New Mexico ranks no. 1 in at least one area, according to a new survey: as the state most dependent on the federal government.
In a report released Tuesday, the financial website WalletHub reported New Mexico received the most federal contract dollars and the second highest amount of grants compared to federal taxes paid.
The ranking is not particularly surprising, given that the state is home to two national laboratories, three Air Force bases and large swaths of public land.
The WalletHub study looked at such metrics as return on taxes paid to the federal government, states’ share of federal jobs and federal funding as a share of state revenue.
Ranking just behind New Mexico were Mississippi, Kentucky, West Virginia and Alabama. The least federally dependent state, according to WalletHub, was Kansas.
