New Mexico County Distress Index
Financial distress scores for all 33 counties in New Mexico, scored 0–100 across five domains. Mean score: 61.5. 8 counties score high, very high, or extreme.
Data: Census, BLS, Urban Institute, HUD, US Courts | Scores as of 2026-03-26
New Mexico Snapshot
33 Counties Scored
61.5 Mean Score
62.8 Median Score
80.5 McKinley County Most Distressed
5.7 Los Alamos County Least Distressed
1 very high county distress7 high county distress14 moderate-high county distress8 moderate county distress2 moderate-low county distress1 exceptionally low county distress
Score Label Distribution New Mexico County Map
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Low county distress Moderate-low county distress Moderate county distress High county distress Extreme county distress
All 33 New Mexico counties colored by county distress score range. Hover for details; click released counties for full reports.
Most & Least Distressed
Most Distressed
Least Distressed
Score Distribution
How New Mexico's 33 county scores are distributed across the 0–100 scale.
All New Mexico Counties
33 counties ranked by distress score. Click column headers to sort.
| State Rank | Nat'l Rank | County | Score | Score Label | Primary Driver |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 137 | McKinley County | 80.5 | very high county distress | Delinquency |
| 2 | 164 | Luna County | 79.2 | high county distress | Labor |
| 3 | 170 | Cibola County | 79.0 | high county distress | Labor |
| 4 | 376 | Chaves County | 73.2 | high county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 5 | 437 | Socorro County | 71.3 | high county distress | Labor |
| 6 | 441 | Doña Ana County | 71.2 | high county distress | Labor |
| 7 | 452 | Valencia County | 71.0 | high county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 8 | 480 | San Juan County | 70.2 | high county distress | Delinquency |
| 9 | 524 | Torrance County | 69.4 | moderate-high county distress | Labor |
| 10 | 707 | Curry County | 66.1 | moderate-high county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 11 | 720 | Lea County | 65.9 | moderate-high county distress | Delinquency |
| 12 | 766 | San Miguel County | 64.7 | moderate-high county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 13 | 771 | Hidalgo County | 64.7 | moderate-high county distress | Labor |
| 14 | 856 | Quay County | 63.3 | moderate-high county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 15 | 859 | Otero County | 63.2 | moderate-high county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 16 | 881 | Roosevelt County | 62.8 | moderate-high county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 17 | 882 | Grant County | 62.8 | moderate-high county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 18 | 894 | Taos County | 62.6 | moderate-high county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 19 | 900 | Colfax County | 62.5 | moderate-high county distress | Labor |
| 20 | 939 | Sierra County | 61.8 | moderate-high county distress | Labor |
| 21 | 1,022 | Guadalupe County | 60.5 | moderate-high county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 22 | 1,023 | Bernalillo County | 60.5 | moderate-high county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 23 | 1,073 | Catron County | 59.3 | moderate county distress | Labor |
| 24 | 1,106 | Mora County | 58.8 | moderate county distress | Labor |
| 25 | 1,185 | Rio Arriba County | 57.5 | moderate county distress | Labor |
| 26 | 1,190 | De Baca County | 57.3 | moderate county distress | Labor |
| 27 | 1,369 | Lincoln County | 53.9 | moderate county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 28 | 1,488 | Sandoval County | 52.0 | moderate county distress | Labor |
| 29 | 1,505 | Eddy County | 51.6 | moderate county distress | Delinquency |
| 30 | 1,571 | Union County | 50.4 | moderate county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 31 | 1,649 | Harding County | 48.9 | moderate-low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 32 | 1,732 | Santa Fe County | 47.6 | moderate-low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 33 | 3,144 | Los Alamos County | 5.7 | exceptionally low county distress | Delinquency |
How County Scores Work
Each county is scored 0–100 using five equal-weighted domains. Each domain averages its member indicators' county ranks, and the composite is the mean of those domain scores. Higher scores indicate greater household financial distress.
extreme county distress — 0 New Mexico counties
very high county distress — 1 New Mexico county
high county distress — 7 New Mexico counties
moderate-high county distress — 14 New Mexico counties
moderate county distress — 8 New Mexico counties
moderate-low county distress — 2 New Mexico counties
low-moderate county distress — 0 New Mexico counties
low county distress — 0 New Mexico counties
very low county distress — 0 New Mexico counties
exceptionally low county distress — 1 New Mexico county