New Mexico · Earth and sky

New Mexico

The earth has its colors. The sky, its own sense of scale.

White Sands National Park at sunset · Gypsum dunes and distant mountains

State capitalSanta Fe

Population · 2025 estimate2,125,498 people

White sands · Adobe walls · City streets · Radio skies

Begin with the white of the landscape

It looks like snow. Underfoot, it is sand.

New Mexico lies in the American Southwest. Plateaus, mountains, river valleys and basins continually change its landscape. In the south, White Sands offers a particularly striking departure from familiar images of the desert.

White Sands consists mainly of gypsum grains. Evaporite deposits left by ancient seas moved into the basin through geological change and water transport. Ancient Lake Otero and later deposits supplied much of the material for today's dunes.

Crystallized gypsum breaks apart, and the wind shifts and rearranges the particles to form undulating sand dunes. The sunset colors the white sand with warm hues, and this gives the day and the evening a different texture.

Gypsum

Minerals give the dunes their white color. Wind and water continue to change their shape.

Santa Fe · Architecture and Handicrafts

Earth shaped into a place to live.

Low roofs, deep shade, and light catching the details of a wall.

The Palace of the Governors, with its wooden arcade and earth-toned walls, is located north of Plaza de Santa Fe.

A building’s history continues after it is built.

The history of the Governor's Palace dates back to 1610, initially serving as the Spanish colonial administrative function. Over centuries, it underwent renovations and restorations; in 1909, it was remodeled into the New Mexico Museum under the Pueblo Revival style.

Today's view of the porch and exterior is the result of multiple histories. Native American artisans showcase and sell handmade goods here, keeping alive the daily encounter between people and craft.

Words have their own craft.

Santa Fe on paper.

In 1834, a printing press arrived at the governor's palace via the Santa Fe Trail. Today, the palace printing shop continues to showcase movable type printing and bookmaking in the courtyard where the former stables once stood.

This city's culture is not just in the galleries. The creation process of the works is also a place that can be recognized as part of the local history, through architecture, printmaking, crafts, and museum collections.

Taos Pueblo · A living community

Walls repaired. Lives carried forward.

Taos Pueblo · Adobe buildings and community spaces

Taos's multistory adobe homes are not a setting built for visitors. Community members maintain long-standing ties with the valley; families own the homes and take responsibility for their care.

After mixing soil, water, and straw, they can form dried bricks; the wood from the mountains provide the roof support. The walls need to be continually plastered, and thus the preservation of the building involves a lot of daily labor.

Tradition and contemporary life coexist here. Taos pottery, silverwork, and contemporary art are still made by individual artists. A single image of an “ancient way of life” cannot represent the whole community.

Understand a settlement, one must also hear how its residents speak of their home.

Rooms in Rocks · Walls in Valleys

Old homes, enduring connections.

Bandelier: building in volcanic rock.

Volcanic ash flows cool and solidify into tuff. Easily workable rock allows for carving walls for space and cutting blocks to build structures outside of cliffs.

Ancestral Pueblo people grew corn, beans, and squash and built communities here. Later migration took people to the Rio Grande and other areas; descendant communities maintain their connections with this place today.

Bonito settlement in Chaco Canyon · Winter stone walls and cliffside ravens

Chaco: stone walls within a wider network.

The large stone buildings in Chaco were not simply added to room by room. Some were planned from the outset, with multiple rooms, public spaces, and pathways organized to create complex activities.

This was an important center of regional exchange. Migration and changing communities did not diminish its meaning; Pueblo people and other associated Indigenous communities continue to value the land today.

The materials record the construction methods; the stories of the community then reconnect the building with today.

Albuquerque · Enter Contemporary Industry from the City

Beyond the camera, a working city.

Albuquerque City Center · City Skyscrapers

A green riverbank and everyday neighborhoods.

The Rio Grande flows through Albuquerque, and the cottonwood forest along its banks is an important part of the city's open spaces. The riverwalk runs north to south, allowing residents to access another quiet environment within the city.

The streets and the film production meet here. What shooting requires, beyond places that can be recorded by a lens, are venues, personnel, equipment, traffic, and post-production services.

Film Production · Fiscal Year 2026$327million

Actual Spending in New Mexico

The work behind the screen.

The economic impact report released by the State Film Office in August 2026 shows that the expenditure on production in fiscal year 2026 was $327 million, slightly higher than the $323 million from the previous fiscal year, but still significantly lower than the peak in fiscal year 2022.

Production is concentrated mainly around Albuquerque and Santa Fe. For location providers, lodging, transport, sets and equipment services, an individual project’s budget, schedule and purchasing matter more directly than the statewide total.

Here is the actual expenditure reported. Outputs and added values estimated through models fall under another category of indicators and are not combined with the expenditure.

Employment Observation · August 2026

Local industries and recent changes.

907.4thousand

Seasonally adjusted nonfarm employment rose by 5,500 jobs from the previous month.

4.7%

Seasonally adjusted unemployment rate. The previous month’s rate was 4.8%.

The data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics on September 18 shows that nonfarm jobs in the state increased by 14,500 compared to the same period last year. Job positions and unemployment rates come from different surveys, reflecting employment situations at work locations and among residents.

Full growth does not mean growth in every industry or city. The film and entertainment service sector focuses on project cycles, local retail and dining focus on residents and visitors, and research support requires matching specific technologies and procurement requirements.

After formation, setting up local operations.

When choosing premises, compare permitted uses, equipment, staff travel, and access to clients. Production contracts should define the scope, milestones, and costs. Technical service providers also need to confirm that their qualifications, equipment, and team meet the project's requirements.

