Lea County, New Mexico

Lea County has a population of 73,733 and has grown 0.4% since the 2020 census. The median home is worth $184,000, about 2.7 times the county's median household income of $68,015.

Home price
$184,000
Income
$68,015
Population
73,733
Unemployment
6.9%

Housing

Home values, rent, property taxes, insurance and how local prices relate to local incomes.

Median home price$184,000county
Median gross rent$1,101county
Median year homes here were built1979county
Share of homes built before 198051.8%county
Share of homes that are manufactured or mobile18.5%county
Share of homes that are vacant13.1%county
Share of occupied homes that are rented28.8%county
Share of homes held for seasonal or occasional use1.2%county
Typical monthly rent$1,455county
HUD fair market rent, 2-bed$1,324county
HUD fair market rent, 1-bed$1,068county
HUD fair market rent, 3-bed$1,641county
Home insurance / yr$2,869(statewide)

Money

Household earnings and buying power. Adjusted income restates local income using the statewide cost-of-living index.

Cost of living93.7(statewide)
Median household income$68,015county
Family health premium / yr$23,828(statewide)
Infant childcare / yr$14,244(statewide)
Regular gas price / gal$3.846(statewide)
Poverty rate18.7%county

Jobs

What people here do for work, who they work for, whether they work from home, and how much of the local economy sits in one industry.

Workers who work from home3.7%county
Unemployment rate6.9%county
Share of adults in the labor force61.4%county
Share of workers who are self-employed6.9%county
Share of workers employed by government15.7%county
Share of workers in the largest industry18.7%county
Economic output per resident$174,384county

Taxes

State tax rules that can affect take-home pay, investments and everyday purchases.

Property tax rate0.48%county
Top state income tax5.90%(statewide)
Capital gains tax5.90%(statewide)
Combined sales tax7.68%(statewide)

Transportation

Distance to air travel and how people get around locally. Distances are straight-line from the county's population-weighted centre, so driving is further.

Mean commute time24.4 mincounty
Miles to nearest airport with airline service4.7 micounty
Passengers boarding at the nearest airline airport26212county
Miles to nearest general aviation field19 micounty
Airports with airline service located here1county
General aviation airfields located here3county
Passenger train stations and the railway network0county
Miles to the nearest passenger rail station168 micounty
Households without a vehicle4.3%county
Traffic deaths107.1county
Change in traffic deaths per 100,000-3.8(statewide)

Schools

Public schools and colleges counted where they actually sit, plus the education level of adults who live here. Students per teacher is a staffing measure, not a quality ranking.

Adults 25+ with a bachelor's degree or higher15.5%county
Adults 25+ with a high school diploma or higher74.7%county
Public schools in the county38county
Public school enrollment15126county
Students per full-time teacher16.3county
Free lunch eligible72.6%county
Elementary schools20county
Middle schools10county
High schools8county
Institutions granting bachelor's degrees or above1county
Share of local colleges that are public50.0%county
Two-year institutions1county
Miles to the nearest bachelor's-granting institution2.0 micounty

Health

Primary care physicians30county
Medicare-certified hospitals in this county2county
Hospitals here with an emergency department2county
Average CMS star rating of hospitals here3county
Fine particulate matter5.6 µgcounty
Without health insurance14.9%county
Adults who were food insecure in the past year26.4%county
Adults who received food assistance in the past year20.8%county
Frequent mental distress18.7%county
No leisure-time physical activity29.6%county
Diagnosed diabetes12.5%county

Place

Who lives here and what the place is like: population, age, migration, safety and civic profile.

Population73,733county
Land area in square miles4,392county
People per square mile of land16.8county
Supermarkets and grocery stores9county
Convenience stores0county
Share living far from a food store9.3%county
Share living in a low-income, low-access tract32.9%county
Population change since 2020+0.4%county
Natural change per 1,000 residents3county
Net international migration per 1,000 residents6county
Median age32.5 yrscounty
Share of residents under 1829.5%county
Share of residents 65 and over11.4%county
Share of households that are one person26.5%county
Share of residents born outside the United States18.3%county
Second languages44.6%county
Share of residents on a religious body’s rolls45.9%county
Congregations per 100,000 residents148county
Net domestic migration per 1,000 residents-5county
Households that moved in1,200county
Households that moved away1,341county
Average income of arriving households$48,589county
Average income of departing households$62,944county
Homes authorised per 1,000 existing homes5county
Housing units authorised in the latest year143county
Share of permitted homes in multifamily buildings0.0%county
Violent crime rate717(statewide)

Weather

Measured annual temperature, precipitation and snowfall. These are climate facts, not a ranking.

Avg. annual temperature63.1°Fcounty
Annual precipitation11.8 incounty
Annual snowfall7.0 incounty
Average daily solar energy5.53 kWh/m²county
Days reaching 90°F100 dayscounty
Days at or below freezing71 dayscounty

Gardening

Plant hardiness zoneZone 7acounty
Frost-free days215 dayscounty
Average last spring frostApr 4county
Average first fall frostNov 5county

Utilities

Average monthly electric bill$114county
Electric utilities serving this county3county
Electricity price per kWh10.1¢county
Household electricity use1,131 kWhcounty
Residential natural gas price$11.12(statewide)
Homes heated by electricity51.6%county
Homes heated by utility gas40.3%county
Homes heated by propane5.4%county
Homes heated by fuel oil0.0%county
Homes heated by wood1.5%county
Households with broadband86.3%county

Risk

Relative exposure to air pollution and natural hazards. Higher values indicate more measured risk, not a prediction.

Riverine flood risk88.3county
Coastal flood risk0.0county
Drought risk86.1county
Landslide risk1.1county
Hail risk94.4county
Earthquake risk29.3county
Tornado risk54.5county
Tropical cyclone risk39.8county
Extreme heat risk77.5county
Winter weather risk89.3county
Strong wind risk82.2county
Wildfire risk98.0county

Sports

Major pro teams based here0county
NFL teams based here0county
NBA teams based here0county
MLB teams based here0county
NHL teams based here0county
MLS soccer teams based here0county
Top-division college football teams0county
Second-tier college football teams0county
Affiliated minor league baseball teams0county
AHL teams based here0county
ECHL teams based here0county

Figures marked county are measured for Lea County directly. The rest are published at state level only and show the New Mexico figure — see methodology for each source and its limits.

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