We used Saturday Night Science to analyze New Mexico’s most recent Census data to determine the divorce rate for each city in New Mexico based on the percentage of currently divorced residents.
The city with the highest divorce rate in New Mexico is Raton, with 12.0% of people over 15 years of age being divorced, per the most recent census data. The city with the lowest divorce rate in New Mexico is Sunland Park.
New Mexico is 6.0% divorced overall. There are some 101,771 people living in New Mexico over fifteen years of age who are divorced. You can compare that to the 28,339,199 Americans who are currently divorced.
Isn’t the divorce rate in America close to 50%? Yes indeed. But we’re measuring something else; we are looking at counts and percentages of people over 15 years old who are currently divorced. That 50% statistic is for the percentage of people who have ever been divorced.
So now that we have you biting your nails, rethinking your worldview, and pulling out your hair, let’s look at the places in New Mexico with the highest rates of divorcees.
12.0% divorced · #1 highest divorce rate in New Mexico
Located in
Colfax County, New Mexico
Raton is a city and the county seat of Colfax County in northeastern New Mexico. The city is located just south of Raton Pass.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
11.0% divorced · #2 highest divorce rate in New Mexico
Tucumcari is a city in and the county seat of Quay County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 5,363 at the 2010 census. Tucumcari was founded in 1901, two years before Quay County was founded.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
11.0% divorced · #2 highest divorce rate in New Mexico
Located in
San Miguel County, New Mexico
Las Vegas is a city in and the county seat of San Miguel County, New Mexico, United States. Once two separate municipalities both named Las Vegas, west Las Vegas and east Las Vegas, separated by the Gallinas River, retain distinct characters and separate, rival school districts. The population was 14,565 at the 2000 census. Las Vegas, NM is located 110 miles south of Raton, New Mexico, 65 miles east of Santa Fe, New Mexico, 122 miles northeast of Albuquerque, New Mexico, 257 miles south of Colorado Springs, Colorado, and 326 miles south of Denver, Colorado.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
9.0% divorced · #4 highest divorce rate in New Mexico
Located in
Socorro County, New Mexico
Socorro is a city in Socorro County in the U.S. state of New Mexico. It is in the Rio Grande Valley at an elevation of 4,579 feet. In 2012 the population was 8,906. It is the county seat of Socorro County. Socorro is located 74 miles south of Albuquerque and 146 miles north of Las Cruces.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
9.0% divorced · #4 highest divorce rate in New Mexico
Located in
Valencia County, New Mexico
Belen is the second most populous city in Valencia County, New Mexico, United States, after its county seat Los Lunas. The population was 7,152 in 2015 census data.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
8.0% divorced · #6 highest divorce rate in New Mexico
Located in
Sierra County, New Mexico
Truth or Consequences is a city and county seat in Sierra County, New Mexico, United States. In 2012, the population was 6,411. It is commonly known within New Mexico as T or C. It has frequently been noted on lists of unusual place names.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
7.0% divorced · #11 highest divorce rate in New Mexico
Located in
McKinley County, New Mexico
Gallup is a city in McKinley County, New Mexico, United States, with a population of 21,678 as of the 2010 census. A substantial percentage of its population is Native American, with residents from the Navajo, Hopi, and Zuni tribes. Gallup is the county seat of McKinley County and the most populous city between Flagstaff and Albuquerque, along the historic U.S. Route 66.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
7.0% divorced · #11 highest divorce rate in New Mexico
Located in
Bernalillo County, New Mexico
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
7.0% divorced · #11 highest divorce rate in New Mexico
Located in
Cibola County, New Mexico
Grants is a city in Cibola County, New Mexico, United States. It is located about 78 miles west of Albuquerque. The population was 9,182 at the 2010 Census. It is the county seat of Cibola County.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
7.0% divorced · #11 highest divorce rate in New Mexico
Located in
Roosevelt County, New Mexico
Portales is a city in and the county seat of Roosevelt County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 12,280 at the 2010 census. Portales is located near the larger city of Clovis as well as Cannon Air Force Base, a major contributor to the economy of the region.
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.
