Like all states, New Mexico has certain places that are going on hard times. These New Mexico places have an above-average percentage of people living in poverty, out of work, or not making as much as they should be.
Even as the economy continues to improve, it’s worthwhile to look at the places in each state struggling to make ends meet. So we set our sites on locating the poorest places in New Mexico.
To do so, we used Saturday Night Science to analyze the newest Census data from the American Community Survey for the 34 cities in New Mexico with more than 5,000 people.
Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table
The 10 Poorest Places In New Mexico For 2024:
What’s the poorest city in New Mexico? According to the facts, Anthony is the poorest place in New Mexico for 2024.
This isn’t a commentary on the people that live there or the vibrant culture and traditions of these places. Instead, it’s just a look at the facts.
For more New Mexico reading, check out:
- Best Places To Live In New Mexico
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- The poorest states in the US
- The poorest cities in the US
The 10 Poorest Cities In New Mexico For 2024
1. Anthony
/10
Population: 8,708
Rank Last Year: 1 (No Change)
Median Income: $27,406 (lowest)
Poverty Rate: 37.0% (highest)
People In Poverty: 3,217
More on Anthony: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
Anthony, unfortunately, ranks as the poorest place in New Mexico thanks to combination of low pay and and a lack of jobs.
The city of 8,708 people averages the lowest median household income in New Mexico and the highest poverty rate. At the very least, the cost of living ranks in the bottom 15% of place in the state, so things like housing are relatively affordable.
2. Truth or Consequences
/10
Population: 6,030
Rank Last Year: 2 (No Change)
Median Income: $28,685 (2nd lowest)
Poverty Rate: 30.0% (4th highest)
People In Poverty: 1,807
More on Truth Or Consequences: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
The second poorest city in New Mexico is Truth or Consequences.
The city ranks as having the 4th highest incidence of poverty and 2nd lowest median household income. However, the unemployment rate ‘only’ ranks as the 30th highest in the Land of Enchantment.
3. Tucumcari
/10
Population: 5,206
Rank Last Year: 6 (Up 3)
Median Income: $34,424 (4th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 30.2% (3rd highest)
People In Poverty: 1,573
More on Tucumcari: Data
Placing as the third poorest city, Tucumcari’s median income ranks as the 4th lowest.
And that’s a sign that there’s a relatively substantial jump in the quality of the economy from second to third place on our list. The poverty rate is 30.23% and ranks near the bottom of places in the state.
But what makes up for the relatively low incomes of the city is its low cost of living. The income you do make here goes further than in most parts of the Land of Enchantment.
4. Las Vegas
/10
Population: 13,194
Rank Last Year: 3 (Down 1)
Median Income: $39,558 (8th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 31.2% (2nd highest)
People In Poverty: 4,115
More on Las Vegas: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
Las Vegas ranks as the fourth poorest place in New Mexico.
The town ranks as having the 8th lowest median household income and the 2nd highest incidence of poverty in the state.
That being said, there’s still a ton of cultural diversity in the city as it hosts many events throughout the year.
5. Deming
/10
Population: 14,756
Rank Last Year: 4 (Down 1)
Median Income: $33,548 (3rd lowest)
Poverty Rate: 24.1% (10th highest)
People In Poverty: 3,557
More on Deming: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
The fifth poorest city in New Mexico is Deming.
The city ranks as having the 3rd lowest median income in the state. However, an extremely low cost of living prevents a good number of folks from living in poverty as the poverty rate only ranks as the 10th highest in New Mexico.
Still not the best news for Deming.
6. Belen
/10
Population: 7,367
Rank Last Year: 13 (Up 7)
Median Income: $38,838 (7th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 25.0% (8th highest)
People In Poverty: 1,843
More on Belen: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
Belen ranks as the sixth poorest place in the Land of Enchantment.
It ranks as having the 8th highest incidence of poverty and the 7th highest unemployment rate.
7. Aztec
/10
Population: 6,214
Rank Last Year: 10 (Up 3)
Median Income: $45,846 (13th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 29.1% (6th highest)
People In Poverty: 1,808
More on Aztec: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
Aztec places as the seventh poorest city in New Mexico.
The city of over 6,214 ranks as having the 6th highest incidence of poverty in the state. However, it has a very low cost of living which helps to pay the bills each month.
8. Sunland Park
/10
Population: 16,773
Rank Last Year: 7 (Down 1)
Median Income: $45,545 (12th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 24.5% (9th highest)
People In Poverty: 4,109
More on Sunland Park: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
Sunland Park ranks as the eighth poorest city in New Mexico.
The big issue for the town is the unemployment rate which ranks as one of the highest in the state.
9. Silver City
/10
Population: 9,650
Rank Last Year: 5 (Down 4)
Median Income: $36,853 (6th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 21.9% (15th highest)
People In Poverty: 2,113
More on Silver City: Data | Cost Of Living
Silver City couldn’t stay out of the top ten poorest places in New Mexico; it ranks number 9.
While the median income is the 6th lowest, there are a substantial number of people that live below the poverty line. Overall, Silver City ranks as having the 15th most people living in poverty of all the places we analyzed in New Mexico.
