Town · Torrance County, New Mexico

Mountainair, New Mexico

Mountainair is a town in Torrance County, New Mexico, part of the Albuquerque, NM metro area. It has 1,178 residents. Mountainair, New Mexico has a quality-of-life score of 7 out of 100 (very low), ranking #14,582 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within New Mexico it ranks #110 of 163 cities and towns. It ranks best on fine particulate matter (PM2.5) (low), effective property tax rate (low) and public libraries (high). It ranks worst on primary care physicians (low), distance to an emergency room (high) and access to exercise opportunities (low).

7Very low

Quality-of-life score: #14,582 of 15,651 cities and towns
New Mexico: #110 of 163 in NM
Population: 1,178 (2020-2024)
Land area: 2 mi²
Density: 745.3 /mi²
FIPS code: 3550370

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 70 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.

Safety10#14,052/15,637
Economy6#14,633/15,631
Housing68#4,770/14,977
Health11#13,822/15,609
Healthcare1#15,446/15,650
Environment69#4,723/15,453
Education17#12,919/15,649
Infrastructure20#12,544/15,650
Community5#14,870/15,651
Leisure & amenities2#15,384/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) · low4.7 µg/m³
97/100New Mexico 5.9 µg/m³United States 8.0 µg/m³2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyTorrance County value
Effective property tax rate · low0.45%
91/100New Mexico 0.63%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090
Public libraries · high1.9 /10k
90/100New Mexico 0.6 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesTorrance County value
Preventable hospital stays · low1,826 /100k
89/100New Mexico 2,042 /100kUnited States 2,769 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteTorrance County value
Home price to income ratio · low2.2×
87/100New Mexico 3.9×United States 4.1×2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25077
Comfortable days · high31.4%
84/100New Mexico 31.7%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationTorrance County value

Weaknesses

Primary care physicians · low7 /100k
0/100New Mexico 75 /100kUnited States 76 /100k2022University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteTorrance County value
Distance to an emergency room · high31.8 mi
0/100New Mexico 9.8 miUnited States 5.5 miJul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesTorrance County value
Access to exercise opportunities · low8.4%
0/100New Mexico 75.7%United States 84.5%2022 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteTorrance County value
Traffic deaths · high69.8 /100k
1/100New Mexico 20.7 /100kUnited States 12.3 /100k2020-2024National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationProvisional dataTorrance County value
Mammography screening · low28.0%
1/100New Mexico 38.0%United States 46.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteTorrance County value
Drug overdose deaths · high51.0 /100k
1/100New Mexico 46.4 /100kUnited States 18.4 /100kMar 2025–Feb 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimateProvisional dataTorrance County value

Trends

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

PopulationRising
852 (2015-2019) → 1,178 (2020-2024)
+38%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Child poverty rateImproving
49.2% (2015-2019) → 12.0% (2020-2024)
−37 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
51.3% (2015-2019) → 82.5% (2020-2024)
+31 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Poverty rateImproving
33.9% (2015-2019) → 22.1% (2020-2024)
−12 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%
Average commute timeImproving
28.0 min (2015-2019) → 18.0 min (2020-2024)
−36%5 yearsCensus table B08013US 26.9 min → 26.4 min
High school diploma or higherWorsening
82.5% (2015-2019) → 76.1% (2020-2024)
−6.4 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 88.0% → 89.6%

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, Mountainair, New Mexico improved on 1 of 8 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 7 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+31 points51.3% → 82.5%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 8 measures

Change of every measure of Mountainair, New Mexico between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Bachelor's degree or higher	22.4%2015-2019	16.8%2020-2024	−5.6 points	Within the margin of error	6%
Broadband subscriptions	51.3%2015-2019	82.5%2020-2024	+31 points	Improved	98%
Effective property tax rate	0.61%2015-2019	0.45%2020-2024	−0.2 points	Within the margin of error	50%
High school diploma or higher	82.5%2015-2019	76.1%2020-2024	−6.4 points	Within the margin of error	4%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.5072015-2019	0.3962020-2024	−0.112	Within the margin of error	97%
Poverty rate	33.9%2015-2019	22.1%2020-2024	−12 points	Within the margin of error	95%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	15.1%2015-2019	16.0%2020-2024	+0.9 points	Within the margin of error	36%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 10944 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 Mountainair, New Mexico five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Mountainair, 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.

No place that looked like Mountainair, New Mexico five years ago has more measures that improved than declined, with a higher standing among its peers today.

For comparison, Mountainair, New Mexico itself moved +7.4 points in standing on average over the same 5 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

1,178 residents (±297)

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

377 households (±101)

Mountainair, New Mexico
New Mexico share

Under $25k22%†82
$25k–50k42%†159
$50k–75k20%

Homes

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

Owners and renters

377 households (±101)

Mountainair, New Mexico
New Mexico share

Own82%†308
Rent18%†69

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

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

355 workers (±141)

Mountainair, New Mexico
New Mexico share

Drive alone61%†215
Carpool10%†36
Public transit

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 Albuquerque, 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 Torrance County, the county holding most of Mountainair's residents.

Torrance County has 205 employer establishments, 131 for every 10,000 residents (0.53× the US rate of 248; 0.62× New Mexico's), with 2,070 paid employees at an average annual pay of $52,069. The Census Bureau also counts 921 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 205; 921 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 131; US 248 · New Mexico 212
Paid employees: 2,070
Average annual pay: $52,069; US $68,342

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

Specialty trade contractors	19	12.1	0.78×Fewer than typical	89	$51,258	64
Gasoline stations	12	7.6	2.36×More than typical	246	$33,691	—
Restaurants and other eating places	12	7.6	0.42×Fewer than typical	116	$16,138	5
Religious organizations	10	6.4	1.15×About typical	34	$22,000	—
Ambulatory health care services	8	5.1	0.24×Too few to compare	93	$40,226	30
Traveler accommodation	8	5.1	2.83×Too few to compare	71	$20,394	—
Truck transportation	8	5.1	1.01×Too few to compare	14	$22,143	32
Building equipment contractors	7	4.5	0.74×Too few to compare	29	$71,310	10
General merchandise stores	7	4.5	2.52×Too few to compare	55	$18,545	8
Limited-service restaurants	7	4.5	0.56×Too few to compare	72	$17,389	—
Foundation, structure and building exterior contractors	6	3.8	1.21×Too few to compare	35	$44,343	12
Automotive repair and maintenance	5	3.2	0.63×Too few to compare	11	$38,364	20

Rank places for an industry Open Torrance County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 15,690 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: Mountainair is mostly in Torrance County.

See federal money in Torrance 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.

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

House

Melanie A. StansburyD-NM-1 · 100% of residentsWith party 100%Missed 2.2%

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.

Torrance County5100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Albuquerque, NM39

Other cities and towns in Torrance 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
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/3550370

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends