county

Lea County, NM

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

AI Overview

Lea County, NM is a small, energy-intensive economy of 75,151 residents where GDP per capita reaches $127,668—roughly four times the median worker earnings of $39,893—pointing to a capital-heavy, extractive industry base concentrated in the Permian Basin. The workforce skews young (median age 32.5) and leans toward trade and technical skills rather than formal credentials, with only 15.3% holding a bachelor's degree or higher and a high school attainment rate of 75.6%. The county grew 4.3% over five years, offers a median home value of $176,000 and a 71.2% homeownership rate, though a 7.0% unemployment rate and 18.7% poverty rate reflect the volatility typical of resource-dependent local economies.

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

Population

75,151

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Household Income

$68,015

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

32.5 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

+4.3% since 2018

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

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone31,609 (42.9%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race26,527 (36.0%)
  • Some Other Race Alone10,155 (13.8%)
  • Black or African American Alone2,525 (3.4%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races1,417 (1.9%)
  • Asian Alone788 (1.1%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish28,546
  2. 2.German or other West Germanic247
  3. 3.Other Indo-European207
  4. 4.French (incl. Cajun, Haitian)107
  5. 5.Tagalog (incl. Filipino)102

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

29.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

58.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

11.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

18.3%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

1,749

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$127,668

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$31,554

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

7.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

18.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance5,820
  2. 2.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining4,946
  3. 3.Transportation & Warehousing, & Utilities3,630
  4. 4.Construction (Group)3,006
  5. 5.Retail Trade (Group)2,993

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations9,205
  2. 2.Sales & Office Occupations6,083
  3. 3.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations6,026
  4. 4.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations5,678
  5. 5.Service Occupations4,089

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 11.24×)5,523
  2. 2.Transportation, Warehousing, & Utilities (LQ 1.80×)3,249
  3. 3.Construction (LQ 1.36×)2,907
  4. 4.Wholesale Trade (LQ 1.09×)776
  5. 5.Information (LQ 1.00×)578

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$176,000

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$1,119/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

71.2%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $200,000 to $249,9992,239 (12.8%)
  • $300,000 to $399,9992,127 (12.1%)
  • $150,000 to $174,9991,753 (10.0%)
  • $250,000 to $299,9991,726 (9.8%)
  • $100,000 to $124,9991,440 (8.2%)
  • $175,000 to $199,9991,373 (7.8%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

15.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

75.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

61.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$39,893

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

24.4 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

4.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone22,986 (75.6%)
  • Carpooled5,468 (18.0%)
  • Worked At Home1,118 (3.7%)
  • Walked418 (1.4%)
  • Other193 (0.6%)
  • Public Transit91 (0.3%)

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.