If the U.S. border region was the 51st state.....

See for yourself here.

I'll mention a few highlights of this descriptive study by the Border Counties Coalition. Compared to the other 50 states, the 24 U.S.-Mexico border counties would rank:

2nd in the percentage of its population under 18
5th in unemployment
13th in population
16th in violent crime
22nd in home ownership
39th in infant mortality
51st in per capita income

Needless to say, some indicators are not good, while others (say, infant mortality) are surprisingly good.