New Mexico Zombie Survival Index: 81/100

Personal assessment

Your state has a score. Do you?

Take the readiness assessment and get your own Zombie Survival Index score!

Get my free ZSI score

The three tests

New Mexico scored three times

A state that handles shamblers can get erased by sprinters. Here is how New Mexico performs under each outbreak model.

Walking DeadThe Walking Dead

88

Slow zombies reward distance, food, freshwater and terrain. New Mexico has about 2,125,498 people and 38.6 million acres in farm operations, plus 1.19 million cattle and calves and 5.864 billion pounds of milk. Against walkers the resource base matters because survivors have the time to exploit it.

World War ZWorld War Z

85

Fast zombies turn geography into a race, and New Mexico is one of the strongest states on this test. Barely two million people occupy an enormous area, the terrain is punishing to cross, and outbreak pressure drops away sharply the moment you clear Albuquerque.

Last of UsThe Last of Us

70

Yes, we know they're not technically zombies. This asks whether a settlement can function after the modern supply network fails, and it is where New Mexico pays hardest. Water scarcity sets the ceiling, and no amount of terrain, solar or cattle raises it.

What helps

High desert, mountain ranges, mesas, volcanic terrain, forests and vast rural distances
Rio Grande and Pecos systems, reservoirs, groundwater basins and mountain snowpack, with serious drought and long-term scarcity constraints
38.6 million acres in farm operations
1.19 million cattle and calves
5.864 billion pounds of milk plus cattle, hay, pecans, chile, corn and other irrigated agriculture
Major oil and natural-gas production plus excellent solar and wind resources
Kirtland Air Force Base, Cannon Air Force Base, Holloman Air Force Base, White Sands Missile Range and the New Mexico National Guard

What hurts

Water scarcity as the state's central long-term constraint
Drought, wildfire, extreme heat, flash flooding, winter storms at elevation and long-term water stress
Remote safety can mean thinner medicine and longer repair distances
Main corridors can become population funnels after a late evacuation

Avoid Albuquerque early, gain elevation, and choose a northern or mountain-valley community with an already dependable water supply, local agriculture, solar potential and multiple road options.

Personal assessment

Your state has a score. Do you?

Take the readiness assessment and get your own Zombie Survival Index score!

Get my free ZSI score

The reason for the score

New Mexico's zombie superpowers

High desert, mountain ranges, mesas, volcanic terrain, forests and vast rural distances determine movement, observation, evacuation and settlement options. The best refuge is not simply remote — it needs terrain plus water plus food plus energy plus access.

1 · Space

Just over 2.12 million people occupy a very large state, which is about as favourable a ratio as the index measures.

2 · Terrain

Mountain ranges, mesas and high desert create excellent defensive separation in every direction.

3 · Energy

Oil, natural gas, solar and wind provide exceptional resource depth, and the solar potential is elite.

4 · Dairy and ranching

USDA lists 1.19 million cattle and nearly 5.9 billion pounds of milk in 2025.

The catch

Water is the boss fight

Water

New Mexico's survival ceiling is set by dependable water, and nothing else in its favour changes that.

Wildfire

The cooler, forested high country is also the place where fire can close the only road out.

Distance to medicine

Remote geography is safer until specialised care or parts are needed.

The framework

25 survival factors, scored 1–10

Every state is measured on the same 25 factors. Weighting shifts by scenario — terrain matters more against sprinters, agriculture matters more in a long collapse.

