City · Lea County, New Mexico

Hobbs, New Mexico

Hobbs is a city in Lea County, New Mexico, part of the Hobbs, NM metro area. It has 40,252 residents. Hobbs, New Mexico has a quality-of-life score of 5 out of 100 (very low), ranking #14,880 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within New Mexico it ranks #126 of 163 cities and towns. It ranks best on comfortable days (high), job growth (high) and effective property tax rate (low). It ranks worst on flu vaccinations (low), mammography screening (low) and distance to an Amtrak station (high).

5Very low

Quality-of-life score: #14,880 of 15,651 cities and towns
New Mexico: #126 of 163 in NM
Population: 40,252 (2020-2024)
Land area: 26 mi²
Density: 1,523.6 /mi²
FIPS code: 3532520

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 75 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety4#15,078/15,637
Economy20#12,474/15,631
Housing76#3,576/14,977
Health20#12,456/15,609
Healthcare5#14,792/15,650
Environment21#12,246/15,453
Education5#14,828/15,649
Infrastructure7#14,497/15,650
Community26#11,568/15,651
Leisure & amenities7#14,552/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Hobbs, New Mexico ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Lea County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Comfortable days · high32.8%
89/100New Mexico 31.7%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationLea County value
Job growth · high1.3%
82/100New Mexico -0.4%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataLea County value
Effective property tax rate · low0.59%
80/100New Mexico 0.63%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090
New homes permitted · high5.6 /1k
79/100New Mexico 3.8 /1kUnited States 4.2 /1kSep 2025–Aug 2026U.S. Census BureauProvisional data
Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) · low6.8 µg/m³
75/100New Mexico 5.9 µg/m³United States 8.0 µg/m³2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyLea County value
Average weekly wage · high$1,380
73/100New Mexico $1,214United States $1,5142025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsLea County value

Weaknesses

Flu vaccinations · low20.0%
1/100New Mexico 36.0%United States 44.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteLea County value
Mammography screening · low29.0%
2/100New Mexico 38.0%United States 46.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteLea County value
Distance to an Amtrak station · high168 mi
4/100New Mexico 43 miUnited States 43 mi2026Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauLea County value
Voter turnout · low49.9%
4/100New Mexico 59.7%United States 65.2%2024U.S. Election Assistance CommissionLea County value
Income inequality (Gini index) · high0.512
4/100New Mexico 0.477United States 0.4832020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19083
Property crime rate · high2,505 /100k
5/100New Mexico 2,240 /100kUnited States 1,535 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationLea County value

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

Broadband subscriptionsImproving
76.9% (2015-2019) → 86.5% (2020-2024)
+9.6 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
39.6% (2015-2019) → 46.0% (2020-2024)
+6.5 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Home price to income ratioWorsening
2.4× (2015-2019) → 3.0× (2020-2024)
+25%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
Rent as share of incomeWorsening
24.3% (2015-2019) → 28.9% (2020-2024)
+4.6 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Average commute timeWorsening
20.0 min (2015-2019) → 23.8 min (2020-2024)
+19%5 yearsCensus table B08013US 26.9 min → 26.4 min
Income inequality (Gini index)Worsening
0.465 (2015-2019) → 0.512 (2020-2024)
+10%5 yearsCensus table B19083US 0.482 → 0.483

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Hobbs, New Mexico improved on 1 of 14 measures with a comparison and declined on 2. 11 moved within the margin of error and 0 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved1

