About one in 11 people in Sandoval County, New Mexico, lives below the poverty line
In Sandoval County, 9.4% of people lived below the poverty line. That is lower than in 82% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 56% of U.S. counties.
What drives Sandoval County's score
In Sandoval County, jobs are the highest-scoring part, at 68.7. Income and the safety net is the lowest part, at 27.7. The typical household earns $90,023 a year (2024), more than in 89% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Sandoval 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.
Sandoval 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.
- 68.7 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.8% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202672nd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working23.2% · 2020 to 202464th percentile
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- 48.8 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind5.3% · August 202546th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind6.1% · August 202563rd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score36.9% · second quarter of 202636th percentile
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- 45.4 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector23.5% · August 202551st percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people107.1 · 202539th percentile
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- 40.7 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 rent19.0% · 2020 to 202455th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income18.5% · fiscal year 202726th percentile
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- 27.7 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line9.4% · 202417th percentile
- Children below the poverty line11.7% · 202421st percentile
- People with a disability16.2% · 2020 to 202452nd percentile
- People without health insurance6.5% · 2020 to 202436th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$90,023 · 202410th 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 Sandoval 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 Sandoval County, 20.1% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Sandoval County
New Mexico
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Sandoval County had its largest rise, from 13.9% in 2004 to 17.3% in 2009.
In Sandoval County, benefit checks' share of income has nearly doubled since 1969, reaching 21.9% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about three times as much as benefit checks
In Sandoval County, New Mexico, benefit checks' share of income nearly doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 21.9%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
SNAP food aid is one of the benefit checks counted in the income totals above.
The share of households in Sandoval County getting SNAP food aid more than doubled to 13.8%, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2011 to 2012, reaching 10.1%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Sandoval County, New Mexico.
How Sandoval County has changed
Sandoval County's population had its largest rise, from 102,583 in 2004 to 128,985 in 2009.
Sandoval County's population grew to about nine times its 1969 size in 2024, reaching 157,757, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 1969 to 1974, reaching 25,398. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Sandoval County, New Mexico.
The number of jobs located in Sandoval County had its largest rise, from 9,234 in 1990 to 18,168 in 1995.
The number of jobs located in Sandoval County grew to about four times its 1990 size in 2025, reaching 35,867, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 2010 to 2015, reaching 29,159. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Sandoval County, New Mexico.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.7% | 2025 4.1% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 14.1% | 2024 9.4% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $25,755 | 2024 $90,023 |
The table uses 4.1% for 2025; the score uses 4.8% 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 Sandoval County's history
1903
Created in 1903 from the northern part of Bernalillo County. Wikipedia
2009
Lightning in July 2009 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2011
A flash flood in August 2011 did $3.75 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2011
A flash flood in August 2011 did $3 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 148,834, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
2025
A flash flood in July 2025 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1973
15 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Sandoval County, 9 of them for flooding. FEMA
Sandoval County beside its neighbors
Of the seven counties that border Sandoval County, five score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Sandoval County ranks 5th of the eight; McKinley County is highest, at 41.3%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cibola County, NM | 95 | 25.9% | 41.0% |
| McKinley County, NM | 95 | 26.2% | 41.3% |
| San Juan County, NM | 80 | 18.2% | 29.5% |
| Bernalillo County, NM | 59 | 13.7% | 21.8% |
| 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 Sandoval County the poorest county in New Mexico?
No, Sandoval County's poverty rate was 9.4% in 2024, 32nd 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, Sandoval County ranks 31st of 33 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Sandoval 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 Sandoval 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 Sandoval County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.