Is being in an area of New Mexico that’s growing quickly a good thing or a bad thing?
Depends on who you ask.
Some want bigger, more exciting cities like Albuquerque and Las Cruces, while others want peace and quiet like in Tucumcari and Los Ranchos de Albuquerque, thank you very much.
But today, we’re going to put opinions aside and look at the cold, hard facts — since 2010, which cities in New Mexico have grown the fastest.
After getting knee-deep in the Census’s American Community Survey using Saturday Night Science, we emerged with this set of cities in the Land of Enchantment that have people climbing over each other to get in.
67.1% growth since 2010 · 2,460 net new residents
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
34.2% growth since 2010 · 4,744 net new residents
Located in
Valencia County, New Mexico
Los Lunas is a village in Valencia County, New Mexico, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the village population is 14,835 inside the village limits due to the new housing developments at El Cerro de Los Lunas. It is the county seat of Valencia County.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
33.9% growth since 2010 · 27,459 net new residents
Located in
Sandoval County, New Mexico
Rio Rancho is the largest city and economic hub of Sandoval County in the U.S. state of New Mexico. A small portion of the city extends into northern Bernalillo County. It is the third-largest and also one of the fastest expanding cities in New Mexico. As of the 2010 census, Rio Rancho had a population of 93,820.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
31.7% growth since 2010 · 21,431 net new residents
Located in
Santa Fe County, New Mexico
Santa Fe is the capital of the state of New Mexico. It is the fourth-largest city in the state and the seat of Santa Fe County.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
26.3% growth since 2010 · 3,631 net new residents
Located in
Doña Ana County, New Mexico
Sunland Park is a city in southern Doa Ana County, New Mexico, United States, on the borders of Texas and the Mexican state of Chihuahua, with Ciudad Jurez adjoining it on the south and El Paso, Texas on the east. The community of Santa Teresa adjoins it on the northwest. The population of Sunland Park was 14,106 at the 2010 census and was estimated at 15,400 by the United States Census Bureau in 2014. Though it lies adjacent to El Paso, being in Doa Ana County makes it a part of the Las Cruces metropolitan statistical area. Las Cruces is 42 miles to the north.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
23.5% growth since 2010 · 6,048 net new residents
Located in
Eddy County, New Mexico
Carlsbad is a city in and the county seat of Eddy County, New Mexico, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 26,138. Carlsbad is centered at the intersection of U.S. Routes 62/180 and 285, and is the principal city of the Carlsbad-Artesia Micropolitan Statistical Area, which has a total population of 55,435. Located in the southeastern part of New Mexico, Carlsbad straddles the Pecos River and sits at the eastern edge of the Guadalupe Mountains.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
22.9% growth since 2010 · 21,300 net new residents
Located in
Doña Ana County, New Mexico
Las Cruces, also known as “The City of the Crosses”, is the seat of Doa Ana County, New Mexico, United States. As of the 2010 census the population was 97,618, and in 2015 the estimated population was 101,643, making it the second largest city in the state, after Albuquerque. Las Cruces is the largest city in both Doa Ana County and southern New Mexico. The Las Cruces metropolitan area had an estimated population of 213,676 in 2014. It is the principal city of a metropolitan statistical area which encompasses all of Doa Ana County and is part of the larger El Paso-Las Cruces combined statistical area.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
22.2% growth since 2010 · 7,312 net new residents
Located in
Lea County, New Mexico
Hobbs is a city in Lea County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 34,122 at the 2010 Census, increasing from 28,657 at the 2000 census.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
15.4% growth since 2010 · 861 net new residents
Located in
Taos County, New Mexico
Taos is a town in Taos County in the north-central region of New Mexico in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, incorporated in 1934. As of the 2010 census, its population was 5,716. Other nearby communities include Ranchos de Taos, Caon, Taos Canyon, Ranchitos, El Prado, and Arroyo Seco. The town is close to Taos Pueblo, the Native American village and tribe from which it takes its name.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
13.7% growth since 2010 · 1,515 net new residents
Located in
Eddy County, New Mexico
Artesia is a city in Eddy County, New Mexico, United States, centered at the intersection of U.S. Route 82 and U.S. Route 285; the two highways serve as the city’s Main Street and First Street, respectively. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 11,301.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is New Mexico’s statewide median.
