New Mexico

State Office of Rural Health

New Mexico Office of Primary Care & Rural Health

Phone: 505.699.8911
Email: Crystal.Begay@doh.nm.gov

Works to improve access to quality healthcare for New Mexico by providing collaborative leadership and resources to healthcare and community organizations. A division of the Population and Community Health Bureau in the New Mexico Department of Health.
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New Mexico Nonmetro Population

2,097,021

Estimated population

687,412 (32.8%)

People living in nonmetro areas

Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020 estimate

New Mexico Rural Healthcare Facilities

11

Critical Access Hospitals

20

Rural Health Clinics

108

Federally Qualified Health Centers*

18

Short Term/PPS Hospitals*

*Sites according to data.HRSA.gov (July 2023), showing only locations outside of U.S Census Bureau Urban Areas with a population of 50,000 or more

Selected Social Determinants of Health for Rural New Mexico

While most New Mexicans have some form of health insurance coverage, 8.4% of its residents remain uninsured (Kaiser, 2022). According to the USDA Economic Research Service, the average per capita income for New Mexicans in 2021 was $50,311, with the rural per capita income at $46,637. The ERS reports, based on 2021 ACS data, that the poverty rate in rural New Mexico is 21.2%, compared with 15.9% in urban areas of the state. 16.5% of the rural population has not completed high school, while 11.6% of the urban population lacks a high school diploma according to 2017-2021 ACS data reported by ERS. The unemployment rate in rural New Mexico is 4.4%, while in urban New Mexico it is 3.9% (USDA-ERS, 2022).