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Best Value Degrees in New Mexico (2026)

Top 100 of 116 programs in New Mexico · Updated 2026

The best college programs in New Mexico, ranked by overall value. We scored 116 programs across New Mexico schools on earnings, AI resilience, job demand, and tuition ROI. The top programs average $42,745/yr in graduate earnings.

Programs in NM

116

Avg Earnings (Top 100)

$42,745/yr

Avg DW Score

65/100

#1 Program

Nursing (RN/BSN)

New Mexico Highlands University

Top Programs in New Mexico

Top 100 programs by DegreeWorth Score. Click any row for full analysis.

#	Program	DW Score	Earnings	AI Risk	ROI
1	Nursing (RN/BSN) New Mexico Highlands University · Las Vegas, NM	91 85–91	$88,137/yr	High	36.0x
2	Nursing (RN/BSN) Eastern New Mexico University-Main Campus · Portales, NM	91 84–91	$83,465/yr	High	36.5x
3	Nursing (RN/BSN) University of New Mexico-Main Campus · Albuquerque, NM	90 84–90	$82,216/yr	High	26.5x
4	Computer & Information Science University of New Mexico-Main Campus · Albuquerque, NM	91 81–93	$89,498/yr	Very High	34.8x
5	Nursing (RN/BSN) New Mexico State University-Main Campus · Las Cruces, NM	88 82–87	$73,229/yr	High	22.7x
6	Nursing (RN/BSN) Western New Mexico University · Silver City, NM	89 83–89	$73,666/yr	High	26.7x
7	Computer & Information Science New Mexico State University-Main Campus · Las Cruces, NM	86 75–88	$63,674/yr	Very High	26.0x
8	Business Administration University of New Mexico-Main Campus · Albuquerque, NM	84 77–86	$45,215/yr	High	19.3x
9	Allied Health & Diagnostic Professions University of New Mexico-Main Campus · Albuquerque, NM	79 75–80	$57,714/yr	Moderate	24.5x
10	Accounting Eastern New Mexico University-Main Campus · Portales, NM	82 75–83	$52,579/yr	Very High	19.1x
11	Aviation Eastern New Mexico University-Main Campus · Portales, NM	78 74–79	$88,085/yr	Moderate	31.1x
12	Business Administration New Mexico Highlands University · Las Vegas, NM	80 73–82	$39,271/yr	High	19.4x
13	Finance New Mexico State University-Main Campus · Las Cruces, NM	81 75–82	$48,868/yr	Very High	15.9x
14	Teacher Education (General) Eastern New Mexico University-Main Campus · Portales, NM	77 75–75	$41,896/yr	High	15.4x
15	Business Administration Eastern New Mexico University-Main Campus · Portales, NM	80 74–80	$40,085/yr	High	15.8x
16	Teacher Education (General) New Mexico Highlands University · Las Vegas, NM	76 74–76	$41,352/yr	High	16.2x
17	Teacher Education (Subject-Specific) New Mexico State University-Main Campus · Las Cruces, NM	78 75–78	$45,016/yr	High	14.5x
18	Teacher Education (General) University of New Mexico-Main Campus · Albuquerque, NM	74 73–73	$41,304/yr	High	13.6x
19	Criminal Justice University of New Mexico-Main Campus · Albuquerque, NM	75 72–75	$38,370/yr	Moderate	13.9x
20	Dental Hygiene University of New Mexico-Main Campus · Albuquerque, NM	74 71–73	$55,003/yr	Moderate	18.7x
21	Teacher Education (General) New Mexico State University-Main Campus · Las Cruces, NM	75 74–73	$41,888/yr	High	13.2x
22	Business (General) New Mexico State University-Main Campus · Las Cruces, NM	77 72–77	$39,442/yr	High	13.4x
23	Business Administration New Mexico State University-Main Campus · Las Cruces, NM	75 67–79	$35,599/yr	High	17.4x
24	Medical Laboratory Science University of New Mexico-Main Campus · Albuquerque, NM	74 71–72	$57,178/yr	Moderate	16.6x
25	Mental Health & Counseling Eastern New Mexico University-Main Campus · Portales, NM	74 71–73	$40,645/yr	Moderate	16.6x
26	Economics University of New Mexico-Main Campus · Albuquerque, NM	75 67–78	$43,656/yr	Very High	18.2x
27	Electrical Engineering New Mexico State University-Main Campus · Las Cruces, NM	75 68–77	$82,790/yr	Very High	28.9x
28	Accounting New Mexico State University-Main Campus · Las Cruces, NM	71 61–77	$38,057/yr	Very High	19.3x
29	Criminal Justice Western New Mexico University · Silver City, NM	70 65–73	$32,386/yr	Moderate	15.6x
30	Nursing (RN/BSN) Brookline College-Albuquerque · Albuquerque, NM	73 67–73	$78,980/yr	High	—
31	Criminal Justice Eastern New Mexico University-Main Campus · Portales, NM	70 66–71	$31,599/yr	Moderate	15.1x
32	Agricultural Business New Mexico State University-Main Campus · Las Cruces, NM	72 69–71	$41,268/yr	High	12.0x
33	Aerospace Engineering New Mexico State University-Main Campus · Las Cruces, NM	72 66–73	$68,002/yr	High	28.3x