On the map
Where New Mexico’s growth is happening
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: How We Measured The Fastest Growing Cities In the Land of Enchantment for 2026
To figure out which cities are growing the most, we used Saturday Night Science to look at the growth rates for cities since the beginning of the decade, according to the American Community Survey put out by the census every year. Specifically:
- Current Population
- Population in 2010
- Growth rate from 2010 to Current (the latest available data, which came out in Dec 2024)
We ranked all 33 New Mexico cities with a population over 5,000 people from highest growth rate to lowest.
The city with the highest growth rate during this time was crowned the fastest-growing city in the Land of Enchantment.
And for those of you who are a little rusty with their statistics, you can calculate the growth rate by the following formula: [Current Population – Population 2010] / [Population 2010].
The data has been updated for 2026. This report is our eleventh time ranking the fastest growing cities in New Mexico.
The full plate
Fastest Growing Places In New Mexico For 2026
Click any column to sort. Search by city name.
| Rank | City | Population | Population 2010 | Growth | Absolute Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Edgewood | 6,124 | 3,664 | 67.1% | 2,460 |
| 2 | Los Lunas | 18,618 | 13,874 | 34.2% | 4,744 |
| 3 | Rio Rancho | 108,515 | 81,056 | 33.9% | 27,459 |
| 4 | Santa Fe | 89,019 | 67,588 | 31.7% | 21,431 |
| 5 | Sunland Park | 17,463 | 13,832 | 26.3% | 3,631 |
| 6 | Carlsbad | 31,746 | 25,698 | 23.5% | 6,048 |
| 7 | Las Cruces | 114,197 | 92,897 | 22.9% | 21,300 |
| 8 | Hobbs | 40,252 | 32,940 | 22.2% | 7,312 |
| 9 | Taos | 6,458 | 5,597 | 15.4% | 861 |
| 10 | Artesia | 12,576 | 11,061 | 13.7% | 1,515 |
| 11 | Bernalillo | 9,086 | 8,073 | 12.5% | 1,013 |
| 12 | Lovington | 11,498 | 10,644 | 8.0% | 854 |
| 13 | Albuquerque | 562,218 | 531,403 | 5.8% | 30,815 |
| 14 | Alamogordo | 31,307 | 29,753 | 5.2% | 1,554 |
| 15 | Corrales | 8,555 | 8,156 | 4.9% | 399 |
| 16 | Clovis | 37,942 | 36,217 | 4.8% | 1,725 |
| 17 | Farmington | 46,314 | 44,650 | 3.7% | 1,664 |
| 18 | Belen | 7,450 | 7,255 | 2.7% | 195 |
| 19 | Deming | 15,221 | 14,877 | 2.3% | 344 |
| 20 | Roswell | 47,638 | 47,414 | 0.5% | 224 |
| 21 | Gallup | 21,023 | 21,077 | -0.3% | -54 |
| 22 | Portales | 11,968 | 12,017 | -0.4% | -49 |
| 23 | Los Ranchos de Albuquerque | 5,857 | 5,948 | -1.5% | -91 |
| 24 | Grants | 8,951 | 9,215 | -2.9% | -264 |
| 25 | Tucumcari | 5,160 | 5,338 | -3.3% | -178 |
| 26 | Ruidoso | 7,699 | 8,154 | -5.6% | -455 |
| 27 | Las Vegas | 13,000 | 13,845 | -6.1% | -845 |
| 28 | Bloomfield | 7,395 | 7,887 | -6.2% | -492 |
| 29 | Socorro | 8,481 | 9,059 | -6.4% | -578 |
| 30 | Truth or Consequences | 6,019 | 6,490 | -7.3% | -471 |
| 31 | Silver City | 9,536 | 10,343 | -7.8% | -807 |
| 32 | Aztec | 6,150 | 6,778 | -9.3% | -628 |
| 33 | Raton | 6,026 | 6,965 | -13.5% | -939 |
Source: U.S. Census ACS, 2010-current. 33 New Mexico cities with more than 5,000 residents.
Summary
Summary: These Places Grew Up So Fast In New Mexico, You Know?
So there you have it, the fastest growing cities in New Mexico are led by Edgewood which has been growing at a blistering pace this decade relative to other cities and towns around the state.
The fastest-growing cities in New Mexico are Edgewood, Los Lunas, Rio Rancho, Santa Fe, Sunland Park, Carlsbad, Las Cruces, Hobbs, Taos, and Artesia.
It’ll be interesting to see if these places can keep growing at the same rate over the next couple of years. We’ll be here to let you know!
