Benefit checks make up 37 cents of every dollar of income in Rio Arriba County, New Mexico
In Rio Arriba County, 37.2% of all the income people there received came from benefit checks. That is higher than in 88% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 56% of U.S. counties.
What drives Rio Arriba County's score
In Rio Arriba County, jobs weigh most: the score for jobs is 77.9. About three in ten adults aged 25 to 54 (28.1%, 2020 to 2024) aren't working, a higher share than in 85% of U.S. counties. Late payments on loans come next, at 64.0.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Rio Arriba 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.
Rio Arriba County does better than most counties on two measures: bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (35.1, 2025) and renters paying half their income or more in rent (11.8%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 77.9 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.7% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202670th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working28.1% · 2020 to 202485th percentile
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- 64.0 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind5.1% · August 202544th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind7.7% · August 202580th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score45.0% · second quarter of 202666th percentile
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- 63.8 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line17.1% · 202476th percentile
- Children below the poverty line22.3% · 202473rd percentile
- People with a disability15.8% · 2020 to 202448th percentile
- People without health insurance8.7% · 2020 to 202457th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$62,153 · 202463rd percentile
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- 37.4 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector28.8% · August 202570th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people35.1 · 20254th percentile
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- 27.7 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 rent11.8% · 2020 to 202418th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income19.6% · fiscal year 202737th 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 Rio Arriba 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 Rio Arriba County, 21.8% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Rio Arriba County
New Mexico
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Rio Arriba County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 37.2% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about a third more than benefit checks
In Rio Arriba County, New Mexico, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 37.2%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Rio Arriba County getting SNAP food aid moved most in two steps: 11.8% in 2011 to 14.0% in 2012; 15.9% in 2017 to 13.7% in 2018.
The share of households in Rio Arriba County getting SNAP food aid nearly doubled from 2009 to 2024, reaching 18.8%
High on the chart: 18.8% 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, Rio Arriba County, New Mexico.
How Rio Arriba County has changed
Rio Arriba County's population made its largest gain on the way to its 1999 high, from 37,192 in 1994 to 40,826 in 1999.
Rio Arriba County's population rose by more than half from 1969 to 2024, reaching 39,955
High on the chart: 40,826 in 1999. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Rio Arriba County, New Mexico.
The number of jobs located in Rio Arriba County had its largest rise, from 9,934 in 2000 to 12,153 in 2005.
The number of jobs located in Rio Arriba County was at its highest on the chart in 2005 and has since fallen by about a fifth
High on the chart: 12,153 in 2005. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Rio Arriba County, New Mexico.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 13.8% | 2025 4.1% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 25.3% | 2024 17.1% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $17,306 | 2024 $62,153 |
The table uses 4.1% for 2025; the score uses 4.7% 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 Rio Arriba County's history
1852
Created 1852 as one of nine originally created counties for the Territory of New Mexico. Wikipedia
1997
Lightning in May 1997 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2000
The county's largest recorded population was the 2000 Census count of 41,190. The 2020 Census counted 40,363, 98% of the peak. Census Bureau
2006
A flash flood in August 2006 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2015
Lightning in August 2015 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2016
A flash flood in August 2016 did $2 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1973
14 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Rio Arriba County, 7 of them for flooding. FEMA
Rio Arriba County beside its neighbors
Of the eight counties that border Rio Arriba County, in New Mexico and Colorado, four score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Rio Arriba County ranks 2nd of the nine; Mora County is highest, at 40.9%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Juan County, NM | 80 | 18.2% | 29.5% |
| Taos County, NM | 70 | 17.2% | 33.9% |
| Mora County, NM | 63 | 19.2% | 40.9% |
| Conejos County, CO | 57 | 17.1% | 35.3% |
| 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% |
| Archuleta County, CO | 23 | 10.5% | 26.2% |
| 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 Rio Arriba County the poorest county in New Mexico?
No, Rio Arriba County's poverty rate was 17.1% in 2024, 22nd 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, Rio Arriba County ranks 28th of 33 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Rio Arriba 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 Rio Arriba 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 Rio Arriba County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.