City · San Miguel County, New Mexico

Las Vegas, New Mexico

Las Vegas is a city in San Miguel County, New Mexico, part of the Las Vegas, NM metro area. It has 13,000 residents. Las Vegas, New Mexico has a quality-of-life score of 7 out of 100 (very low), ranking #14,557 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within New Mexico it ranks #108 of 163 cities and towns. It ranks best on mental health providers (high), job growth (high) and fine particulate matter (PM2.5) (low). It ranks worst on drug overdose deaths (high), primary care shortage (high) and mammography screening (low).

7Very low

Quality-of-life score: #14,557 of 15,651 cities and towns
New Mexico: #108 of 163 in NM
Population: 13,000 (2020-2024)
Land area: 9 mi²
Density: 1,507.8 /mi²
FIPS code: 3539940

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 69 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.

Safety3#15,162/15,637
Economy6#14,701/15,631
Housing37#9,375/14,977
Health19#12,595/15,609
Healthcare18#12,821/15,650
Environment75#3,787/15,453
Education25#11,755/15,649
Infrastructure20#12,458/15,650
Community4#14,980/15,651
Leisure & amenities3#15,103/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Las Vegas, New Mexico ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “San Miguel 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

Mental health providers · high1,097 /100k
99/100New Mexico 480 /100kUnited States 348 /100k2025University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteSan Miguel County value
Job growth · high5.0%
98/100New Mexico -0.4%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataSan Miguel County value
Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) · low5.0 µg/m³
96/100New Mexico 5.9 µg/m³United States 8.0 µg/m³2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencySan Miguel County value
Average commute time · low16.8 min
93/100New Mexico 23.5 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013
Distance to an Amtrak station · low8 mi
81/100New Mexico 43 miUnited States 43 mi2026Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauSan Miguel County value
Comfortable days · high30.1%
79/100New Mexico 31.7%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationSan Miguel County value

Weaknesses

Drug overdose deaths · high67.3 /100k
1/100New Mexico 46.4 /100kUnited States 18.4 /100kMar 2025–Feb 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimateProvisional dataSan Miguel County value
Primary care shortage · high21.0
1/100New Mexico 16.1United States 6.2Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationSan Miguel County value
Mammography screening · low26.0%
1/100New Mexico 38.0%United States 46.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteSan Miguel County value
Poverty rate · high32.0%
1/100New Mexico 15.8%United States 12.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001
Math scores · low2.31
1/100New Mexico 2.70United States 3.032018University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteSan Miguel County value
Broadband subscriptions · low77.9%
2/100New Mexico 86.5%United States 91.0%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B28002

Trends

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

Broadband subscriptionsImproving
55.4% (2015-2019) → 77.9% (2020-2024)
+23 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Median household incomeImproving
$26,561 (2015-2019) → $45,125 (2020-2024)
+70%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
High school diploma or higherImproving
81.4% (2015-2019) → 89.5% (2020-2024)
+8 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 88.0% → 89.6%
Average commute timeWorsening
12.6 min (2015-2019) → 16.8 min (2020-2024)
+33%5 yearsCensus table B08013US 26.9 min → 26.4 min
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
49.3% (2015-2019) → 56.0% (2020-2024)
+6.7 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Unemployment rateImproving
9.4% (2015-2019) → 4.8% (2020-2024)
−4.6 pts5 yearsCensus table B23025US 3.7% → 4.0%

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, Las Vegas, New Mexico improved on 4 of 14 measures with a comparison and declined on 1. 9 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.

