State of the Family in New Mexico

The United States Family Belonging Index is 46 percent, with a corresponding Family Rejection Index of 54 percent, based on 2008-2012 data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey. The action of parents determines the Family Belonging or Rejection Index within a nation, region, state, or racial or ethnic group—whether they marry and belong to each other, or whether they reject one another through divorce or other means. Rejection leaves children without married parents committed to one another and to their children.

The Index of Family Belonging is determined by the fraction of children aged 15 to 17 in a given area who live with both their biological parents, who have been married since before or around the time of their birth.

1. Index of Belonging

New Mexico has a Family Belonging Index of 37.1 percent. In other words, 37.1 percent of New Mexico teenagers aged 15 to 17 have lived with their always-married parents since their birth, whereas 62.9 percent of these adolescents were raised in a non-intact family. New Mexico ranks 49th on the state ranking of the Index of Belonging and Rejection.1)

New Mexico State Ranking

2. Outcomes by Index of Belonging

New Mexico Outcomes

2.1 Youth Outcomes

New Mexico Youth Outcomes

3. Mapping New Mexico

3.1 Family Intactness

Fraction of Families Intact New Mexico Family Intactness

3.2 Teenage Out-of-Wedlock Births

Fraction of teenage out-of-wedlock births out of all births New Mexico Teenage Out-of-Wedlock Births

3.3 High School Graduates

Fraction of 19- to 20-year-olds who are high school graduates New Mexico High School Graduates

3.4 Employment

Fraction of 25- to 54-year-old men working New Mexico Male Employment

3.5 Earnings

Average earnings per 25- to 54-year-old male New Mexico Male Earnings

3.6 Homeowners

Fraction of households owning a home New Mexico Homeowners

3.7 Poverty

See Effects of Family Structure on Poverty

Fraction of the overall population below poverty New Mexico Overall Poverty Fraction of 25- to 54-year-old females below the poverty line New Mexico Female Poverty Fraction of minors below the poverty line New Mexico Minor Poverty

3.8 Government Dependence

See Effects of Family Structure on Government Dependency and Effects of Welfare on Families

Fraction of households receiving food stamps New Mexico Food Stamps Average TANF and State Welfare Transfers per 25- to 54-year-old females New Mexico TANF and State Welfare Transfers Average Social Security Disability Income (SSDI) per 25- to 54-year-olds New Mexico Social Security Disability Income (SSDI) Average Social Security Disability Income (SSDI) per 25- to 54-year-old male New Mexico Male Social Security Disability Income (SSDI) Average Supplemental Security Income (SSI) per 25- to 54-year-old male New Mexico Male Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Average Supplemental Security Income (SSI) per 25- to 54-year-old female New Mexico Female Supplemental Security Income (SSI)

3.9 Healthcare

See Effects of Family Structure on Healthcare Coverage

Fraction of 25- to 54-year-olds receiving public healthcare New Mexico Public Healthcare Recipients Fraction of minors receiving public healthcare New Mexico Minor Public Healthcare Recipients Fraction of 25- to 54-year-olds covered by private healthcare New Mexico Private Healthcare Coverage Fraction of minors covered by private healthcare New Mexico Minor Private Healthcare Coverage