominator:

    Estimated number of persons in the population.

Percentage of Persons Living in Poverty by Small Area, New Mexico, 2015-2019

Data Note

Poverty percentages for New Mexico's small areas are from the American Community Survey 5-year estimates.

Data Sources

  • New Mexico Population Estimates: University of New Mexico, Geospatial and Population Studies (GPS) Program.
    (http://gps.unm.edu/)
  • U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates
    (http://data.census.gov)

How the Measure is Calculated

  • Numerator:

    Estimated number of persons living in households whose income is below 100% of the federal poverty level as defined by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

  • Denominator:

    Estimated number of persons in the population.

Percentage of Persons Living in Poverty by U.S. States, 2019

Among 50 U.S. states, Mississippi, Louisiana and New Mexico have the highest overall percentages of persons living in poverty. In New Mexico, one in five persons lives in a household whose income is below the poverty level.

Data Sources

How the Measure is Calculated

  • Numerator:

    Estimated number of persons living in households whose income is below 100% of the federal poverty level as defined by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

  • Denominator:

    Estimated number of persons in the population.

All population estimates apply to July 1 of the selected year. These estimates are considered the most accurate estimates for the state of New Mexico and should match those found on the University of New Mexico Geospatial and Population Studies website. Estimates include decimal fractions. Census tract population estimates were summed to produce County and Small Area population estimates. Population estimate totals may vary due to rounding. Population estimates for previous years are occasionally revised as new information becomes available. When publishing trend data, always be sure that your rates for earlier years match current rates on NM-IBIS that have been calculated with the most up-to-date population estimates.

Health Topic Pages Related to: Population Demographic Characteristics - Poverty Among All Persons

Community Health Resources and Links





Medical literature can be queried at the PubMed website.

Indicator Data Last Updated On 06/27/2021, Published on 06/27/2021
Community Health Assessment Program, Epidemiology and Response Division, New Mexico Department of Health, 1190 S. Saint Francis Drive, P.O. Box 26110, Santa Fe, NM, 87502. Contact Rena Manning at rena.manning@doh.nm.gov