U.S. state profile · USGS ComCat
Earthquakes in New Mexico
New Mexico has catalogued 37 M4+ earthquakes since 2005 (ranked 14th of 39 U.S. states), with the strongest reaching magnitude M5.4.
New Mexico ranks 14th of 39 U.S. states and territories by catalogued seismic activity - a state with limited seismic activity, averaging about 2 M4+ events a year alongside 0 significant M6+ earthquakes since 1900. Below: the full M6+ event history, magnitude and depth profile, and yearly trend.
- 37
- M4+ events (since 2005)
- 0
- Major M6+ (since 1900)
- M5.4
- Strongest
- ~2
- M4+ per year
The verdict
New Mexico is moderately seismically active, above the global median, with 37 M4+ earthquakes logged since 2005 and 0 major M6+ events since 1900, the strongest reaching magnitude 5.4.
- N/A
- no yearly breakdown available
- N/A
- average recorded event depth
- 0%
- of events are shallow (<70 km, the most damaging kind)
Average catalogued magnitude is 4.3 - most events are moderate tremors felt but rarely damaging. On the M4+ activity ladder Texas sits immediately above at 53 events and Montana sits immediately below at 28.
ComCat jurisdiction tape
Event tape NM · New Mexico M4+ · 14th/39
New Mexico · 37 M4+ · max M5.4 · 0 M6+
- DEPTH 37
- PHOTO 14th/39
- BUSY M5.4
- SHAL 0
- PCT near Texas
- VS-PEER Aug 22, 2026
Stamps derive from this jurisdiction's USGS ComCat row (M4+ book, rank, peak magnitude, M6+ record, ladder neighbour, depth/peak year), not a hazard forecast. PlainQuake is informational only - not professional advice and not a substitute for official USGS guidance. See our disclaimer. Verify with USGS ComCat → · Read with methodology → · How earthquakes are measured → · Most active U.S. regions → · All state catalog rows → · States ranked →
Where New Mexico sits in the catalog
Rank 14th of 39 tracked U.S. states and territories (64th percentile by M4+ count since 2005). On the M4+ activity ladder Texas sits immediately above at 53 events and Montana sits immediately below at 28.
No M6+ events on the significant record
New Mexico has catalogued M4+ activity since 2005 but zero magnitude-6.0-and-above events in the USGS significant series back to 1900. The nearest tracked jurisdiction that does carry an M6+ record is Montana (28 M4+ · 4 M6+).
New Mexico's M4+ count vs. every tracked state
Total catalogued M4+ events since 2005, USGS ComCat
37 Top 36% higher than 64% of 39 states
Each bar is a 100-wide band; taller bars hold more states. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source USGS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog (ComCat) · 2005-present
Seismic hazard context
Catalogued counts on this page are history, not a building-code hazard map. New Mexico's latest M4+ catalog entry is dated Aug 22, 2026. For the national PGA design-basis tiers, see the seismic risk maps guide or the USGS National Seismic Hazard Model.
Peak-magnitude sample from the same roster
A New Mexico-keyed shuffle of states with a recorded max magnitude. Layout order flips by state so sibling pages do not open the same block first.
Other states in this catalog sample
A second New Mexico-keyed shuffle of the full 38-state roster (not ABS-gap nearest neighbors).
According to the US Geological Survey Earthquake Hazards Program, PlainQuake's figures are rendered directly from 317,293 recorded M4+ earthquakes and 14,444 significant M6+ events (USGS ComCat, 2005-present) -- no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026-08-26.