New Mexico statewide median: $64,059
On the map
Where New Mexico’s highest divorce rates are
Saturday Night Science
How We Determined The Places In New Mexico That Get Un-Hitched The Most
We used Saturday Night Science to look at the U.S. Census Bureau on divorce rates. Because who likes tracking misery more than the U.S. government?
Specifically, we looked at the 2020-2024 American Community Survey table S1201 — Marital Status. Pretty straightforward on that front — we just had to extract the following column of data:
Today, the analysis focuses on the 34 places in New Mexico with a population of over 5,000.
- Population 15 Years and Over -> Divorced
We ranked each place by the percentage of divorcees over 15 years of age from highest to lowest. We crowned the divorce capital of New Mexico the place with the highest incidence of divorcees, Raton.
And if you’re trying to avoid divorce, check out Sunland Park, the city with the lowest divorce rate in New Mexico. We updated this article for 2026 and this list is our eleventh time ranking the cities in New Mexico with the highest divorce rates.
The full plate
Cities With The Highest Divorce Rates In New Mexico
Click any column to sort. Search by city name.
| Rank | City | Population | Divorcees | Divorce Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Raton | 6,026 | 578 | 12.0% |
| 2 | Tucumcari | 5,160 | 454 | 11.0% |
| 2 | Las Vegas | 13,000 | 1,144 | 11.0% |
| 4 | Socorro | 8,481 | 611 | 9.0% |
| 4 | Belen | 7,450 | 536 | 9.0% |
| 6 | Truth or Consequences | 6,019 | 385 | 8.0% |
| 11 | Gallup | 21,023 | 1,177 | 7.0% |
| 11 | Los Ranchos de Albuquerque | 5,857 | 328 | 7.0% |
| 11 | Grants | 8,951 | 501 | 7.0% |
| 11 | Portales | 11,968 | 670 | 7.0% |
| 11 | Aztec | 6,150 | 344 | 7.0% |
| 11 | Silver City | 9,536 | 534 | 7.0% |
| 11 | Bernalillo | 9,086 | 509 | 7.0% |
| 11 | Carlsbad | 31,746 | 1,778 | 7.0% |
| 11 | Roswell | 47,638 | 2,668 | 7.0% |
| 17 | Albuquerque | 562,218 | 26,986 | 6.0% |
| 17 | Los Lunas | 18,618 | 894 | 6.0% |
| 17 | Clovis | 37,942 | 1,821 | 6.0% |
| 17 | Bloomfield | 7,395 | 355 | 6.0% |
| 22 | Rio Rancho | 108,515 | 4,341 | 5.0% |
| 22 | Artesia | 12,576 | 503 | 5.0% |
| 22 | Las Cruces | 114,197 | 4,568 | 5.0% |
| 22 | Farmington | 46,314 | 1,853 | 5.0% |
| 22 | Santa Fe | 89,019 | 3,561 | 5.0% |
| 27 | Lovington | 11,498 | 368 | 4.0% |
| 27 | Alamogordo | 31,307 | 1,002 | 4.0% |
| 27 | Corrales | 8,555 | 274 | 4.0% |
| 27 | Hobbs | 40,252 | 1,288 | 4.0% |
| 27 | Edgewood | 6,124 | 196 | 4.0% |
| 31 | Taos | 6,458 | 155 | 3.0% |
| 31 | Ruidoso | 7,699 | 185 | 3.0% |
| 31 | Deming | 15,221 | 365 | 3.0% |
| 33 | Anthony | 8,767 | 140 | 2.0% |
| 34 | Sunland Park | 17,463 | 140 | 1.0% |
Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024. 34 cities with more than 5,000 residents.
Summary
Getting Some Closure In New Mexico After Untying The Knot
We now have a sense of what places in the Land of Enchantment don’t pay much attention to the whole “’til death do we part” phrase.
The cities with the highest divorce rate in New Mexico are Raton, Tucumcari, Las Vegas, Socorro, Belen, Truth or Consequences, Gallup, Los Ranchos de Albuquerque, Grants, and Portales.
Try to keep in mind that the reason cities rank where they do in New Mexico could be because of the age, education, and income distribution, as all of those things impact the rate of divorce.
