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 2025:
What’s the poorest city in New Mexico? According to the facts, Anthony is the poorest place in New Mexico for 2025.
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
- Cheapest Places To Live In New Mexico
- Most Dangerous Cities In New Mexico
- The poorest states in the US
- The poorest cities in the US
The 10 Poorest Cities In New Mexico For 2025
1. Anthony
/10
Population: 8,701
Rank Last Year: 1 (No Change)
Median Income: $33,141 (2nd lowest)
Poverty Rate: 36.0% (highest)
People In Poverty: 3,133
More on Anthony:
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 8,701 people averages the 2nd 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: 6,026
Rank Last Year: 2 (No Change)
Median Income: $29,142 (lowest)
Poverty Rate: 34.8% (2nd highest)
People In Poverty: 2,094
More on Truth Or Consequences: Data
The second poorest city in New Mexico is Truth or Consequences.
The city ranks as having the 2nd highest incidence of poverty and lowest median household income. However, the unemployment rate ‘only’ ranks as the 33rd highest in the Land of Enchantment.
3. Tucumcari
/10
Population: 5,197
Rank Last Year: 3 (No Change)
Median Income: $39,915 (5th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 31.2% (3rd highest)
People In Poverty: 1,623
More on Tucumcari: Data
Placing as the third poorest city, Tucumcari’s median income ranks as the 5th 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 31.23% 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. Deming
/10
Population: 14,735
Rank Last Year: 5 (Up 1)
Median Income: $35,920 (3rd lowest)
Poverty Rate: 26.2% (8th highest)
People In Poverty: 3,854
More on Deming: Data
Deming ranks as the fourth poorest place in New Mexico.
The town ranks as having the 3rd lowest median household income and the 8th 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. Belen
/10
Population: 7,427
Rank Last Year: 6 (Up 1)
Median Income: $40,354 (6th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 28.5% (6th highest)
People In Poverty: 2,113
More on Belen: Data
The fifth poorest city in New Mexico is Belen.
The city ranks as having the 6th 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 6th highest in New Mexico.
Still not the best news for Belen.
6. Las Vegas
/10
Population: 13,120
Rank Last Year: 4 (Down 2)
Median Income: $42,732 (8th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 29.3% (5th highest)
People In Poverty: 3,846
More on Las Vegas: Data
Las Vegas ranks as the sixth poorest place in the Land of Enchantment.
It ranks as having the 5th highest incidence of poverty and the 18th highest unemployment rate.
7. Grants
/10
Population: 9,106
Rank Last Year: 12 (Up 5)
Median Income: $49,286 (10th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 30.6% (4th highest)
People In Poverty: 2,781
More on Grants: Data
Grants places as the seventh poorest city in New Mexico.
The city of over 9,106 ranks as having the 4th 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. Aztec
/10
Population: 6,177
Rank Last Year: 7 (Down 1)
Median Income: $42,699 (7th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 24.7% (11th highest)
People In Poverty: 1,526
More on Aztec: Data
Aztec 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: 9,574
Rank Last Year: 8 (Down 1)
Median Income: $39,025 (4th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 21.6% (17th highest)
People In Poverty: 2,069
More on Silver City: Data
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 4th lowest, there are a substantial number of people that live below the poverty line. Overall, Silver City ranks as having the 17th most people living in poverty of all the places we analyzed in New Mexico.
10. Socorro
/10
Population: 8,540
Rank Last Year: 10 (No Change)
Median Income: $51,343 (15th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 24.9% (10th highest)
People In Poverty: 2,127
More on Socorro: Data
And rounding out the top ten poorest cities in New Mexico is Socorro.
The city of 8,540 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 2025
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 2019-2023 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 2025”.
This report has been updated for 2025, which is our tenth time ranking the poorest places in New Mexico.
Summary: The Poorest Cities In New Mexico For 2025
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
- Safest Places In New Mexico
- Worst Places To Live In New Mexico
- 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 | 8,701 | 36.0% | $33,141 | 3,133 |
| 2 | Truth or Consequences | 6,026 | 34.8% | $29,142 | 2,094 |
| 3 | Tucumcari | 5,197 | 31.2% | $39,915 | 1,623 |
| 4 | Deming | 14,735 | 26.2% | $35,920 | 3,854 |
| 5 | Belen | 7,427 | 28.5% | $40,354 | 2,113 |
| 6 | Las Vegas | 13,120 | 29.3% | $42,732 | 3,846 |
| 7 | Grants | 9,106 | 30.6% | $49,286 | 2,781 |
| 8 | Aztec | 6,177 | 24.7% | $42,699 | 1,526 |
| 9 | Silver City | 9,574 | 21.6% | $39,025 | 2,069 |
| 10 | Socorro | 8,540 | 24.9% | $51,343 | 2,127 |
| 11 | Bloomfield | 7,391 | 24.3% | $51,212 | 1,798 |
| 12 | Roswell | 47,823 | 24.2% | $50,294 | 11,582 |
| 13 | Sunland Park | 17,085 | 25.1% | $52,147 | 4,291 |
| 14 | Gallup | 21,333 | 28.1% | $57,466 | 6,005 |
| 15 | Portales | 12,023 | 21.5% | $51,290 | 2,583 |
| 16 | Clovis | 38,153 | 22.3% | $54,029 | 8,496 |
| 17 | Ruidoso | 7,701 | 16.5% | $50,259 | 1,273 |
| 18 | Raton | 6,013 | 20.7% | $52,007 | 1,244 |
| 19 | Las Cruces | 112,612 | 22.0% | $55,176 | 24,763 |
| 20 | Taos | 6,468 | 13.5% | $46,579 | 871 |
| 21 | Lovington | 11,444 | 23.4% | $67,284 | 2,683 |
| 22 | Alamogordo | 31,063 | 17.7% | $52,515 | 5,495 |
| 23 | Los Lunas | 17,932 | 18.4% | $63,696 | 3,294 |
| 24 | Farmington | 46,339 | 19.7% | $63,745 | 9,124 |
| 25 | Hobbs | 39,887 | 20.5% | $65,691 | 8,160 |
| 26 | Bernalillo | 9,068 | 15.7% | $61,624 | 1,426 |
| 27 | Albuquerque | 562,488 | 16.0% | $65,604 | 89,773 |
| 28 | Santa Fe | 88,224 | 13.9% | $70,110 | 12,236 |
| 29 | Artesia | 12,555 | 14.2% | $77,647 | 1,776 |
| 30 | Los Ranchos de Albuquerque | 5,869 | 12.0% | $70,801 | 705 |
| 31 | Carlsbad | 31,813 | 13.0% | $78,277 | 4,135 |
| 32 | Edgewood | 6,122 | 8.5% | $81,227 | 519 |
| 33 | Rio Rancho | 106,533 | 7.8% | $85,755 | 8,352 |
| 34 | Corrales | 8,557 | 7.0% | $114,207 | 594 |