New Mexico is a southwestern U.S. state whose diverse terrain encompasses the Chihuahuan Desert and the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. Its capital, Santa Fe, founded in 1610, is known for upscale spas and Spanish colonial architecture. It's also home to a vibrant arts scene, as well as the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum, featuring the artist's iconic New Mexican landscape paintings, and the open-air Santa Fe Opera.
This state calls itself the Land of Enchantment. But by the numbers, that borders on false advertising. In 2016, the most recent full year of statistics available from the FBI, New Mexico recorded the second-highest violent-crime rate in the country and the highest rate of property crime. In the first quarter of 2018, the Albuquerque Police Department reported a 50 percent increase in homicides from the year before. New Mexico had the fourth-highest rate of drug deaths in the United States last year, and more than 22 percent of its children live in poverty.
Capital: Santa Fe
State bird: Greater roadrunner
State flower: Yucca flower
Population: 2.088 million (2017)
![Bandelier and Valles Caldera, New Mexico. Day 3 of US Road Trip 2026: Taos - Albuquerque [ENG/POL].](/assets/noimage.svg)