county

Lincoln County, NM

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

AI Overview

Lincoln County is a small, rural county of 20,227 residents with a notably older population (median age 52.4) and a low labor force participation rate of 54.0%, reflecting a likely retiree-heavy demographic. The available workforce skews modestly educated, with 28.8% holding a bachelor's degree or higher and median worker earnings of $29,222, keeping labor costs relatively low. Housing is affordable by regional standards at a $212,200 median home value and $883/month median rent, and the county posted 3.8% population growth over five years despite a 5.7% unemployment rate and a 16.0% poverty rate.

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

Population

20,227

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$53,303

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

52.4 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

+3.8% since 2018

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

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone14,070 (69.6%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race3,627 (17.9%)
  • Some Other Race Alone1,100 (5.4%)
  • American Indian & Alaska Native Alone755 (3.7%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races361 (1.8%)
  • Black or African American Alone205 (1.0%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish3,623
  2. 2.Other Asian and Pacific Island77
  3. 3.Other Indo-European17
  4. 4.French (incl. Cajun, Haitian)15
  5. 5.German or other West Germanic14

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

17.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

52.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

30.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

3.8%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

1,727

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$35,942

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$36,086

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

5.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

16.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance1,835
  2. 2.Arts, Entertainment, & Recreation, & Accommodation & Food Services1,216
  3. 3.Professional, Scientific, & Management, & Administrative & Waste Management Services926
  4. 4.Retail Trade (Group)903
  5. 5.Construction (Group)821

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations3,283
  2. 2.Service Occupations2,019
  3. 3.Sales & Office Occupations1,453
  4. 4.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations1,155
  5. 5.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations590

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 3.40×)476
  2. 2.Construction (LQ 1.98×)1,204
  3. 3.Arts, Entertainment, Recreation, & Accommodation (LQ 1.74×)1,338
  4. 4.Public Administration (LQ 1.24×)516
  5. 5.Transportation, Warehousing, & Utilities (LQ 1.03×)529

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$212,200

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$883/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

76.8%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $300,000 to $399,999887 (11.5%)
  • $200,000 to $249,999795 (10.4%)
  • $500,000 to $749,999750 (9.8%)
  • $400,000 to $499,999710 (9.2%)
  • $250,000 to $299,999641 (8.3%)
  • $100,000 to $124,999621 (8.1%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

28.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

91.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

54.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$29,222

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

20.0 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

4.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone5,806 (71.0%)
  • Carpooled1,061 (13.0%)
  • Worked At Home909 (11.1%)
  • Other298 (3.6%)
  • Walked65 (0.8%)
  • Bicycle25 (0.3%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Similar Locations

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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.