Nevada vs New Mexico on USAspending: $2.86B vs $3.93B

Two Mountain West files, one much hotter per resident

New Mexico’s $3.93B stacked total is about 1.38 times Nevada’s $2.86B. Nevada has the larger Census count, 3,267,467 versus 2,130,256, about 1.53 times. Intensity moves with dollars, not with people: $945.82 per capita in New Mexico and $171.84 in Nevada. Cite those ratios as packet figures of USAspending.gov obligations beside the Census counts. They are not outlays per resident.

Nevada still files more awards, 45,442 against 19,233. The extra rows and extra people do not produce the larger stock. New Mexico’s thinner file carries more stacked dollars and a much higher per-capita ratio. That is the pair’s basic inversion.

Keep $2.86B and $3.93B labeled as obligations. A Desert Southwest comparison that swapped in Treasury outlays would be a different table.

Automobile manufacturing versus commercial construction

Nevada’s lead NAICS is automobile manufacturing. New Mexico’s lead NAICS is commercial and institutional building construction. Auto manufacturing as a peak is specific to Nevada in this pair; it does not appear as New Mexico’s top slice. Construction as New Mexico’s peak sits on the larger $3.93B stock and the 19,233-award file.

Neither label is a full industrial census. They are the largest NAICS slices on $2.86B and $3.93B. The Nevada and New Mexico state hubs list agencies and recipients. Both peaks are obligation mixes from USAspending.gov.

FY2026 still tilts hard to New Mexico, $2.01B to $561.5M

Fiscal year 2026 obligations are $2.01B in New Mexico and $561.5M in Nevada. Recency widens New Mexico’s lead. $2.01B is about 3.6 times $561.5M, versus 1.38 times on the all-years $3.93B versus $2.86B. A large share of New Mexico’s stacked stock is in the latest fiscal year in this packet.

Treat FY2026 as an obligation recency slice. Do not divide $2.01B or $561.5M by 19,233 or 45,442 all-years awards. Spending per capita of $945.82 and $171.84 already uses Census counts of 2,130,256 and 3,267,467.

Nevada’s larger population does not buy the intensity lead

Nevada’s 3,267,467 residents and 45,442 awards make it the larger state on those two counts. New Mexico’s 2,130,256 residents and 19,233 awards make it the smaller state on those two counts. Dollars still favor New Mexico, $3.93B to $2.86B. Intensity still favors New Mexico, $945.82 to $171.84. People and rows are not the same as the obligation stock.

Readers ranking only by Census size will put Nevada ahead. Readers ranking by dollars or dollars per resident will put New Mexico ahead. The packet reports both so the rankings stay honest.

Nevada and New Mexico share a Western map and little else in this packet. Nevada’s $2.86B, 45,442 awards, 3,267,467 residents, $171.84 per capita, and $561.5M in FY2026 sit across from New Mexico’s $3.93B, 19,233 awards, 2,130,256 residents, $945.82 per capita, and $2.01B in FY2026. Automobile manufacturing versus commercial and institutional building construction is the NAICS split. Rank by people and Nevada leads. Rank by stacked dollars, intensity, or recency and New Mexico leads. Keep the definition as obligations.

How to read Nevada versus New Mexico

Read New Mexico first on stacked stock ($3.93B vs $2.86B), spending per capita ($945.82 vs $171.84), and FY2026 ($2.01B vs $561.5M). Read Nevada first on awards (45,442 vs 19,233) and population (3,267,467 vs 2,130,256). Note automobile manufacturing versus commercial construction. All cuts are obligations.

The comparison hub holds the tables. The Nevada and New Mexico hubs hold state detail. Outlays are a different series.

Two Western files that do not share an industrial peak

Automobile manufacturing as Nevada’s top industry and commercial and institutional building construction as New Mexico’s top industry are different NAICS peaks on $2.86B and $3.93B. This page names those peaks because they are in the packet. It does not treat them as a full industrial census of either state, and it does not convert them into plant counts or job counts. Award counts of 45,442 and 19,233 describe file length, not factory output.

Nevada’s 3,267,467 residents versus New Mexico’s 2,130,256 make Nevada the larger Census state. New Mexico still leads stacked obligations, spending per capita ($945.82 vs $171.84), and FY2026 ($2.01B vs $561.5M). Keep every ranking on USAspending.gov obligations. Outlays can lag construction awards in particular. The Nevada and New Mexico state hubs hold the agency and recipient tables.

Questions

Does Nevada or New Mexico have more federal spending?

New Mexico leads stacked USAspending.gov obligations $3.93B to Nevada’s $2.86B. New Mexico also leads spending per capita, $945.82 versus $171.84, on 2,130,256 residents against Nevada’s 3,267,467. Nevada has more awards (45,442 vs 19,233). FY2026 obligations are $561.5M in Nevada and $2.01B in New Mexico.

Why is New Mexico ahead of Nevada per capita?

New Mexico’s $3.93B sits on 2,130,256 residents; Nevada’s $2.86B sits on 3,267,467. The packet ratios are $945.82 versus $171.84. New Mexico also leads the stacked stock, so intensity and dollars point the same way. These are USAspending.gov obligations, not outlays per resident.

What industries lead in Nevada and New Mexico?

Nevada’s top industry is automobile manufacturing. New Mexico’s is commercial and institutional building construction. Those labels sit on $2.86B and $3.93B. Award counts are 45,442 in Nevada and 19,233 in New Mexico. Both mixes are USAspending.gov obligations. Those NAICS labels are the largest slices on the stacked stocks, not complete industrial profiles.

Are Nevada vs New Mexico figures Treasury outlays?

No. The $2.86B and $3.93B totals, and FY2026 amounts of $561.5M and $2.01B, are USAspending.gov obligations. Outlays are cash payments and can lag. Spending per capita ($171.84 vs $945.82) uses Census population where present. Spending per capita uses Census population where present and should not be read as cash per resident.