01 Population density Very low statewide density 10/10

02 Major city exposure Albuquerque is the primary concentration 9/10

03 Road escape capacity Good interstate spine with large rural road distances 8/10

04 Freshwater availability Water scarcity is the main constraint 4/10

05 Agricultural capacity 38.6 million farm acres, much of it rangeland 8/10

06 Food self-sufficiency Strong dairy and cattle and irrigated specialty crops 7/10

07 Wilderness & remote land Exceptional remote land 10/10

08 Natural defensive terrain Mountains, mesas and basins are elite terrain 10/10

09 Climate survivability Heat and aridity are significant 6/10

10 Winter zombie suppression High elevations get useful cold 7/10

11 Natural disaster risk Drought, wildfire and flash-flood risk 4/10

12 Energy production Major oil and gas production and regional generation 8/10

13 Off-grid energy potential Elite solar and wind potential 10/10

14 Medical resources Limited advanced medicine outside Albuquerque and Santa Fe 6/10

15 Military & Guard presence Large Air Force and missile-range presence 9/10

16 Emergency management Strong wildfire and all-hazards response capability 8/10

17 Supply & logistics Long rural logistics distances 6/10

18 Infrastructure vulnerability Water and remote infrastructure are fragile 6/10

19 Survival resource availability Cattle, energy, solar, minerals and local crops 8/10

20 Evacuation & refuge potential Elite refuge potential if water is solved 10/10

21 Natural barriers & water access Mountains and mesas create barriers 7/10

22 Distance from population centers Huge areas far from major population centers 10/10

23 Chokepoint & bridge dependency Some mountain and interstate corridors can narrow 8/10

24 Hunting, fishing & foraging Good hunting, limited fishing relative to wetter states 8/10

25 Long-term settlement potential Strong only where water is sustainable 7/10

Tactics

What works, by scenario

Strategy	Walking Dead	World War Z	Last of Us
Rural farm or ranch with independent water	Excellent	Very good if reached early	Excellent
Small agricultural town	Very good	Good	Excellent
Remote site with no food system	Good early	Very good for isolation	Poor long-term
Major highway evacuation	Good early, bad late	Terrible late	Poor after collapse
Major metro shelter	Poor	Terrible	Poor
Distributed renewable power	Very good	Good	Excellent
Hunting and fishing supplement	Very good	Good	Very good
One-road refuge	Risky	Risky	Risky

Geography

Where to be

Best overall

Northern New Mexico high country with proven water

Elevation, terrain, solar and agriculture can align well up here.

Verified year-round water first
Elevation and cooler summers
Established acequia agriculture
Elite solar potential

Runner-up

Rural mountain valleys east of the Sangre de Cristo range

Defensive geography and small communities, but winter access matters.

Third

South-central agricultural areas with secure groundwater

Food and solar are strong; heat and water remain constraints.

Where not to be

Avoid early

Albuquerque metro

Largest population concentration and central interstate nexus.

Avoid

Any high-desert refuge chosen from a map without verifying water

Blue lines on a map are not a well.

Avoid

One-road forest community during fire season

The ridge cannot help if the road is burning.

Verdict

81 out of 100 · Grade B− · Rank #26

New Mexico has excellent defensive geography and a manageable population. Its mountains, high desert, forests, ranches, solar potential, military facilities, and vast open spaces offer isolation and multiple refuge strategies away from Albuquerque. The catch is water: drought, extreme heat, wildfire, limited farmland, and dependence on rivers, aquifers, pumps, and long supply routes make long-term survival fragile. Survivors can hide almost anywhere, but they cannot improvise a reliable water source.

Walking Dead 88. World War Z 85. Last of Us 70.

Avoid Albuquerque early, gain elevation, and choose a northern or mountain-valley community with an already dependable water supply, local agriculture, solar potential and multiple road options.

See the national survey board

Method & sources

Where the numbers come from

The Zombie Survival Index is a fictional entertainment ranking that uses real public data as its inputs. Every state is scored on the same 25 factors under three outbreak models, and the overall number blends those results. All fifty states have been assessed and normalised against the same national scoring set.

U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Population Estimates and QuickFacts
USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service, 2025 State Agriculture Overview
U.S. Energy Information Administration, State Electricity Profile
State water-resource and environmental agencies
State emergency-management agencies
U.S. Department of Defense and National Guard installation sources
State wildlife, hunting and fishing agencies
NOAA and state climatology and hazard sources