The ships of the New Mexico class were part of the standard series that began with the Nevada class; they featured similar characteristics, including speed, armor, armament, and the use of fuel oil rather than coal.
They were designed as such to create a battle fleet of tactically homogeneous ships that would simplify command and control.
They were 600 feet (180 m) long at the waterline and 624 ft (190 m) long overall.
They had a beam of 97 ft 4.5 in (29.7 m) and a draft of 30 ft (9.1 m).
They displaced 32,000 long tons (33,000 t) as designed and up to 33,000 long tons (34,000 t) at full combat load.
Their hulls featured a long forecastle deck that stepped down to main deck level at the main mast.
As built, the ships were fitted with two cage masts with spotting tops for the main-gun battery.

Their crew numbered 58 officers and 1,026 enlisted men.
Over the course of their careers, their crews expanded significantly as equipment was added.
After their early 1930s refit, their crew numbered 82 officers and 1,371 enlisted, and by 1945, wartime improvements brought the crews to 129 officers and 1,850 enlisted.
They carried a number of smaller boats for utility purposes while in harbor, as well as to assist with rescue efforts at sea.
These included a number of motor launches of various lengths and motor whaleboats.

All three ships were powered by four Curtis turbines, with steam provided by nine oil-fired Babcock & Wilcox boilers.
New Mexico's turbines were used to power electrical motors that drove the screw propellers; her system was rated for 27,500 shaft horsepower (20,500 kW).
The latter two ships, with their traditional propulsion systems, were rated at 32,000 shp (24,000 kW).
All three vessels were rated for a top speed of 21 knots (39 km/h; 24 mph).
Though the turbo-electric system was effective and it was repeated in the follow-on Tennessee class, the Navy ultimately decided that the system was too heavy and occupied too much space in the hull, and later ships reverted to traditional turbine propulsion.

The ships had storage capacity for 1,467 long tons (1,491 t) of fuel oil for the boilers, though additional spaces in the hull could be used to increase capacity to 2,200 long tons (2,200 t), which provided a cruising range of 8,000 nautical miles (15,000 km; 9,200 mi) at a speed of 10 kn (19 km/h; 12 mph).
As speed increased, their range decreased significantly: at 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph), they could steam for 6,400 nmi (11,900 km; 7,400 mi), and at 20 kn (37 km/h; 23 mph), their range fell to 2,414 nmi (4,471 km; 2,778 mi).
Moreover, these figures were assuming the vessels had clean hulls free of marine growth that would inhibit their hydrodynamic efficiency.
In service conditions where biofouling added drag to the hulls, their ranges were reduced even further to 5,129 nmi (9,499 km; 5,902 mi) and 1,931 nmi (3,576 km; 2,222 mi), respectively.
The ships of the New Mexico class were part of the standard series that began with the Nevada class; they featured similar characteristics, including speed, armor, armament, and the use of fuel oil rather than coal. They were designed as such to create a battle fleet of tactically homogeneous ships that would simplify command and control. They were 600 feet (180 m) long at the waterline and 624 ft (190 m) long overall. They had a beam of 97 ft 4.5 in (29.7 m) and a draft of 30 ft (9.1 m). They displaced 32,000 long tons (33,000 t) as designed and up to 33,000 long tons (34,000 t) at full combat load. Their hulls featured a long forecastle deck that stepped down to main deck level at the main mast. As built, the ships were fitted with two cage masts with spotting tops for the main-gun battery.
Their crew numbered 58 officers and 1,026 enlisted men. Over the course of their careers, their crews expanded significantly as equipment was added. After their early 1930s refit, their crew numbered 82 officers and 1,371 enlisted, and by 1945, wartime improvements brought the crews to 129 officers and 1,850 enlisted. They carried a number of smaller boats for utility purposes while in harbor, as well as to assist with rescue efforts at sea. These included a number of motor launches of various lengths and motor whaleboats.
All three ships were powered by four Curtis turbines, with steam provided by nine oil-fired Babcock & Wilcox boilers. New Mexico's turbines were used to power electrical motors that drove the screw propellers; her system was rated for 27,500 shaft horsepower (20,500 kW). The latter two ships, with their traditional propulsion systems, were rated at 32,000 shp (24,000 kW). All three vessels were rated for a top speed of 21 knots (39 km/h; 24 mph). Though the turbo-electric system was effective and it was repeated in the follow-on Tennessee class, the Navy ultimately decided that the system was too heavy and occupied too much space in the hull, and later ships reverted to traditional turbine propulsion.
The ships had storage capacity for 1,467 long tons (1,491 t) of fuel oil for the boilers, though additional spaces in the hull could be used to increase capacity to 2,200 long tons (2,200 t), which provided a cruising range of 8,000 nautical miles (15,000 km; 9,200 mi) at a speed of 10 kn (19 km/h; 12 mph). As speed increased, their range decreased significantly: at 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph), they could steam for 6,400 nmi (11,900 km; 7,400 mi), and at 20 kn (37 km/h; 23 mph), their range fell to 2,414 nmi (4,471 km; 2,778 mi). Moreover, these figures were assuming the vessels had clean hulls free of marine growth that would inhibit their hydrodynamic efficiency. In service conditions where biofouling added drag to the hulls, their ranges were reduced even further to 5,129 nmi (9,499 km; 5,902 mi) and 1,931 nmi (3,576 km; 2,222 mi), respectively.
New Mexico-class battleship