Unemployment in Luna County, New Mexico, is higher than in 99% of U.S. counties
In Luna County, 13.8% of the labor force was out of work, on average. That is higher than in 99% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 92% of U.S. counties.
What drives Luna County's score
In Luna County, jobs weigh most: the score for jobs is 97.2. Income and the safety net comes next, at 86.4.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Luna 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.
Luna County does better than most counties on two measures: bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (90.9, 2025) and renters paying half their income or more in rent (17.9%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 97.2 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year13.8% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202699th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working33.2% · 2020 to 202494th percentile
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- 86.4 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line23.9% · 202494th percentile
- Children below the poverty line33.3% · 202495th percentile
- People with a disability20.3% · 2020 to 202481st percentile
- People without health insurance9.3% · 2020 to 202461st percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$41,456 · 202498th percentile
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- 75.9 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind8.1% · August 202585th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind5.2% · August 202550th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score56.6% · second quarter of 202692nd percentile
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- 72.2 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 rent17.9% · 2020 to 202448th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income29.4% · fiscal year 202795th percentile
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- 57.2 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector33.4% · August 202582nd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people90.9 · 202531st 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 Luna 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 Luna County, 20.8% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Luna County
New Mexico
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Luna County, benefit checks' share of income has grown to about four times its 1969 level, reaching 41.3% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in only a little more than benefit checks
In Luna County, New Mexico, benefit checks' share of income grew to about four times its 1969 level by 2024, reaching 41.3%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Luna County getting SNAP food aid moved most in two steps: 20.7% in 2012 to 24.5% in 2013; 26.9% in 2019 to 23.1% in 2020.
The share of households in Luna County getting SNAP food aid doubled to 30.1%, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2012 to 2013, reaching 24.5%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Luna County, New Mexico.
How Luna County has changed
Luna County's population more than doubled to 25,878, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1989 to 1994, reaching 21,958. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Luna County, New Mexico.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Luna County nearly doubled from 1990 to 2025, reaching 8,099, with most of the change between 1990 and 1995
High on the chart: 8,332 in 2005. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Luna County, New Mexico.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 13.0% | 2025 13.0% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 30.5% | 2024 23.9% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $13,591 | 2024 $41,456 |
The table uses 13.0% for 2025; the score uses 13.8% 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 Luna County's history
1901
March 16, 1901, from parts of Grant County and Doña Ana County. Wikipedia
1916
Pancho Villa raid on Columbus. Wikipedia
1917
Striking copper miners from Bisbee forcibly deported to county. Wikipedia
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 25,427, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1999
7 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Luna County, 3 of them for flooding. FEMA
Luna County beside its neighbors
Luna County scores higher than all four counties that border it. For the share of income from benefit checks, Luna County ranks 2nd of the five; Sierra County is highest, at 49.9%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Luna County, NM | 92 | 23.9% | 41.3% |
| Doña Ana County, NM | 81 | 17.9% | 29.9% |
| Hidalgo County, NM | 80 | 24.0% | 35.5% |
| Grant County, NM | 74 | 17.3% | 39.7% |
| Sierra County, NM | 73 | 20.6% | 49.9% |
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 Luna County the poorest county in New Mexico?
No, Luna County's poverty rate was 23.9% in 2024, 6th highest 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, Luna County ranks 3rd of 33 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Luna 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.
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 Luna County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.