In 2000, 78.9% of New Mexicans age 25 and older were high school graduates. Some 23.5% had obtained a bachelor's degree or higher.
The total enrollment for fall 1999 in New Mexico's public schools stood at 324,495. Of these, 228,592 attended schools from kindergarten through grade eight, and 95,903 attended high school. Minority students made up approximately 65% of the total enrollment in public elementary and secondary schools in 2001. Total enrollment was estimated at 316,548 in fall 2000 and is expected to reach 371,000 by fall 2005. Direct expenditure per pupil for public elementary and secondary schools was $5,172 in the 1999/2000 school year. Expenditures for public education in 2000/01 were estimated at $2,045,977. Enrollment in nonpublic schools in fall 2001 was 23,055.
As of fall 2000, there were 120,265 students enrolled in institutions of higher education. In the same year New Mexico had 44 degree-granting institutions. New Mexico has 16 institutions of higher education. The leading public institutions are the University of New Mexico, with its main campus at Albuquerque, and New Mexico State University in Las Cruces. In 1997, minority students comprised 45.9% of total postsecondary enrollment.