NEW MEXICO INVENTIONINDEX | NOVEMBER 2025

November 2025: 1.00% (C- grade)

New Mexico inventionINDEX November 2025: 1.00% (C- grade)

The inventionINDEX measures innovation output by comparing GDP growth with patent production growth. 

Anything over C grade is positive sentiment; anything under C is negative outlook/sentiment. Using that sentiment, it is possible to observe trends over time, and also compare states/countries. In doing so, we can predict which states have the best chance to recover economically from the pandemic (or any other economic incident that may occur).

New Mexico inventionINDEX Scores – Last 12 months

The recent November 2025 data for the New Mexico inventionINDEX marks a notable shift in the state’s innovative momentum, recording a score of 1.00 percent with a C- rating. This figure represents a cooling period following a more robust performance in the preceding months of late 2025. When examining the broader 60-month trajectory, this current position sits near the lower threshold of the historical range, contrasting sharply with the relative stability and higher ratings observed throughout much of 2024. The transition from an A- in October to a C- in November suggests a contraction in patent activity or research output that warrants close observation by stakeholders.

Comparing these recent figures to historical benchmarks reveals significant volatility within the New Mexico innovation landscape over the last five years. The index reached its zenith in August 2025 with an unprecedented 7.81 percent score, an outlier that significantly outperformed any other month in the 60-month period. Conversely, the low of 0.73 percent in March 2023 serves as a reminder of past troughs. While the current 1.00 percent score is higher than that absolute historical low, it remains below the consistent A-level performance seen during peak cycles in 2021 and 2022, indicating that the state is currently navigating a period of diminished creative throughput.

Achieving a higher grade, such as the A+ ratings seen frequently between 2023 and 2025, yields substantial benefits for the regional economy. High scores typically reflect a surge in intellectual property development, which often correlates with increased venture capital investment and the birth of high-tech startups. These periods of peak performance suggest an environment where academic research and private enterprise are effectively collaborating to bring new ideas to market. A consistently high index score enhances New Mexico’s reputation as a hub for ingenuity, attracting top-tier talent and fostering a self-sustaining ecosystem of technological advancement and industrial growth.

Conversely, the implications of a lower score and a declining rating like the current C- can be concerning for long-term economic planning. A sustained dip in the index may signal a bottleneck in the research pipeline or a lack of necessary resources for local inventors to formalize their work. Such periods of lower engagement often result in missed opportunities for industrial modernization and can lead to a talent drain as researchers seek more supportive environments elsewhere. Addressing these downturns requires a strategic focus on incentivizing research and development to ensure that New Mexico regains its competitive footing and moves back toward the higher tiers of the inventionINDEX.

Discussion:

In November, the New Mexico inventionINDEX scored a negative sentiment which was lower than the previous year’s average and underperformed the upward trend for the year. This is similar to the prior 12 months, which experienced an upward trend. 

As the economy continues to stabilize in the post-pandemic era, it remains uncertain whether any backlog of applications still exists or if the department has returned to normal processing timelines. The inventionINDEX could also be affected by lingering consequences from the pandemic, such as company closures, reduced workforces, and limited R&D capabilities, which may still be impacting current operations.

Learn More:

Are you thinking of patenting any of your bright ideas? Did you know your research work could be eligible for the R&D Tax Credit and you can receive up to 14% back on your expenses? To find out more, please check out our free online eligibility test.

Swanson Reed’s New Mexico office provides R&D tax credit consulting and advisory services to Albuquerque, Las Cruces, Rio Rancho, Santa Fe, and Roswell.

Feel free to book a quick teleconference with one of R&D tax specialists if you would like to learn more about R&D tax credit opportunities.

Who We Are:

Swanson Reed is the largest Specialist R&D tax credit advisory firm in the United States. With offices nationwide, we are one of the only firms globally to exclusively provide R&D tax credit consulting services to our clients. We have been exclusively providing R&D tax credit claim preparation and audit compliance solutions for over 30 years. 

Swanson Reed hosts daily free webinars and provides free IRS CE and CPE credits for CPAs.  For more information please visit us at www.swansonreed.com/free-webinars or contact your usual Swanson Reed representative.