county

Otero County, NM

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

AI Overview

Otero County's economy is anchored by a relatively modest labor base — a workforce participation rate of 55.8% across a population of 69,711 — with median worker earnings of $32,730 and a median household income of $55,876, both well below national norms. Educational attainment is limited, with 21.6% holding a bachelor's degree or higher, and unemployment stands at 9.1% against a poverty rate of 20.0%. Housing costs are low, with a median home value of $149,500 and median gross rent of $926/month, and the county posted 3.8% population growth over five years, with a GDP per capita of $42,718.

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

Population

69,711

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Household Income

$55,876

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

36.4 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

+3.8% since 2018

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

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone37,156 (54.0%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race12,893 (18.7%)
  • Some Other Race Alone7,498 (10.9%)
  • American Indian & Alaska Native Alone4,327 (6.3%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races3,320 (4.8%)
  • Black or African American Alone2,478 (3.6%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish13,577
  2. 2.Tagalog (incl. Filipino)268
  3. 3.German or other West Germanic212
  4. 4.Other Asian and Pacific Island143
  5. 5.Chinese (incl. Mandarin, Cantonese)125

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

22.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

60.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

17.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

9.7%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

7,184

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$42,718

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$28,186

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

9.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

20.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance5,906
  2. 2.Retail Trade (Group)3,047
  3. 3.Arts, Entertainment, & Recreation, & Accommodation & Food Services2,804
  4. 4.Construction (Group)2,670
  5. 5.Public Administration (Group)2,431

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations8,239
  2. 2.Sales & Office Occupations5,113
  3. 3.Service Occupations5,108
  4. 4.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations3,674
  5. 5.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations2,079

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Public Administration (LQ 2.27×)2,583
  2. 2.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 1.76×)674
  3. 3.Construction (LQ 1.68×)2,788
  4. 4.Arts, Entertainment, Recreation, & Accommodation (LQ 1.25×)2,634
  5. 5.Retail Trade (LQ 1.18×)3,086

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$149,500

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$926/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

67.0%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $200,000 to $249,9992,008 (12.2%)
  • $300,000 to $399,9991,930 (11.8%)
  • $100,000 to $124,9991,664 (10.1%)
  • $150,000 to $174,9991,616 (9.9%)
  • $250,000 to $299,9991,127 (6.9%)
  • $125,000 to $149,9991,000 (6.1%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

21.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

87.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

55.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$32,730

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

22.1 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

5.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone22,231 (78.2%)
  • Carpooled3,190 (11.2%)
  • Worked At Home1,896 (6.7%)
  • Walked801 (2.8%)
  • Bicycle106 (0.4%)
  • Other106 (0.4%)

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.