In trying to think of what distinguishes NM from AZ one thing I wonder about is water availability? NM's major cities are all along the Rio Grande, but NM doesn't have large reservoirs on the level of Meade or Powell. I also have to imagine that there's more flow moving along the AZ/CA border than there is along the Rio Grande in NM. So, there's more of a basis for farming and potable water for developing larger metro areas.
I'll also add that eastern NM has a lot of drilling presence but probably is a lot less attractive prospect for development in that industry there relative to neighboring Texas (where Midland/Odessa is larger than anything comparable in the Permian Basin). I'd wager that Texas is friendlier for any kind of development than Eastern New Mexico.
Because it doesn’t have a booming tech industry like Colorado, Utah, and Idaho.
I do think NM could be a prime candidate though for such an industry and honestly really should incentivize R&D companies to move into the area, especially given the presence of Los Alamos already so it isn’t a stretch of imagination.
NM is a case where reduced regulation and more pro-business policies actually really could be helpful imo.
Funnily enough, Microsoft was founded in ABQ (and re-located to Bellevue within a decade) and Jeff Bezos supposedly considered the city as a launching ground for Amazon. Sadly for the city once the tech presence established in Seattle it had a prime-mover advantage that made it hard for other cities (like ABQ) to get a foothold.
