Some of you might be asking yourself, at this very moment, is New Mexico a good place?
The answer is unequivocally yes… if you know where to locate the best counties to live in New Mexico.
Lucky for you, we’re here to help you identify the best counties to live in the Land of Enchantment based on the most recently available data from the Census. And this isn’t our first rodeo — we’ve been using Saturday Night Science to rank places for years.
The question becomes if you wanted to relocate to the best part of New Mexico, where would you go? To answer that, we looked at crime, cost of living, and demographic data for all 31 counties in the state.
Los Alamos County is the county to be when it comes to living the good life in New Mexico. And you should avoid McKinley County if you can — at least according to the data.
$147,139 median income · 0.6% unemployment
$86,636 median income · 5.2% unemployment
$79,071 median income · 5.3% unemployment
$69,473 median income · 5.3% unemployment
$58,950 median income · 7.6% unemployment
$53,303 median income · 5.1% unemployment
$53,663 median income · 3.8% unemployment
$57,155 median income · 4.9% unemployment
$53,554 median income · 3.8% unemployment
$49,864 median income · 4.2% unemployment
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is New Mexico’s statewide median.
New Mexico statewide median: $64,059
New Mexico statewide median: $316,750
New Mexico statewide median: 6.0%
On the map
Where New Mexico’s best counties are
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: How do you determine which New Mexico county is the best?
To give you the best county in New Mexico, we have to look at a handful of metrics that signal the quality of a place. To do that, we made assumptions about what’s in a “best county” and what isn’t. For reference, we are trying to make the kind of argument you’d make at a bar using facts, Saturday Night Science.
With that in mind, we went to two of the best data sources on the internet. Namely, the American Community Survey data and FBI Crime data for the most recent period.
We paid particular attention to:
- Violent Crime Rates
- Property Crime Rates
- Median Home Values
- Median Income
- Unemployment Rates
- Adult Education Levels
- Health Insurance Coverage
- Poverty Rates
We then ranked each county in New Mexico across each of the criteria from one to 31, with one being the best.
Taking the average rank across all criteria, we created a quality of life score with the county posting the lowest overall score being the “Best County To Live In New Mexico.”
The result is some of the safest, quietest, and best counties to raise a family in the Land of Enchantment.
We updated this article for 2026. This report is our eleventh time ranking the best counties to live in New Mexico.
Read on to see why Los Alamos County is the best county, while McKinley County is probably in contention for being the worst county in New Mexico.
The full plate
Detailed List Of The Best Counties In New Mexico
Click any column to sort. Search by county name.
| Rank | County | Population | Median Income | Median Home Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Los Alamos County | 19,435 | $147,139 | $582,355 |
| 2 | Sandoval County | 153,604 | $86,636 | $375,318 |
| 3 | Santa Fe County | 156,105 | $79,071 | $551,954 |
| 4 | Bernalillo County | 673,930 | $69,473 | $347,857 |
| 5 | Taos County | 34,543 | $58,950 | $436,543 |
| 6 | Lincoln County | 20,224 | $53,303 | $345,944 |
| 6 | Mora County | 4,149 | $53,663 | $156,524 |
| 8 | Rio Arriba County | 40,070 | $57,155 | $342,347 |
| 9 | Colfax County | 12,322 | $53,554 | $244,655 |
| 10 | Catron County | 3,743 | $49,864 | $230,424 |
| 11 | Valencia County | 78,458 | $58,933 | $313,403 |
| 12 | Eddy County | 61,105 | $78,426 | $247,119 |
| 13 | Sierra County | 11,500 | $41,600 | $171,957 |
| 14 | San Miguel County | 26,850 | $49,431 | $257,118 |
| 15 | Torrance County | 15,490 | $57,842 | $227,153 |
| 16 | Grant County | 27,775 | $44,958 | $188,064 |
| 17 | Otero County | 68,816 | $55,876 | $231,765 |
| 18 | San Juan County | 120,942 | $55,872 | $269,836 |
| 19 | Harding County | 741 | $48,553 | $89,369 |
| 21 | Guadalupe County | 4,381 | $42,750 | $140,437 |
| 21 | Union County | 4,013 | $46,694 | $121,431 |
| 21 | Lea County | 73,733 | $68,015 | $191,098 |
| 23 | Quay County | 8,564 | $41,946 | $106,213 |
| 24 | Socorro County | 16,200 | $36,570 | $195,298 |
| 25 | Curry County | 47,638 | $57,309 | $159,647 |
| 26 | Roosevelt County | 18,928 | $52,685 | $146,094 |
| 27 | Chaves County | 64,217 | $52,938 | $170,648 |
| 28 | Hidalgo County | 4,041 | $48,882 | $100,641 |
| 29 | Luna County | 25,611 | $36,419 | $161,942 |
| 30 | Cibola County | 26,845 | $50,759 | $154,549 |
| 31 | McKinley County | 70,431 | $47,668 | $219,828 |
Source: U.S. Census ACS + FBI crime data via Saturday Night Science. All 31 New Mexico counties.
Summary
Summary: The Best Counties In New Mexico To Call Home For 2026
Living in New Mexico can vary from one part of the state to the next — who woulda thought?
The best counties in New Mexico are Los Alamos County, Sandoval County, Santa Fe County, Bernalillo County, Taos County, Lincoln County, Mora County, Rio Arriba County, Colfax County, and Catron County.
But now you know the outstanding parts and the parts to avoid, and that’s why you came here to learn at the end of the day.
You are welcome. Not sold on New Mexico? Take the two-minute Find Your Place quiz and see which state actually fits you.
Questions and answers
Best Counties In New Mexico FAQs
What is the best county to live in New Mexico?
Los Alamos County is the best county to live in New Mexico for 2026, according to Saturday Night Science. Sandoval County and Santa Fe County are next.
What are the best counties in New Mexico?
The best counties to live in New Mexico are Los Alamos County, Sandoval County, Santa Fe County, Bernalillo County, Taos County, Lincoln County, Mora County, Rio Arriba County, Colfax County, and Catron County. We ranked all 31 New Mexico counties.
How do you rank the best counties?
Counties are scored on crime, home values, income, unemployment, education, insurance coverage, and poverty, using Census American Community Survey and FBI data. The county with the best average across all seven, Los Alamos County, wins.
How expensive is it to live in Los Alamos County?
The median household income in Los Alamos County is $147,139 and the median home costs $582,355. Statewide, the typical New Mexico home runs $316,750.
Which county in New Mexico should you think twice about?
McKinley County lands at the bottom of the quality-of-life ranking for New Mexico. People make good lives there anyway; the numbers just say it is the toughest of the 31 counties.
