Cost of living in New Mexico

New Mexico at a glance

Median rent

$1,067

Census ACS, B25064, monthly

Median household income

$64,059

Census ACS, B19013, yearly

Median home value

$248,100

Census ACS, B25077

Median property tax bill

$1,731

Census ACS, B25103, yearly, current owners

Mean commute

24 min

Census ACS, DP03, one way

Unemployment

6.0%

Census ACS, DP03

New Mexico's own published state rows, never an average of its counties. Prices overall run 8% below the national average (BEA regional price parity, 2024).

Census ACS 2024 five-year estimates, checked November 2026.

The three most populous counties in New Mexico

These are the most populous places in New Mexico, not a match to you. Set what matters to you on Find your fit and this becomes your three closest matches here. Made-up answers work too. This is a tool, not a survey.

• Bernalillo County

  Population

  674K

  Rent

  $1,144

  Household income

  $69,473

  Prop. tax (yearly)

  $2,629

  Set as targetPlan

• Doña Ana County

  Population

  224K

  Rent

  $934

  Household income

  $56,848

  Prop. tax (yearly)

  $1,480

  Set as targetPlan

• Santa Fe County

  Population

  156K

  Rent

  $1,389

  Household income

  $79,071

  Prop. tax (yearly)

  $2,152

  Set as targetPlan

New Mexico, worth the trip

Admitted to the Union on January 6, 1912, as the 47th state. Spanish explorers led by Francisco Vázquez de Coronado first entered the area in 1540. New Mexico became part of Mexico in 1821 and was ceded to the United States in 1848 through the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.

• Carlsbad Caverns National Park

  More than 119 caves beneath the Chihuahuan Desert, formed when sulfuric acid dissolved the limestone.

• White Sands National Park

  Wave-like dunes of white gypsum sand across 275 square miles of the Tularosa Basin.

• Chaco Culture National Historical Park

  Monumental structures of the ancestral Pueblo people, a regional center from 850 to 1250 CE.

History: Encyclopaedia Britannica. Each place links to the page of the agency that looks after it.

Property tax in New Mexico

Current owners in New Mexico pay a median 0.70% of home value a year in property tax. Example: $1,731 a year, the median bill. By county, the median bill runs from $305 in Harding County to $2,717 in Los Alamos County. These are bills that current owners pay, as the Census measures them. Each county's own figure is in the table below.

A buyer in New Mexico should expect a higher bill than these: the 3% cap does not apply the year after a change of ownership, so the home is valued at its current and correct value. Source: New Mexico Administrative Code 3.6.5.24, residential valuation limits (Section 7-36-21.2 NMSA 1978).

Health in New Mexico

Life expectancy

74.4 yrs

County Health Rankings, from CDC NCHS vital statistics

No health insurance

10.6%

County Health Rankings, from Census SAHIE, people under 65

Poor or fair health

18.9%

County Health Rankings, from CDC BRFSS. Modeled, not counted

Injury deaths per 100K people

129

County Health Rankings, from CDC NCHS, counted deaths

Each is the figure County Health Rankings publishes for New Mexico as a whole, never an average of its counties. Each county's own health readings are on its page.

Natural hazards in New Mexico

Expected yearly loss, statewide

$972M

All natural hazards, an average year. Larger states lose more

Building loss rate

$1.78

Per $1,000 of building value, each year. Fair to compare between states

Costliest hazard

Inland flooding

$641M of the expected yearly loss, the largest share of any hazard FEMA assesses

Air quality

—

The EPA publishes air quality by county and metro area, never by state. It is on each county's page

FEMA publishes a risk score for counties and none for states, so none is shown here. Each county's score is on its own page.

New homes permitted in New Mexico

Side by side

Bernalillo County, NM is the largest county here. Set it beside another place, reading by reading.

The largest counties in New Mexico

By population, from the Census release named below. Each opens its own page.

1. 1Bernalillo County674K
2. 2Doña Ana County224K
3. 3Santa Fe County156K
4. 4Sandoval County154K
5. 5San Juan County121K
6. 6Valencia County78.5K
7. 7Lea County73.7K
8. 8McKinley County70.4K
9. 9Otero County68.8K
10. 10Chaves County64.2K

All 33 counties in New Mexico

Each has its published readings on its own page. Press a column to sort by it. Pick one, or open the map to see them shaded side by side.

Household income, home value and population are on each county's own page, and in this table on a wider screen.

Where these numbers come from

Each reading is the published figure, not an estimate. A dash means the source did not publish one, or published one too uncertain to print.

• State figures: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 20245-year estimates, the state's own row (tables B25064, B19013, B25077, B25103, B01003, DP03).
• County figures: the same survey, each county's own row, as on every county page.
• Price level: Bureau of Economic Analysis, regional price parities, 2024, all items, state-level.
• Health: County Health Rankings & Roadmaps 2025, University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute, the state's own row. Poor or fair health is a modeled estimate from CDC survey data. The other three are counted or calculated.
• Natural hazards: FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025, state table, expected annual loss. This product uses FEMA data but is not endorsed by FEMA.
• Air quality has no state figure: the EPA publishes it by county and metro area only.
• Photographs: Wikimedia Commons and the county photo feed, each credited to its photographer under its own licence, beneath the picture.

What to do with these numbers

Every number here is public. The site adds your side of it: New Mexico next to your own state, by what you value.

• See New Mexico beside your own state

  Find your fit puts it next to where you live and the states next door, by what matters to you. Made-up answers are fine, since this is a tool, not a survey. No account needed.

  Find your fit

• Pick a county here and make it your target

  The three counties above each carry Set as target. From there the Journey lays out the runway and the steps. An account keeps it private and yours across devices.

  See the three counties