34	Chemical Engineering New Mexico State University-Main Campus · Las Cruces, NM	72 67–74	$75,766/yr	High	26.4x
35	Engineering Technology, General New Mexico State University-Main Campus · Las Cruces, NM	69 64–71	$60,250/yr	High	25.0x
36	Teacher Education (Subject-Specific) Eastern New Mexico University-Main Campus · Portales, NM	68 62–72	$30,513/yr	High	18.7x
37	Electrical Engineering New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology · Socorro, NM	73 66–74	$73,300/yr	Very High	19.2x
38	Mechanical Engineering University of New Mexico-Main Campus · Albuquerque, NM	71 64–74	$61,611/yr	Very High	30.5x
39	Civil Engineering New Mexico State University-Main Campus · Las Cruces, NM	71 64–73	$60,212/yr	High	26.0x
40	Mechanical Engineering New Mexico State University-Main Campus · Las Cruces, NM	71 64–74	$62,813/yr	Very High	29.1x
41	Mental Health & Counseling New Mexico Highlands University · Las Vegas, NM	69 65–68	$34,750/yr	Moderate	15.4x
42	Mechanical Engineering New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology · Socorro, NM	70 62–73	$57,424/yr	Very High	26.8x
43	Teacher Education (Subject-Specific) University of New Mexico-Main Campus · Albuquerque, NM	66 59–72	$29,997/yr	High	17.0x
44	Chemical Engineering University of New Mexico-Main Campus · Albuquerque, NM	70 63–72	$62,907/yr	High	26.7x
45	Criminal Justice New Mexico State University-Main Campus · Las Cruces, NM	66 61–68	$29,553/yr	Moderate	13.0x
46	Civil Engineering University of New Mexico-Main Campus · Albuquerque, NM	69 63–72	$54,248/yr	High	25.0x
47	Liberal Arts & General Studies Eastern New Mexico University-Main Campus · Portales, NM	62 64–60	$43,186/yr	Low	17.2x
48	Criminal Justice New Mexico Highlands University · Las Vegas, NM	62 55–68	$21,630/yr	Moderate	15.0x
49	Engineering Science University of New Mexico-Main Campus · Albuquerque, NM	69 64–70	$64,405/yr	High	18.8x
50	Social Work Western New Mexico University · Silver City, NM	69 68–67	$42,250/yr	Moderate	12.4x
51	Marketing New Mexico State University-Main Campus · Las Cruces, NM	64 54–70	$33,191/yr	Very High	18.8x
52	Teacher Education (General) University of the Southwest · Hobbs, NM	64 62–64	$40,282/yr	High	5.0x
53	Political Science University of New Mexico-Main Campus · Albuquerque, NM	63 56–68	$33,947/yr	Very High	16.7x
54	Chemical Engineering New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology · Socorro, NM	66 61–66	$57,215/yr	High	14.8x
55	Kinesiology & Exercise Science New Mexico State University-Main Campus · Las Cruces, NM	57 50–61	$23,701/yr	Moderate	14.9x
56	Hospitality Management New Mexico State University-Main Campus · Las Cruces, NM	61 56–63	$29,942/yr	High	11.3x
57	Criminal Justice Brookline College-Albuquerque · Albuquerque, NM	60 55–61	$33,962/yr	Moderate	—
58	Mathematics University of New Mexico-Main Campus · Albuquerque, NM	65 57–66	$44,639/yr	Very High	12.8x
59	History University of New Mexico-Main Campus · Albuquerque, NM	60 53–63	$29,793/yr	High	13.9x
60	Social Work New Mexico State University-Main Campus · Las Cruces, NM	60 59–59	$33,510/yr	Moderate	12.5x
61	Political Science New Mexico State University-Main Campus · Las Cruces, NM	61 57–63	$35,393/yr	Very High	11.7x
62	Human Development & Family Studies New Mexico State University-Main Campus · Las Cruces, NM	57 55–59	$25,965/yr	High	10.3x
63	Biology University of New Mexico-Main Campus · Albuquerque, NM	56 49–60	$30,065/yr	High	16.6x
64	Sociology University of New Mexico-Main Campus · Albuquerque, NM	60 56–61	$35,796/yr	High	12.8x
65	Microbiology & Immunology New Mexico State University-Main Campus · Las Cruces, NM	64 59–62	$36,198/yr	High	10.1x
66	Special Education University of New Mexico-Main Campus · Albuquerque, NM	57 54–57	$41,947/yr	High	13.9x
67	Public Health New Mexico State University-Main Campus · Las Cruces, NM	58 49–61	$27,729/yr	High	13.3x
68	Fine Arts & Studio Art Institute of American Indian and Alaska Native Culture and Arts Development · Santa Fe, NM	58 55–57	$29,835/yr	Moderate	11.9x
69	Psychology University of New Mexico-Main Campus · Albuquerque, NM	58 51–60	$31,466/yr	High	12.9x
70	Communications & Media Studies Eastern New Mexico University-Main Campus · Portales, NM	55 48–58	$33,674/yr	High	15.8x
71	Food Science & Nutrition University of New Mexico-Main Campus · Albuquerque, NM	58 55–58	$27,978/yr	High	7.6x
