New Mexico saw a 2.6% rise in the alcohol-related death rate from 2024 to 2025, according to data released Tuesday by the state Department of Health.
Though New Mexico has long been one of the states with the highest alcohol-related death rates, the recent increase comes after three years of declines. The rate of alcohol-related deaths per 100,000 residents in the state dropped 21% from 2021 to 2024, though they have yet to return to pre-2020 levels.
Alcohol-related deaths can be categorized into two main categories, said Rebecca Neudecker, section manager for the New Mexico Department of Health’s Office of Alcohol Misuse Prevention. About two-thirds of the deaths fit into the chronic category, in which people develop and die from chronic conditions linked to alcohol use — namely, chronic liver disease, but also several types of cancers. The other third are considered part of the acute category, in which people die from accidents or injuries related to alcohol use, like car crashes, firearm injuries and falls.
The reason for the increase in 2025 is tough to decipher, Neudecker said.
“It’s hard to tell exactly what’s driving that,” she said. “We’ve had increases to both acute and chronic this year, but it’s a relatively small increase in an overall downward trend.”
New Mexico in 2024 again had the highest alcohol-related mortality rate of any state, according to data gathered by the health research and policy organization KFF.
That year, the state saw 1,781 deaths tied to alcohol use, state Department of Health data shows.
In 2025, the state’s alcohol-related death total rose to 1,809.
Still, that’s lower than the state’s peak in 2021, when 2,189 people died due to alcohol.
Rates have been trending downward over the past five years, particularly as young adults drink less than previous generations, Neudecker said. Excessive drinking includes heavy drinking, or more than eight drinks a week for women and more than 15 drinks a week for men, as well as binge drinking on a single occasion and any underage drinking.
In addition to staving off chronic conditions and other long-term consequences of heavy drinking, cutting back on alcohol can bring more immediate rewards, like better sleep, focus and digestion, Neudecker said. It can even bring economic benefit.
“People often realize that they have more money in their pocket because they’re not spending it on alcohol,” she said.
New Mexico has had one of the highest alcohol-related morality rates in the country since 1990, Neudecker said. While the department does not have current federal data to compare to the most recent state data, she believes that is still the case.
“So we still have work to do, and that’s why we think it’s important to raise awareness about it and also see how we can help adjust those rates by changing behavior,” she said.
Margaret O’Hara reports on issues affecting healthy communities in New Mexico. Her work is funded by a grant from Anchorum Health Foundation. Anchorum will not have any role in editorial decisions. The New Mexican and its Public Service Journalism Fund retain full editorial control. Philanthropically funded stories by The New Mexican are made available to all readers without a paywall.
