Catron County, New Mexico

County Distress Index: Elevated · 60.4 | 3,825 people · 21st most distressed in New Mexico
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Catron County, NM registers elevated household financial distress with a score of 60.4 — 808th nationally out of 3144 counties. The primary driver is Income & Poverty, where poverty rates are high and household incomes lag well behind state and national medians. Within New Mexico, it ranks 21st of 33 counties. Among its 6 neighboring counties, 4 show more distress.

The Numbers Behind the Score

The CDI measures five domains of financial distress. Catron County's primary driver is Income & Poverty at 83.4 — worse than roughly 83% of U.S. counties.

Income & Poverty Primary driver 83.4
Poverty Rate 80
Income vs. State Median 75
Child Poverty Rate 95
Employment & Wages 73.3
Unemployment Rate 89
Wage-to-Rent Ratio 79
Business Formation Rate 51
Community Vulnerability 72.7
Uninsured Rate 50
Disability Rate 95
Debt & Delinquency 47.0
Debt in Collections 28
Medical Debt 52
Student Loan Delinquency 84
Auto Loan Delinquency 52
Credit Card Delinquency 42
Bankruptcy Filing Rate 24
Housing Cost Burden 25.4
Rent-Burdened (30%+) 7
Severely Rent-Burdened (50%+) 21
Mortgage-Burdened (30%+) 5
Homeownership Rate 5
Rent-to-Income Ratio 89

Scores are percentile-based: 50 = national median, higher = more distressed. The median line is shown on each bar.

Neighbors and Peers

How Catron County compares to its 6 neighboring counties and population peers.

Neighboring Counties

County Score Zone vs. Catron County
Catron County, NM 60.4 Elevated —
Cibola County, NM 75.5 Serious +15.2
Socorro County, NM 68.8 Serious +8.5
Apache County, AZ 68.7 Serious +8.4
Sierra County, NM 65.8 Serious +5.5
Grant County, NM 58.4 Elevated -1.9
Greenlee County, AZ 31.1 Healthy -29.3

Population Peers

County Score Zone vs. Catron County
Franklin County, MS 60.5 Elevated +0.1
Irwin County, GA 60.5 Elevated +0.1
Dewey County, SD 60.2 Elevated -0.2
Briscoe County, TX 60.6 Elevated +0.2
Garza County, TX 60.1 Elevated -0.3

Download Data

Export all distress indicators for Catron County as a CSV file.

Find Help in Catron County

Find an Attorney

State Bar of New Mexico Lawyer Referral Program offers a lawyer referral service for bankruptcy, foreclosure defense, and consumer rights.

State Bar of New Mexico Lawyer Referral Program 505-797-6000

Free Legal Aid

Legal aid organizations serving Catron County residents at no cost.

New Mexico Legal Aid 1-866-416-1922
Law Access New Mexico 1-800-340-9771
DNA-Peoples Legal Services, Inc. (928) 871-4151

American Default Research does not endorse, rate, or rank any provider. Verify attorney credentials with your state bar.

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Frequently Asked Questions

  • What is the distress score for Catron County, New Mexico?

    Catron County has a County Distress Index score of 60.4 out of 100, placing it in the Elevated zone. It ranks 808th nationally out of 3,144 counties and 21st in New Mexico out of 33 counties.

  • What drives financial distress in Catron County?

    The primary driver of distress in Catron County is Income & Poverty, where the county scores 83.4 out of 100. This domain is measured by indicators including Poverty Rate, Income vs. State Median, Child Poverty Rate.

  • How does Catron County compare to neighboring counties?

    Catron County (60.4) can be compared to its 6 neighboring counties: Cibola County, NM (75.5); Socorro County, NM (68.8); Apache County, AZ (68.7).

  • How is the County Distress Index calculated?

    The County Distress Index uses percentile-rank averaging across five domains: Debt & Delinquency, Income & Poverty, Housing Cost Burden, Employment & Wages, and Community Vulnerability. Each county's indicators are ranked against all 3,144 U.S. counties. A score of 50 means the county is at the national median; higher scores indicate greater distress.

  • What is the population of Catron County?

    Catron County, New Mexico has a population of approximately 3,825 (2023 Census estimate), classified as a tiny county.