A new ranking shows New Mexico is the sixth-poorest state in the United States.
The ranking by 24/7 Wall St used recently-released U.S. Census Bureau data to rank all 50 states, from richest to poorest.
The data, from the 2015 American Community Survey, included information on not just median income, but also on income inequality, food stamp usage and more. The study also included 2014 and 2015 unemployment data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
New Mexico’s median income was $45,382, still well below the national median income of $55,775.
The entry on New Mexico from 24/7 Wall St said that “poverty continues to be a major problem in New Mexico.” The poverty rate in New Mexico—20.4 percent—is the second-highest in the nation.
The ranking also mentioned New Mexico’s high unemployment rate, noting the 6.6 percent unemployment rate in 2015 was the third-highest in the nation.
Numbers released last week showed New Mexico’s unemployment rate was the second-highest in the nation.
The poorest state in the nation was Mississippi, with a median household income of $40,593, the lowest in the nation, and a poverty rate of 22 percent, the highest in the nation.
The richest state in the nation is Maryland, with a median household income of $75,847, the highest in the nation, and a poverty rate of 9.7 percent, the second-lowest in the nation.
