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Both states(Arizona and New Mexico) are very similar both are land locked with the same terrain (deserts and mountains).
Both had near enough the same populations up untill the 70's, then in the 80's Arizona's population boomed to over 6 million today where as New Mexico's population is still in the 1 million zone and has been since the 70's.
Arizona has seen more growth economically and population wise, why has this not happend in New Mexico?
By the way I think its a great thing that New Mexico's population is quite low as it protects your natural environment which Im a big fan of
I was just wondering, why more people have choosen Arizona over New Mexico, when both states are relatively similar, yet Arizona's growth is well through the roof!
There are a myriad of reasons - but considering Arizona is already dealing with the problems related to the speed at which its population grew, and the manner in which it grew (auto-oriented, tax-consuming sprawl) with few resources (namely water) from which to draw - NM should be counting its blessings that it didn't have the population boom that AZ did.
I'd say one major reason has to do with the climate - NM is considerably cooler on average, which likely impacted the number of retirees considering NM.
Arizona is second in the nation in forclosures in 3rd quarter 2009, New Mexico is 36th.
AZ is next door to a kajillion people in California and also near Las Vegas, and is somewhat warmer in the cold months...a huge factor for retiree/resort development, is more Republican and less Hispanic (31% to 43% for NM), has considerably less urbanized population (AZ 88% vs NM 68%)...there are probably other reasons also.
This is a good place to look and compare the two states: Demographics and the Economy - New Mexico - Kaiser State Health Facts
I'm sure there are other answers to be found in this data. I'm pretty happy to own a home in NM as opposed to AZ.
The main reasons for Arizona's explosive growth I believe is due to the proximity to the West Coast and the warm weather. I would also imagine that between the two states, that the demographics of Arizona is much more anglo, so it has a less foreign feel if that makes sense.
I spent much of my early life living in El Paso at a time when there was lots of talk about which city was going to experience the most explosive growth:
Phoenix or El Paso?
And of course Phoenix has far outstripped El Paso as a boom town. I know that has little relation to the differences between AZ and NM, but it does afford something of an explanation, IMO.
Phoenix was chosen for "retirement" community development by those developers like the Del Webb Corporation with the smarts to pull it off - thinking here of Sun City and similar full-blown developments. Lake Havasu City is another success story that many never dreamed would be attractive to anyone with good sense.
Good question! Having lived in both AZ and NM I've often noticed the same dynamic. So, here is IMHO what may be the reasons:
I think the main reason is that Arizona (and its two major metro areas) absorbed much of the flight from California as taxes and overall costs became too high there. So many of the companies that relocated to Phoenix and Tucson came from California. The state worked hard to attrract business and the cost of living was very reasonable.
Plus, Arizona attracted lots of retirees who wanted to spend their golden years in a warm place with reasonable prices and lots of golf, etc. AZ's well developed tourism industry brought them in for a visit and years later, they returned for good.
Also, there always seems to be lots of Midwesern transplants in AZ. I suppose that in the past, these people would have gone to CA but they were choosing AZ instead. Once there, they arrived into ground zero of the sub-prime mortgage market and culture of living on credit.
Today, Phoenix (and to some extent Tucson) are examples of what happens when the bubble collapses.
New Mexico on the other hand, attracted some of the flight from California (Intel in Rio Rancho and Hollywood production crews being the latest example) but there wasn't the same commercial infrastructure to pull in more business. Arizona has the banks, big research universities, and defense contractors that NM does not have on the same scale.
NM is more economically tied to Texas and Colorado (and people are either Cowboys or Broncos fans) while AZ is economically tied to CA, NV, and Utah. And before they became Cardinals fans, they mostly followed the 49ers, Rams, Raiders, etc.
Albuquerque, Sante Fe and Las Cruces, which never went hog wild for the sub-prime buying frenzy, are poised to be among the earliest recovering cities coming out of this depression/recession.
NM's tourism promotion efforts look amateur compared to AZ's slick materials, commercials, etc. Plus, we have some beautiful places but nothing to compare to the Grand Canyon, Sedona, etc.
All that said, I prefer NM's more authentic feel as opposed to AZ's more packaged one but I consider both of them home in some way - and those generalizations don't apply all over. Sante Fe has become unbearably pretentious while Flagstaff and Bisbee are down home authentic to the core.
Both states(Arizona and New Mexico) are very similar both are land locked with the same terrain (deserts and mountains).
Both had near enough the same populations up untill the 70's, then in the 80's Arizona's population boomed to over 6 million today where as New Mexico's population is still in the 1 million zone and has been since the 70's.
Arizona has seen more growth economically and population wise, why has this not happend in New Mexico?
By the way I think its a great thing that New Mexico's population is quite low as it protects your natural environment which Im a big fan of
I was just wondering, why more people have choosen Arizona over New Mexico, when both states are relatively similar, yet Arizona's growth is well through the roof!
New Mexico's current population is almost 2 million, still relatively small.
New Mexico is business-unfriendly, with high taxes on business that are passed to consumers. I have yet to see a service here that doesn't cost more than it ever did in Texas. Everything is high. Internet/TV, Pet sitting, lawn services, car repair, construction/contracting, electrical, plumbing...all higher. In some cases, the difference is substantial. Housing is high everywhere.
New Mexico has an abundance of public land and large tracts that are reservations. So, there is much less land available for development. AZ also has these, so these two may end up being a wash.
This also affects the highway system. While the major roads are mostly good, you sometimes really have to go out of your way to go anywhere. The land that is taken up by the military, public lands and reservations all have an impact. I'm not saying that it's bad...it just the way it is.
There is only one major airport--Sunport at Albuquerque. ABQ is the only large city in the entire state.
However, homeowner's insurance and property taxes are not high relative to Texas and some other states.
Whatever the downsides are, I wouldn't want the explosive growth that has occurred in AZ.
Last edited by Cathy4017; 11-15-2009 at 09:05 AM..
Well I will take a guess.....Golf, yes Golf. You know that game with the little white ball....LOL Look at Phoenix and Tucson just to name 2, everywhere you look, golf courses.....That has got to be the reason.
There is one little reason and that is called "Sprawl"...
We'd rather not grow like Arizona. Cause look at the Phoenix metro now.. foreclosure heaven! thats not New Mexico. And those are not New Mexican Values.
We'd rather restore the beauty than build houses everywhere, like a bunch of fools.
Although you do have some cities like Rio Rancho which are growing fast, which in fact is America's 12th fastest growing city with a population of only 84k, is beacuse you have nothing but land that is all zoned into lots created for sprawl. Created over 40 years ago.
Arizona like Nevada was taken over Californians, and well the result was.... what you have today.
Unlike Arizona and Nevada or even colorado we dont follow California. Following the leader sometimes may have its consiquences.
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which Im a big fan of 
Well I will take a guess
You know that game with the little white ball....LOL Look at Phoenix and Tucson just to name 2, everywhere you look, golf courses.....That has got to be the reason.
