More than half of New Mexico’s nearly 1,700 retailers that accept food stamps are at “high risk” of losing business or closing due to recent cuts to the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, according to a Source New Mexico review of an analysis by the Center for American Progress.

According to the latest figures from the United States Department of Agriculture, 1,687 retailers across the state accept SNAP. That includes 776 convenience stores, 101 grocery stores, 72 farmers markets and 91 supermarkets, along with other types of retailers.

Of them, 898 are at “high risk” of facing financial difficulties, including closure, according to the Center for American Progress analysis, due to the cuts contained in a recent federal spending bill.

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The recently enacted “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” also known as H.R.1, cut federal SNAP benefits, imposed work requirements and passed certain costs on to states. While the cuts have not yet gone into effect, New Mexico officials predict that the state’s 450,000 SNAP recipients will lose at least some benefits and 40,000 people will lose benefits entirely.

New Mexico has the highest percentage of SNAP recipients in the country.

U.S. Representative Gabe Vasquez (D-N.M.) told Source New Mexico this week that the cuts to SNAP will have wide-ranging impacts on not just recipients, but also retailers and farmers, especially in rural areas. He said he knows of a couple of rural grocers that receive more than three-quarters of their income from customers who use SNAP.

Back in May, Center for American Progress researchers sought to quantify how many retailers might be in trouble if SNAP cuts went into effect. They determined that more than 27,000 retailers nationwide were at “high risk” of losing significant revenue.

The authors deemed a particular retailer “high risk” based on two factors: One, if it was in a county with SNAP participation rates in the top 10 percent of counties; and, two, whether the retailer was one of relatively few in that county.

The New Mexico Health Care Authority does not maintain its own list of retailers that heavily rely on SNAP, according to spokesperson Marina Pina. Her office also did not immediately respond to Source’s request for comment on the Center for American Progress’ methodology.

However, authority officials recently told lawmakers that they predict retailers across the state will lose $1.3 billion in revenue as a result of the cuts.

According to the center’s data, the “high-risk” retailers lie in 18 counties, mostly in rural areas. The most “high-risk” retailers (154) operate in Doña Ana County, with 125 in San Juan County and 83 in Lea County.

The “high risk” retailers include 445 convenience stores, 42 farmers markets and 51 grocery stores, along with 267 retailers classified as “other.”