Broadband+9.6 points76.9% → 86.5%

Declined2

Rent / income+4.6 points24.3% → 28.9%
Price / income+0.6×2.4× → 3.0×

All 14 measures

Change of every measure of Hobbs, New Mexico between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	20.0 min2015-2019	23.8 min2020-2024	+3.8 min	Within the margin of error	15%
Bachelor's degree or higher	15.5%2015-2019	17.3%2020-2024	+1.8 points	Within the margin of error	41%
Broadband subscriptions	76.9%2015-2019	86.5%2020-2024	+9.6 points	Improved	58%
Child poverty rate	25.6%2015-2019	26.4%2020-2024	+0.8 points	Within the margin of error	35%
Effective property tax rate	0.66%2015-2019	0.59%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Within the margin of error	28%
High school diploma or higher	75.4%2015-2019	74.4%2020-2024	−1 points	Within the margin of error	23%
Home price to income ratio	2.4×2015-2019	3.0×2020-2024	+0.6×	Declined	41%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4652015-2019	0.5122020-2024	+0.047	Within the margin of error	18%
Median household income	$59,0202015-2019	$64,0212020-2024	+8.5%	Within the margin of error	15%
Poverty rate	18.2%2015-2019	19.7%2020-2024	+1.5 points	Within the margin of error	30%
Rent as share of income	24.3%2015-2019	28.9%2020-2024	+4.6 points	Declined	24%
Rent-burdened households	39.6%2015-2019	46.0%2020-2024	+6.5 points	Within the margin of error	33%
Unemployment rate	6.8%2015-2019	6.3%2020-2024	−0.6 points	Within the margin of error	62%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	14.1%2015-2019	16.1%2020-2024	+2 points	Within the margin of error	26%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Hobbs, New Mexico five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Hobbs, New Mexico in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Hobbs, New Mexico itself moved −11.6 points in standing on average over the same 10 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

40,252 residents (±27)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79
60–69

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

14,211 households (±453)

Hobbs, New Mexico
New Mexico share

Under $25k21%3,002
$25k–50k19%2,631
$50k–75k18%2,557

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

14,211 households (±453)

Hobbs, New Mexico
New Mexico share

Own66%9,379
Rent34%4,832

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Own (+6.5 points).

Table view

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

17,309 workers (±826)

Hobbs, New Mexico
New Mexico share

Drive alone76%13,167
Carpool18%3,197
Public transit0.3%†59

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the Hobbs, NM

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Lea County, the county holding most of Hobbs's residents.

Lea County has 1,730 employer establishments, 236 for every 10,000 residents (0.95× the US rate of 248; 1.12× New Mexico's), with 24,911 paid employees at an average annual pay of $66,142. The Census Bureau also counts 4,706 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 1,730; 4,706 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 236; US 248 · New Mexico 212
Paid employees: 24,911
Average annual pay: $66,142; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Lea County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Truck transportation	159	21.7	4.29×More than typical	1,415	$83,687	546
Restaurants and other eating places	128	17.5	0.95×About typical	2,205	$21,487	41
Specialty trade contractors	102	13.9	0.90×About typical	1,621	$77,785	412
Ambulatory health care services	77	10.5	0.50×Fewer than typical	869	$59,509	120
Limited-service restaurants	56	7.6	0.95×About typical	1,141	$20,627	21
Religious organizations	53	7.2	1.31×More than typical	342	$23,637	—
Building equipment contractors	50	6.8	1.13×About typical	714	$83,748	73
Full-service restaurants	47	6.4	0.84×About typical	864	$23,325	12
Automotive repair and maintenance	42	5.7	1.14×About typical	240	$56,038	157
Gasoline stations	39	5.3	1.64×More than typical	567	$32,656	—
Lessors of real estate	37	5.1	0.41×Fewer than typical	130	$36,715	282
Clothing and accessories stores	30	4.1	1.13×About typical	269	$25,639	48

Rank places for an industry Open Lea County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 73,214 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated $0 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Hobbs, New Mexico: $0 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $0
Per resident: $0; US $1,994
Sole-source: —; US 30%
Single offer: —; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Top recipients

Spending by fiscal year

2.7KFY2017
-152.6FY2018
1.6KFY2019
632.6FY2020
4.8KFY2022
-182.4FY2023
9.2KFY2024

What was bought

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Hobbs, New Mexico, so they do not add up across cities.

Hobbs, New Mexico's figures are part of those of Lea County, NM ($973.6K in FY2026), never added to them: 0.0% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Hobbs is mostly in Lea County.

See federal money in Lea County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Hobbs, New Mexico is split between congressional districts: each representative is shown with the share of its residents in their district (current boundaries).

House

Senate

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Lea County11100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Hobbs, NM8

Other cities and towns in Lea County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/3532520

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends