county

Otero County, CO

Demographic and economic profile of Otero County, CO, sourced from the US Census Bureau (American Community Survey) via Data USA.

AI Overview

Otero County is a small agricultural and rural services economy with a population of 18,460 that grew modestly by 0.7% over five years. The labor force participation rate is relatively low at 56.6%, with 18.8% of residents holding a bachelor's degree or higher, and median worker earnings of $36,236 reflect a cost-competitive workforce. Housing costs are low—median home value of $160,700 and median gross rent of $796/month—though a poverty rate of 23.6% and per capita income of $28,634 indicate constrained household economics.

Claude Sonnet 4.6 · generated Jul 6, 2026 · derived from cached Census, BEA & ACS data on this page

Population

18,460

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$54,037

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

41.8 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

+0.7% since 2018

Otero County added population at this rate over the prior 5-year ACS5 window.

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone12,315 (67.2%)
  • Some Other Race Alone2,535 (13.8%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race2,146 (11.7%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races580 (3.2%)
  • American Indian & Alaska Native Alone390 (2.1%)
  • Black or African American Alone213 (1.2%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish2,383
  2. 2.German or other West Germanic38
  3. 3.Tagalog (incl. Filipino)12
  4. 4.Other Indo-European11
  5. 5.Other Asian and Pacific Island4

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

23.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

55.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

21.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

4.8%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

926

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$31,105

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$28,634

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

4.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

23.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance2,628
  2. 2.Retail Trade (Group)685
  3. 3.Public Administration (Group)668
  4. 4.Manufacturing (Group)565
  5. 5.Arts, Entertainment, & Recreation, & Accommodation & Food Services541

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations2,748
  2. 2.Service Occupations1,522
  3. 3.Sales & Office Occupations1,416
  4. 4.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations969
  5. 5.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations926

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 3.78×)477
  2. 2.Public Administration (LQ 1.94×)725
  3. 3.Educational Services & Health Care (LQ 1.28×)2,371
  4. 4.Information (LQ 1.21×)180
  5. 5.Construction (LQ 1.08×)592

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$160,700

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$796/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

68.9%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $200,000 to $249,999729 (13.9%)
  • $150,000 to $174,999585 (11.2%)
  • $250,000 to $299,999553 (10.6%)
  • $300,000 to $399,999470 (9.0%)
  • $125,000 to $149,999444 (8.5%)
  • $100,000 to $124,999376 (7.2%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

18.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

89.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

56.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$36,236

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

21.2 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

8.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone5,822 (78.3%)
  • Carpooled724 (9.7%)
  • Worked At Home455 (6.1%)
  • Walked395 (5.3%)
  • Other41 (0.6%)
  • Public Transit0 (0.0%)

Data USA · as of 2024

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Data: US Census Bureau American Community Survey, served via Data USA and the Census Bureau API. See each metric tile for the specific dataset.