About one in 26 people in Los Alamos County, New Mexico, lives below the poverty line
In Los Alamos County, 3.8% of people lived below the poverty line. That is lower than in 99% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than every other U.S. county.
What drives Los Alamos County's score
In Los Alamos County, late payments on loans are the highest-scoring part, at 8.0. Jobs are the lowest part, at 5.0. Unemployment averaged 2.2%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026, lower than in 95% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Los Alamos County: jobs, late payments on loans, income and the safety net, collections and bankruptcy, and housing costs. Each part is scored from 0 to 100, and a higher score means worse off than other counties.
Los Alamos County isn't among the worst-off quarter of U.S. counties on any measure.
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 8.0 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind1.4% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind3.0% · August 202514th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score18.0% · second quarter of 20265th or lower percentile
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- 5.3 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line3.8% · 20245th or lower percentile
- Children below the poverty line2.8% · 20245th or lower percentile
- People with a disability10.6% · 2020 to 20246th percentile
- People without health insurance2.5% · 2020 to 20245th or lower percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$149,062 · 20245th or lower percentile
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- 5.0 of 100
Housing costs
Renters, 2020–24 Census survey; HUD's fair market rents, fiscal year 2027
- Renters paying half their income or more in rent2.1% · 2020 to 20245th or lower percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income15.1% · fiscal year 20275th or lower percentile
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- 5.0 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector6.4% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people15.4 · 20255th or lower percentile
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- 5.0 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year2.2% · Oct 2025 to Sep 20265th or lower percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working9.4% · 2020 to 20245th or lower percentile
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Sources: Urban Institute, Debt in America; Equifax via the St. Louis Fed; Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, Table F-5A; U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey; U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Fair Market Rents and Census income; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics; Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates. County Distress Index by American Default Research, from data through Sep 2026.
Where the money in Los Alamos County comes from
Benefit checks are Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid paid on people's behalf, veterans' benefits, and food and income support, so a high share usually means an older population, low pay, or both. In Los Alamos County, 18.4% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Los Alamos County
New Mexico
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Los Alamos County had its largest rise, from 4.5% in 2004 to 7.5% in 2009.
In Los Alamos County, benefit checks' share of income has grown to about five times its 1969 level, reaching 9.3% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about eight times as much as benefit checks
In Los Alamos County, New Mexico, benefit checks' share of income grew to about five times its 1969 level by 2024, reaching 9.3%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Los Alamos County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 2.0% in 2019 to 3.2% in 2020.
The share of households in Los Alamos County getting SNAP food aid fell to its lowest on the chart in 2016, then climbed past the 2009 level
Low on the chart: 1.5% in 2016. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Los Alamos County, New Mexico.
How Los Alamos County has changed
Los Alamos County's population rose by about a third to 19,675, the highest on the chart, with most of the change between 1974 and 1979
High on the chart: 19,675 in 2024. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Los Alamos County, New Mexico.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Los Alamos County tripled to 22,520, the highest on the chart, with most of the change between 2005 and 2010
Biggest rise: 2005 to 2010, reaching 17,073. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Los Alamos County, New Mexico.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 1.5% | 2025 1.8% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 1.5% | 2024 3.8% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $59,041 | 2024 $149,062 |
The table uses 1.8% for 2025; the score uses 2.2% for the latest year (Oct 2025 to Sep 2026), both from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Los Alamos County's history
1943
Manhattan Project at Los Alamos. Wikipedia
1949
Created June 10, 1949, from parts of Sandoval and Santa Fe counties. Wikipedia
2000
A wildfire in May 2000 did $1.5 billion in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2001
A flash flood in July 2001 did $3.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2011
A flash flood in August 2011 did $6 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 19,419, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 2000
9 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Los Alamos County, 4 of them for flooding. FEMA
Los Alamos County beside its neighbors
All three counties that border Los Alamos County score higher than it does. Of the group, Los Alamos County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Rio Arriba County gets the largest, at 37.2%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rio Arriba County, NM | 56 | 17.1% | 37.2% |
| Sandoval County, NM | 43 | 9.4% | 21.9% |
| Santa Fe County, NM | 40 | 10.9% | 18.4% |
| Los Alamos County, NM | 0 | 3.8% | 9.3% |
Distress score: American Default Research, County Distress Index, data through Sep 2026; each county scored against all 3,144. Poverty rate: Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates, 2024. Benefit checks: Bureau of Economic Analysis, 2024. Neighbors share a border, from Census county maps.
Is Los Alamos County the poorest county in New Mexico?
No, Los Alamos County's poverty rate was 3.8% in 2024, the lowest of 33 in New Mexico (U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates). By that measure the poorest county in the state is Socorro County, at 28.5%. On our distress index, which counts more than poverty, Los Alamos County ranks 33rd of 33 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Los Alamos County
Housing counselors approved by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development work at nonprofit agencies. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau describes free foreclosure-avoidance counseling, including help with mortgage-company conversations and available options Source CFPB.
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New Mexico Legal Aid
Legal aid
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HUD-approved housing counselors
Our help directory lists 1,010 agencies approved for foreclosure counseling, by state.
The score, its 14 measures and their sources, in one file. Free to use with credit to American Default Research.
Download the CSV for Los Alamos County · Every U.S. county (CSV)
Sources and method
- American Default Research · County Distress Index Data through Sep 2026, built from Urban Institute, Debt in America; Equifax via the St. Louis Fed; U.S. Courts, Table F-5A; Census Bureau, American Community Survey; HUD Fair Market Rents and Census income; Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics; Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates. The County Distress Index is American Default Research's own calculation; the Urban Institute does not produce or endorse it. Our methodology
- Urban Institute · Debt in America Breno Braga, Signe-Mary McKernan, Samantha Atherton, and Kassandra Martinchek, "Debt in America," last updated November 20, 2025, https://datacatalog.urban.org/dataset/debt-america-2025. Licensed under ODC-By 1.0.
- Rent on a two-bedroom and household income The rent share compares HUD fair market rent for fiscal year 2027 with Census Bureau median household income for 2024. The page calls this the typical household's income.
- U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Economic Accounts (CAINC4) · income shares Where the money in Los Alamos County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.