About one in five people in Otero County, New Mexico, lives below the poverty line
In Otero County, 19.3% of people lived below the poverty line. That is higher than in 84% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 75% of U.S. counties.
What drives Otero County's score
In Otero County, income and the safety net weighs most: the score for income and the safety net is 80.2. About three in ten children (28.3%, 2024) live below the poverty line, a higher share than in 89% of U.S. counties. Jobs come next, at 80.0.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Otero 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.
Otero County does better than most counties on one measure: bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (65.4, 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 80.2 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line19.3% · 202485th percentile
- Children below the poverty line28.3% · 202489th percentile
- People with a disability19.9% · 2020 to 202479th percentile
- People without health insurance10.1% · 2020 to 202466th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$56,152 · 202480th percentile
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- 80.0 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year5.0% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202678th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working27.1% · 2020 to 202481st percentile
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- 65.2 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind6.0% · August 202558th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind6.6% · August 202568th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score45.4% · second quarter of 202668th percentile
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- 55.2 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 rent18.2% · 2020 to 202450th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income21.7% · fiscal year 202760th percentile
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- 44.6 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector29.3% · August 202571st percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people65.4 · 202517th 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 Otero 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 Otero County, 17.5% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Otero County
New Mexico
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Otero County had its largest rise, from 19.2% in 2004 to 24.8% in 2009.
In Otero County, benefit checks' share of income has grown to about seven times its 1969 level, reaching 30.7% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in nearly twice as much as benefit checks
In Otero County, New Mexico, benefit checks' share of income grew to about seven times its 1969 level by 2024, reaching 30.7%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Otero County getting SNAP food aid made its largest gain on the way to its 2023 high, from 18.6% in 2022 to 21.6% in 2023.
The share of households in Otero County getting SNAP food aid more than doubled from 2009 to 2024, reaching 21.6%
High on the chart: 21.6% in 2023. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Otero County, New Mexico.
How Otero County has changed
Otero County's population nearly doubled to 69,711, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1989 to 1994, reaching 57,712. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Otero County, New Mexico.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Otero County rose 15% from 1990 to 2025, with most of the change between 2000 and 2005
High on the chart: 18,208 in 2005. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Otero County, New Mexico.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 7.2% | 2025 4.4% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 14.8% | 2024 19.3% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $22,574 | 2024 $56,152 |
The table uses 4.4% for 2025; the score uses 5.0% 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 Otero County's history
1899
Created January 30, 1899. Wikipedia
1941
Alamogordo Bombing and Gunnery Range. Wikipedia
2006
A flash flood in June 2006 did $1.3 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2008
Hail in May 2008 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 67,839, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1984
15 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Otero County, 9 of them for flooding. FEMA
Otero County beside its neighbors
Of the eight counties that border Otero County, in New Mexico and Texas, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Otero County ranks 4th of the nine; Sierra County is highest, at 49.9%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chaves County, NM | 89 | 21.6% | 29.1% |
| El Paso County, TX | 89 | 18.1% | 24.6% |
| Doña Ana County, NM | 81 | 17.9% | 29.9% |
| Otero County, NM | 75 | 19.3% | 30.7% |
| Sierra County, NM | 73 | 20.6% | 49.9% |
| Hudspeth County, TX | 68 | 30.2% | 32.5% |
| Culberson County, TX | 67 | 18.2% | 16.0% |
| Lincoln County, NM | 62 | 15.5% | 33.4% |
| Eddy County, NM | 55 | 15.1% | 16.6% |
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 Otero County the poorest county in New Mexico?
No, Otero County's poverty rate was 19.3% in 2024, 13th 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, Otero County ranks 14th of 33 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Otero 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 Otero County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.