72	Liberal Arts & General Studies University of New Mexico-Main Campus · Albuquerque, NM	50 52–49	$31,428/yr	Low	13.5x
73	Special Education New Mexico State University-Main Campus · Las Cruces, NM	50 43–56	$31,963/yr	High	19.2x
74	Liberal Arts & General Studies New Mexico State University-Main Campus · Las Cruces, NM	50 52–49	$31,568/yr	Low	13.1x
75	Biology New Mexico State University-Main Campus · Las Cruces, NM	52 45–57	$26,533/yr	High	14.3x
76	Sociology New Mexico State University-Main Campus · Las Cruces, NM	55 51–56	$31,376/yr	High	11.7x
77	Physical Therapy & Rehabilitation Western New Mexico University · Silver City, NM	57 55–54	$34,345/yr	Moderate	9.9x
78	Psychology New Mexico State University-Main Campus · Las Cruces, NM	53 45–58	$26,250/yr	High	12.9x
79	Psychology Eastern New Mexico University-Main Campus · Portales, NM	51 41–58	$19,844/yr	High	14.1x
80	Chemistry University of New Mexico-Main Campus · Albuquerque, NM	57 52–56	$30,122/yr	High	8.3x
81	Anthropology University of New Mexico-Main Campus · Albuquerque, NM	55 51–54	$31,729/yr	High	9.9x
82	Mental Health & Counseling New Mexico State University-Main Campus · Las Cruces, NM	54 53–53	$25,631/yr	Moderate	6.9x
83	Romance Languages & Literatures University of New Mexico-Main Campus · Albuquerque, NM	50 42–56	$32,236/yr	Very High	15.7x
84	Family and Consumer Sciences/Human Sciences University of New Mexico-Main Campus · Albuquerque, NM	51 50–51	$35,369/yr	High	11.1x
85	Animal Science New Mexico State University-Main Campus · Las Cruces, NM	49 44–52	$28,475/yr	High	11.6x
86	Psychology Western New Mexico University · Silver City, NM	56 51–55	$31,591/yr	High	9.0x
87	Petroleum Engineering New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology · Socorro, NM	56 51–55	$42,325/yr	High	10.7x
88	Geography and Cartography University of New Mexico-Main Campus · Albuquerque, NM	54 49–54	$32,096/yr	High	8.9x
89	Sociology Eastern New Mexico University-Main Campus · Portales, NM	53 51–53	$29,167/yr	High	9.6x
90	American Sign Language University of New Mexico-Main Campus · Albuquerque, NM	52 50–52	$33,300/yr	High	9.3x
91	Journalism University of New Mexico-Main Campus · Albuquerque, NM	46 38–53	$32,423/yr	Very High	14.9x
92	Writing & Rhetoric University of New Mexico-Main Campus · Albuquerque, NM	48 41–53	$33,999/yr	Very High	13.8x
93	Biochemistry & Molecular Biology University of New Mexico-Main Campus · Albuquerque, NM	47 35–54	$23,648/yr	High	19.1x
94	Fine Arts & Studio Art University of New Mexico-Main Campus · Albuquerque, NM	45 41–49	$19,227/yr	Moderate	9.2x
95	Wildlife & Fisheries Science New Mexico State University-Main Campus · Las Cruces, NM	47 42–51	$33,603/yr	High	14.0x
96	Psychology New Mexico Highlands University · Las Vegas, NM	52 48–52	$27,483/yr	High	8.5x
97	Ethnic & Cultural Minority University of New Mexico-Main Campus · Albuquerque, NM	49 41–53	$38,260/yr	Very High	13.8x
98	Linguistic & Comparative New Mexico State University-Main Campus · Las Cruces, NM	46 39–52	$27,720/yr	Very High	13.4x
99	Speech-Language Pathology Eastern New Mexico University-Main Campus · Portales, NM	49 39–50	$26,335/yr	High	14.8x
100	Visual & Performing Arts University of New Mexico-Main Campus · Albuquerque, NM	44 40–47	$25,286/yr	High	11.0x

Methodology

This ranking includes the top 100 programs at New Mexico colleges and universities, drawn from 116 total programs with earnings data. Programs are ranked by DegreeWorth Score (0–100), which combines graduate earnings, AI automation resilience, job market demand, and tuition ROI.

Only in-state tuition is used for ROI calculations. Earnings data comes from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best college program in New Mexico?

By DegreeWorth Score, Nursing (RN/BSN) at New Mexico Highlands University ranks #1 in New Mexico with a score of 91/100 and graduate earnings of $88,137/yr.

How many college programs are in New Mexico?

Our database includes 116 programs across New Mexico colleges with reported earnings data from the U.S. Department of Education.

Data: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (earnings, debt), Bureau of Labor Statistics 2024–2034 (employment projections), OpenAI GPTs-are-GPTs research (AI task exposure), Felten et al. AIOE. Last updated 2025.