10. Grants
/10
Population: 9,177
Rank Last Year: 8 (Down 2)
Median Income: $55,631 (20th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 29.8% (5th highest)
People In Poverty: 2,730
More on Grants: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
And rounding out the top ten poorest cities in New Mexico is Grants.
The city of 9,177 people ranks in the bottom 20% for both median income and poverty rate in the Land of Enchantment.
Methodology: How We Determined The Poorest Places In New Mexico for 2024
The first thing that comes to most people’s minds when they think about determining the poorest places is to simply the poverty rate. That is, the number of people living below a federally established level of income for a household of a certain size.
However, we don’t think that one statistic wholly encompasses what it means to be one of the “poorest places”. So we used Saturday Night Science to look at this set of criteria from the newly released 2018-2022 American Community Survey:
- Poverty Level
- Median Household Income
After we collected the data for all 34 places with more than 5,000 people in New Mexico, we ranked each place from 1 to 34 for each of the criteria, with 1 being the poorest.
We then averaged all the rankings for a place into a “Poor Score” with the place having the lowest overall Poor Score, Anthony, crowned the “Poorest Place In New Mexico For 2024”.
This report has been updated for 2024, which is our tenth time ranking the poorest places in New Mexico.
Summary: The Poorest Cities In New Mexico For 2024
Like we said earlier, when we set out to identify the poorest places in New Mexico, we weren’t sure what we’d encounter, but it ended up being some of the best places to live in New Mexico.
When you look at the data, the cities and places mentioned above meet the criteria for being at the very bottom of the income ladder for everyone that lives there.
If you’re curious enough, here are the richest cities in New Mexico, according to data:
-
Richest: Corrales
2nd Richest: Rio Rancho
3rd Richest: Edgewood
For more New Mexico reading, check out:
- Richest Cities In New Mexico
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- Most Expensive Places To Live In New Mexico
Detailed List Of The Poorest Places To Live In New Mexico
| Rank | City | Population | Poverty Rate | Median Income | People In Poverty |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Anthony | 8,708 | 37.0% | $27,406 | 3,217 |
| 2 | Truth or Consequences | 6,030 | 30.0% | $28,685 | 1,807 |
| 3 | Tucumcari | 5,206 | 30.2% | $34,424 | 1,573 |
| 4 | Las Vegas | 13,194 | 31.2% | $39,558 | 4,115 |
| 5 | Deming | 14,756 | 24.1% | $33,548 | 3,557 |
| 6 | Belen | 7,367 | 25.0% | $38,838 | 1,843 |
| 7 | Aztec | 6,214 | 29.1% | $45,846 | 1,808 |
| 8 | Sunland Park | 16,773 | 24.5% | $45,545 | 4,109 |
| 9 | Silver City | 9,650 | 21.9% | $36,853 | 2,113 |
| 10 | Grants | 9,177 | 29.8% | $55,631 | 2,730 |
| 11 | Roswell | 48,035 | 23.2% | $48,298 | 11,158 |
| 12 | Socorro | 8,605 | 22.5% | $42,622 | 1,933 |
| 13 | Raton | 6,046 | 21.6% | $40,899 | 1,303 |
| 14 | Bloomfield | 7,430 | 22.6% | $49,442 | 1,679 |
| 15 | Gallup | 21,672 | 25.3% | $58,358 | 5,485 |
| 16 | Las Cruces | 111,273 | 23.1% | $51,013 | 25,726 |
| 17 | Ruidoso | 7,696 | 15.0% | $36,033 | 1,157 |
| 18 | Taos | 6,458 | 16.3% | $40,185 | 1,052 |
| 19 | Portales | 12,085 | 21.2% | $49,313 | 2,565 |
| 20 | Clovis | 38,453 | 21.5% | $52,983 | 8,275 |
| 21 | Alamogordo | 30,996 | 18.3% | $50,721 | 5,684 |
| 22 | Farmington | 46,457 | 20.8% | $61,388 | 9,639 |
| 23 | Lovington | 11,495 | 21.5% | $70,029 | 2,474 |
| 24 | Hobbs | 39,782 | 18.9% | $63,804 | 7,530 |
| 25 | Bernalillo | 9,286 | 15.9% | $57,905 | 1,479 |
| 26 | Albuquerque | 562,551 | 16.5% | $61,503 | 92,595 |
| 27 | Santa Fe | 87,617 | 13.7% | $67,663 | 12,021 |
| 28 | Los Lunas | 17,452 | 15.2% | $68,934 | 2,645 |
| 29 | Los Ranchos de Albuquerque | 5,894 | 12.0% | $67,747 | 707 |
| 30 | Artesia | 12,632 | 12.4% | $75,389 | 1,561 |
| 31 | Carlsbad | 31,755 | 13.2% | $77,209 | 4,204 |
| 32 | Edgewood | 6,113 | 9.0% | $70,568 | 552 |
| 33 | Rio Rancho | 104,351 | 7.1% | $78,978 | 7,419 |
| 34 | Corrales | 8,495 | 3.4% | $94,966 | 287 |