NM Population: New Numbers

The population was 1,969,915 On July 1, 2007, the Census Bureau estimates. The figures were released today. That is an increase of 150,869, or 8.3%, since the census in April 2000. New Mexico was the nation's 36th largest state in 2000. It still is. New Mexico ranks 29th in the number of new people since the census and 16th in the percentage of population growth. The annual number of new residents of New Mexico has increased each year since 2003. So has the percentage of population increase.

What is called "net internal migration" is the reason for the increasing rate of population increase. This means people moving to New Mexico from other parts of the U.S. and people leaving the state for other parts of the U.S. For New Mexico, net internal migration was negative in the late 1990s. It was 31% of the state's population in the year from July 1, 2007 to July 1, 2007. This 31% figure has grown from pretty much zero in 2000. Net internal migration has produced 22% of the state's population growth since 2000.

Immigration from outside the U.S., illegal or otherwise, has produced 17% of the population growth since 2000 and 17% in the 2006-2007 year.