Improved4

Household income+70%$26,561 → $45,125
Unemployment−4.6 points9.4% → 4.8%
Broadband+23 points55.4% → 77.9%
Inequality−0.0620.545 → 0.483

Declined1

Commute+4.2 min12.6 min → 16.8 min

All 14 measures

Change of every measure of Las Vegas, New Mexico between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	12.6 min2015-2019	16.8 min2020-2024	+4.2 min	Declined	13%
Bachelor's degree or higher	23.8%2015-2019	28.3%2020-2024	+4.4 points	Within the margin of error	63%
Broadband subscriptions	55.4%2015-2019	77.9%2020-2024	+23 points	Improved	93%
Child poverty rate	42.0%2015-2019	42.0%2020-2024	+0.1 points	Within the margin of error	38%
Effective property tax rate	0.73%2015-2019	0.65%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Within the margin of error	31%
High school diploma or higher	81.4%2015-2019	89.5%2020-2024	+8 points	Within the margin of error	92%
Home price to income ratio	4.4×2015-2019	3.4×2020-2024	−1.0×	Within the margin of error	98%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.5452015-2019	0.4832020-2024	−0.062	Improved	88%
Median household income	$26,5612015-2019	$45,1252020-2024	+70%	Improved	94%
Poverty rate	35.6%2015-2019	32.0%2020-2024	−3.6 points	Within the margin of error	73%
Rent as share of income	29.7%2015-2019	33.9%2020-2024	+4.2 points	Within the margin of error	26%
Rent-burdened households	49.3%2015-2019	56.0%2020-2024	+6.7 points	Within the margin of error	32%
Unemployment rate	9.4%2015-2019	4.8%2020-2024	−4.6 points	Improved	95%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	8.5%2015-2019	9.7%2020-2024	+1.2 points	Within the margin of error	32%

“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 Las Vegas, New Mexico five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Las Vegas, 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, Las Vegas, New Mexico itself moved +3.6 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

13,000 residents (±28)

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

5,948 households (±310)

Las Vegas, New Mexico
New Mexico share

Under $25k36%2,164
$25k–50k19%1,119
$50k–75k17%996

Homes

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

Owners and renters

5,948 households (±310)

Las Vegas, New Mexico
New Mexico share

Own57%3,391
Rent43%2,557

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

Table view

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

5,158 workers (±515)

Las Vegas, New Mexico
New Mexico share

Drive alone73%3,776
Carpool13%†649
Public transit0.1%†

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 Las Vegas, 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 San Miguel County, the county holding most of Las Vegas's residents.

San Miguel County has 417 employer establishments, 157 for every 10,000 residents (0.63× the US rate of 248; 0.74× New Mexico's), with 8,252 paid employees at an average annual pay of $26,098. The Census Bureau also counts 1,415 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 417; 1,415 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 157; US 248 · New Mexico 212
Paid employees: 8,252
Average annual pay: $26,098; US $68,342

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

Ambulatory health care services	50	18.8	0.90×About typical	578	$45,417	84
Restaurants and other eating places	38	14.3	0.78×Fewer than typical	687	$16,886	11
Specialty trade contractors	30	11.3	0.73×Fewer than typical	162	$47,605	105
Limited-service restaurants	20	7.5	0.94×About typical	402	$17,483	6
Building equipment contractors	18	6.8	1.12×About typical	102	$48,412	27
Gasoline stations	16	6	1.85×More than typical	226	$24,058	—
Individual and family services	16	6	2.15×More than typical	1,292	$18,029	14
Construction of buildings	15	5.6	0.74×Fewer than typical	111	$57,919	61
Full-service restaurants	15	5.6	0.73×Fewer than typical	248	$15,968	4
Lessors of real estate	15	5.6	0.46×Fewer than typical	33	$31,788	80
Offices of physicians	15	5.6	0.87×About typical	161	$65,348	13
Religious organizations	15	5.6	1.02×About typical	52	$20,058	—

Rank places for an industry Open San Miguel County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 26,637 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

No federal contract obligations recorded here in FY2026.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Las Vegas is mostly in San Miguel County.

See federal money in San Miguel 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.

Las Vegas, New Mexico is represented in the 119th Congress by these members.

House

Teresa Leger FernandezD-NM-3 · 100% of residentsWith party 99%Missed 8.7%

Senate

Explore Congress The 2026 races

County

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

San Miguel County8100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Las Vegas, NM10

Other cities and towns in San Miguel 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/3539940

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends