Census-designated place · McKinley County, New Mexico

Prewitt, New Mexico

Prewitt is a census-designated place in McKinley County, New Mexico, part of the Gallup, NM metro area. It has 1,027 residents. Prewitt, New Mexico has a quality-of-life score of 4 out of 100 (very low), ranking #15,074 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within New Mexico it ranks #136 of 163 cities and towns. It ranks best on fine particulate matter (PM2.5) (low), home price to income ratio (low) and property crime rate (low). It ranks worst on lack of reliable transportation (high), bachelor's degree or higher (low) and frequent mental distress (high).

4Very low

Quality-of-life score: #15,074 of 15,651 cities and towns
New Mexico: #136 of 163 in NM
Population: 1,027 (2020-2024)
Land area: 14 mi²
Density: 74.3 /mi²
FIPS code: 3559540

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.

Safety17#12,931/15,637
Economy0#15,628/15,631
Housing—
Health0#15,607/15,609
Healthcare28#11,307/15,650
Environment98#280/15,453
Education4#15,057/15,649
Infrastructure5#14,893/15,650
Community0#15,583/15,651
Leisure & amenities7#14,473/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Prewitt, New Mexico ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “McKinley 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) · low4.6 µg/m³
98/100New Mexico 5.9 µg/m³United States 8.0 µg/m³2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyMcKinley County value
Home price to income ratio · low1.3×
98/100New Mexico 3.9×United States 4.1×2019-2023U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25077High uncertainty
Property crime rate · low305 /100k
97/100New Mexico 2,240 /100kUnited States 1,535 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationCovers part of the area: some reporting agencies or member counties have no figureMcKinley County value
Students per teacher · low11.4×
91/100New Mexico 13.1×United States 15.2×2024National Center for Education StatisticsCovers part of the area: some reporting agencies or member counties have no figureMcKinley County value
Natural hazard risk · low10.8
82/100New Mexico 49.42025Federal Emergency Management AgencyMcKinley County value
Uninsured residents (under 65) · low2.8%
80/100New Mexico 13.4%United States 9.8%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B27010High uncertainty

Weaknesses

Lack of reliable transportation · high37.5%
0/100New Mexico 11.7%United States 8.3%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Bachelor's degree or higher · low0.7%
0/100New Mexico 31.0%United States 35.7%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B15003High uncertainty
Frequent mental distress · high28.8%
0/100New Mexico 17.5%United States 18.6%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Premature death · high25,025 /100k
0/100New Mexico 12,175 /100kUnited States 8,123 /100k2021-2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteMcKinley County value
Food insecurity · high62.6%
0/100New Mexico 22.2%United States 15.6%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Median household income · low$19,074
0/100New Mexico $67,838United States $81,6042020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19013

Trends

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

PopulationRising
759 (2016-2020) → 1,027 (2020-2024)
+35%4 yearsCensus table B01003US 331,578,104 → 340,003,797
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
22.4% (2016-2020) → 58.4% (2020-2024)
+36 pts4 yearsCensus table B28002US 85.2% → 91.0%
High school diploma or higherWorsening
69.6% (2016-2020) → 47.0% (2020-2024)
−23 pts4 yearsCensus table B15003US 88.5% → 89.6%
Uninsured residents (under 65)Improving
14.7% (2016-2020) → 2.8% (2020-2024)
−12 pts4 yearsCensus table B27010US 10.4% → 9.8%
Unemployment rateImproving
36.5% (2016-2020) → 24.7% (2020-2024)
−12 pts4 yearsCensus table B23025US 8.1% → 4.0%
Poverty rateWorsening
42.7% (2016-2020) → 54.4% (2020-2024)
+12 pts4 yearsCensus table B17001US 11.9% → 12.1%

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.

There is not enough history to compare Prewitt, New Mexico over five years.

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

The places whose measures looked most like those of Prewitt, 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 Prewitt, New Mexico five years ago has more measures that improved than declined, with a higher standing among its peers today.

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

1,027 residents (±401)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69†
50–59†
40–49†
30–39†
20–29†
10–19†
Under 10†

Share of all residents, each sex

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

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B01001View table on data.census.gov

Race and Hispanic origin

1,027 residents (±401)

Prewitt, New Mexico
New Mexico share

White0.0%0
Black0.0%0
Hispanic or Latino2.7%†28

Education

610 residents (±251)

Prewitt, New Mexico
New Mexico share

No high school diploma53%†323
High school or GED30%†183
Some college11%†65

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Income

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

Household income

341 households (±117)

Prewitt, New Mexico
New Mexico share

Under $25k68%†232
$25k–50k9.1%†31
$50k–75k12%†40
$75k–100k9.4%†32
$100k–150k1.8%†6
$150k–200k0.0%0
$200k or more0.0%0

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

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B19001View table on data.census.gov

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Homes

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

Owners and renters

341 households (±117)

Prewitt, New Mexico
New Mexico share

Own99%†338
Rent0.9%†3

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

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B25003View table on data.census.gov

Home values

338 homes (±117)

Prewitt, New Mexico
New Mexico share

Under $150k90%†304
$150k–250k8.6%†29
$250k–400k0.0%0

Age of homes

417 homes (±133)

Prewitt, New Mexico
New Mexico share

2010 or later3.1%†13
2000–200912%†48
1980–199961%†256

Size of homes

417 homes (±133)

Prewitt, New Mexico
New Mexico share

Studio13%†54
1 bedroom3.1%†13
2 bedrooms24%†102

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

146 workers (±98)

Prewitt, New Mexico
New Mexico share

Drive alone67%†98
Carpool2.7%†4
Public transit0.0%0
Walk0.0%0
Bike0.0%0
Work from home30%†44
Other0.0%0

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

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B08301View table on data.census.gov

Time to get to work

102 workers (±67)

Prewitt, New Mexico
New Mexico share

Under 15 min29%†30
15–29 min26%†27
30–44 min9.8%†10

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

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 Gallup, 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 McKinley County, the county holding most of Prewitt's residents.

McKinley County has 940 employer establishments, 137 for every 10,000 residents (0.55× the US rate of 248; 0.65× New Mexico's), with 15,236 paid employees at an average annual pay of $40,392. The Census Bureau also counts 2,951 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 940; 2,951 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 137; US 248 · New Mexico 212
Paid employees: 15,236
Average annual pay: $40,392; US $68,342

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

Restaurants and other eating places	101	14.7	0.80×Fewer than typical	2,157	$19,848	40
Ambulatory health care services	75	10.9	0.52×Fewer than typical	1,142	$38,701	103
Limited-service restaurants	52	7.6	0.94×About typical	1,229	$20,161	8
Gasoline stations	44	6.4	1.97×More than typical	564	$30,608	—
Full-service restaurants	40	5.8	0.76×Fewer than typical	778	$20,159	18
Specialty trade contractors	36	5.2	0.34×Fewer than typical	279	$44,516	164
Automotive repair and maintenance	33	4.8	0.95×About typical	193	$32,036	41
Traveler accommodation	31	4.5	2.50×More than typical	453	$21,269	6
Lessors of real estate	30	4.4	0.35×Fewer than typical	120	$39,975	100
Clothing and accessories stores	28	4.1	1.12×About typical	298	$19,748	50
Religious organizations	26	3.8	0.68×Fewer than typical	196	$25,495	—
Individual and family services	24	3.5	1.25×About typical	688	$33,328	22

Rank places for an industry Open McKinley County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 68,802 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 $35.1K of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Prewitt, New Mexico: $34.17 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $35.1K; +57% vs FY2025
Per resident: $34.17; US $1,994
Sole-source: 3.3%; US 30%
Single offer: 50%; 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

Bureau of Indian Affairs and Bureau of Indian Education$35.1K100%

Top recipients

COMMUNITY OF LEARNING EDUCATION SERVICES LLC$17.2K49%
SYSCO CORP$13.5K39%
ARROW ALLIANCE INDUSTRIES, LLC$2,9188.3%
SAVVAS LEARNING COMPANY LLC$1,1703.3%
GMS KEELER CONSULTING GROUP LLC$2260.6%

Spending by fiscal year

68.9KFY2017
-586.2KFY2018
346.5KFY2019
48.1KFY2020
40.7KFY2021
223.4KFY2022
116.2KFY2023
86.4KFY2024

Top industries (NAICS)

Offices of other health practitioners · 6213$17.2K49%
Other food manufacturing · 3119$13.5K39%
Other information services · 5191$2,9188.3%
Educational support services · 6117$1,1703.3%
Computer and peripheral equipment manufacturing · 3341$2260.6%

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 Prewitt, New Mexico, so they do not add up across cities.

Prewitt, New Mexico's figures are part of those of McKinley County, NM ($107.8M 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: Prewitt is mostly in McKinley County.

See federal money in McKinley 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.

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

House

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.

McKinley County6100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Gallup, NM9

Other cities and towns in McKinley 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/3559540

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends

What changed in five years

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