A team working on a film project needs to arrange short-term, concentrated work personnel and equipment. How to transition to the next project and maintain daily operations is also an important part of the business plan.

Employment: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, released September 18, 2026. Film: New Mexico Film Office, fiscal year 2026 economic impact report. Fiscal-year production spending and monthly employment figures cover different periods and measures.

West of Socorro · The Plains of San Agustin

Another way to listen to the sky.

Radio antennas working together.

The Very Large Array

Invisible wavelengths carry clues to the universe.

These dish antennas receive radio signals from celestial bodies and work together through electronic systems. They are arranged along three arms in a shape resembling an inverted "Y" to form an array that can observe cooperatively.

Radio observations are not photographs of the visible stars as seen by the naked eye. After signals are received, calibrated, and computed, they become research data. Both engineering techniques and data analysis are parts of the process.

In New Mexico, vast open lands accommodate long-term living and also house contemporary scientific facilities. Different knowledge traditions each have their own sources worthy of serious consideration.

Nightfall over Las Cruces – city lights against the distant mountain ridges.

South · Las Cruces

Experimental fields and classrooms at the mountain’s foot.

East of Las Cruces, the Organ Mountains create a distinctive skyline of rugged ridges and steep rock. Where the mountains meet the Chihuahuan Desert, vegetation, terrain and light give southern New Mexico a character different from the northern plateau.

New Mexico State University brings agriculture and education into city life. Founded in 1992, its Chile Pepper Institute conducts research and public education on chile varieties, cultivation and related science.

Thus, peppers are both a regional flavor and a crop subject to ongoing research. To understand the food and agribusiness, one can start from cultivation, quality, processing, and consumption habits, rather than stopping at regional impressions.

State flower · Yucca

An ivory bloom in a resilient landscape.

On March 14, 1927, yucca was designated as the state flower of New Mexico. Multiple species of yucca grow within the state, featuring tall flower stalks with clusters of light-colored flowers, creating a distinctive plant form.

A yucca illustration closes the page. From white dunes to earthen walls, from city streets to observatories, New Mexico reveals its beauty at many scales.

Industry and Local Life

Industries and everyday work across the state.

Industries & establishments · 2023

The work that keeps communities running.

Alongside tourism, filmmaking and research, healthcare, retail, dining and other everyday services provide local jobs. The annual figures below show the industry distribution of establishments with paid employees and should be read separately from the recent monthly figures above.

The state recorded 44,861 employer establishments and 658,702 paid employees. A single company may operate several stores, offices, or factories, so establishments are not a count of registered companies.

Health care & social assistance128,748 people

Accommodation & food services96,072 people

Retail trade95,261 people

Professional & technical services64,115 people

Construction46,332 people

U.S. Census Bureau, 2023 County Business Patterns. The series primarily covers private, nonfarm establishments with paid employees. Employment is measured for the pay period that includes March 12. The 2023 release was the latest in this series available when checked; it is not a measure of current monthly employment.

STATE.REPORT

An editorial feature by STATE.REPORT. Image creators and licenses are credited below.

Sources & further reading

Population estimates ↗

U.S. Census Bureau: state population estimates for July 1, 2025.

The gypsum of White Sands

National Park Service: The Formation of Gypsum and Its Entry into Sand Dunes Process.

The geology of White Sands

National Park Service: Basin, ancient lake beds, and dune landscapes.

The history of the Palace of the Governors

The New Mexico History Museum: A History of Renovations and Museum Development.

Palace Press

New Mexico History Museum: local printing history, movable type and the book arts.

Place art and architecture

New Mexico Museum of Art: historical resources on art and architecture.

Taos Community and Residential Areas

Taos Pueblo: The community's account of building materials, family maintenance, and cultural continuity.

Bandelier's geology

National Park Service: Volcanic tuff and morphology.

Bandelier's Ancestral Pueblo people

National Park Service: Agriculture, Settlements, and Indigenous Communities.

The history and culture of Chaco.

National Park Service: Large stone structures, continuous cultural connections, and ongoing interactions.

The Rio Grande bosque

City of Albuquerque: An urban trail through the riverside bosque.

The Very Large Array

The National Radio Astronomy Observatory: Configuration of Antennas and Observational Methods.

The overview of antenna array technology.

National Radio Astronomy Observatory: 27 antennas for radio interferometry observations.

Organ Mountains–Desert Peaks

US Bureau of Land Management: Surrounding Mountain and Desert Environments of Las Cruces.

Chile pepper research

New Mexico State University Chili Pepper Institute: Variety Research, Education, and Local Crop Studies.

State flower · Yucca

New Mexico Secretary of State: An introduction to the state flower and plant established in 1927.

Image credits & licenses

Sunset in White Sands National Monument (Unsplash).jpg · Doug Gates mcgrue · CC0。

Albuquerque, New Mexico skyline.jpg · Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0。

Palace of the Governors.jpg · Tony Hisgett from Birmingham, UK · CC BY 2.0。

Las Cruces (48685615011).jpg · Janusz Sobolewski from Mississauga, Ontario, Canada · CC BY 2.0。

Bandelier Kiva.jpg · · Public domain。

NRAO Very Large Array, New Mexico, USA 2024 1.jpg · dconvertini · CC BY-SA 2.0。

Adobe in blue, Taos Pueblo, NM - panoramio.jpg · Aaron Zhu · CC BY-SA 3.0。

Pueblo Bonito Aerial Raven (bc87a8a8-2cb8-4758-88ab-36e3b5d617f7).jpg · NPS Photo · Public domain。