City · Chaves County, New Mexico

Roswell, New Mexico

Roswell is a city in Chaves County, New Mexico, part of the Roswell, NM metro area. It has 47,638 residents. Roswell, New Mexico has a quality-of-life score of 6 out of 100 (very low), ranking #14,726 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within New Mexico it ranks #116 of 163 cities and towns. It ranks best on median Air Quality Index (low), average commute time (low) and comfortable days (high). It ranks worst on firearm deaths (high), child poverty rate (high) and mammography screening (low).

6Very low

Quality-of-life score: #14,726 of 15,651 cities and towns
New Mexico: #116 of 163 in NM
Population: 47,638 (2020-2024)
Land area: 30 mi²
Density: 1,603.1 /mi²
FIPS code: 3564930

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.

Safety3#15,177/15,637
Economy5#14,800/15,631
Housing57#6,374/14,977
Health10#14,070/15,609
Healthcare7#14,580/15,650
Environment62#5,917/15,453
Education22#12,247/15,649
Infrastructure9#14,197/15,650
Community8#14,383/15,651
Leisure & amenities23#11,992/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Median Air Quality Index · low26
96/100New Mexico 502022U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyChaves County value
Average commute time · low18.2 min
92/100New Mexico 23.5 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013
Comfortable days · high32.3%
88/100New Mexico 31.7%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationChaves County value
Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) · low6.2 µg/m³
86/100New Mexico 5.9 µg/m³United States 8.0 µg/m³2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyChaves County value
Days with unhealthy air · low0.0%
84/100New Mexico 4.3%2022U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyChaves County value
Students per teacher · low12.4×
79/100New Mexico 13.1×United States 15.2×2024National Center for Education StatisticsChaves County value

Weaknesses

Firearm deaths · high34.6 /100k
1/100New Mexico 21.7 /100kUnited States 12.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataChaves County value
Child poverty rate · high34.2%
2/100New Mexico 20.5%United States 15.5%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001
Mammography screening · low29.0%
2/100New Mexico 38.0%United States 46.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteChaves County value
Distance to an airport · high153 mi
2/100New Mexico 56 miUnited States 33 mi2025Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauChaves County value
Suicide rate · high31.5 /100k
3/100New Mexico 22.3 /100kUnited States 14.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataChaves County value
Income inequality (Gini index) · high0.517
3/100New Mexico 0.477United States 0.4832020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19083

Trends

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

Broadband subscriptionsImproving
69.3% (2015-2019) → 81.5% (2020-2024)
+12 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Child poverty rateWorsening
26.1% (2015-2019) → 34.2% (2020-2024)
+8.1 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Poverty rateWorsening
19.7% (2015-2019) → 26.0% (2020-2024)
+6.3 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
44.3% (2015-2019) → 49.6% (2020-2024)
+5.3 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
New homes permittedWorsening
1.4 /1k (2021) → 1.0 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
−24%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Home price to income ratioWorsening
2.4× (2015-2019) → 3.0× (2020-2024)
+22%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×

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.

Over about five years, Roswell, New Mexico improved on 2 of 14 measures with a comparison and declined on 4. 8 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.

Improved2

Broadband+12 points69.3% → 81.5%
Household income+19%$43,372 → $51,583

Declined4

Poverty+6.3 points19.7% → 26.0%
Inequality+0.0590.458 → 0.517
Child poverty+8.1 points26.1% → 34.2%
Price / income+0.5×2.4× → 3.0×

All 14 measures

Change of every measure of Roswell, New Mexico between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	18.0 min2015-2019	18.2 min2020-2024	+0.1 min	Within the margin of error	46%
Bachelor's degree or higher	18.8%2015-2019	18.6%2020-2024	−0.2 points	Within the margin of error	26%
Broadband subscriptions	69.3%2015-2019	81.5%2020-2024	+12 points	Improved	70%
Child poverty rate	26.1%2015-2019	34.2%2020-2024	+8.1 points	Declined	14%
Effective property tax rate	0.70%2015-2019	0.69%2020-2024	−0 points	Within the margin of error	18%
High school diploma or higher	78.5%2015-2019	81.1%2020-2024	+2.6 points	Within the margin of error	65%
Home price to income ratio	2.4×2015-2019	3.0×2020-2024	+0.5×	Declined	45%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4582015-2019	0.5172020-2024	+0.059	Declined	13%
Median household income	$43,3722015-2019	$51,5832020-2024	+19%	Improved	31%
Poverty rate	19.7%2015-2019	26.0%2020-2024	+6.3 points	Declined	9%
Rent as share of income	26.7%2015-2019	29.8%2020-2024	+3.1 points	Within the margin of error	32%
Rent-burdened households	44.3%2015-2019	49.6%2020-2024	+5.3 points	Within the margin of error	37%
Unemployment rate	5.1%2015-2019	5.0%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Within the margin of error	51%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	12.3%2015-2019	12.0%2020-2024	−0.3 points	Within the margin of error	50%

“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 Roswell, New Mexico five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Roswell, 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, Roswell, New Mexico itself moved −8.3 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

47,638 residents (±40)

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

17,838 households (±496)

Roswell, New Mexico
New Mexico share

Under $25k29%5,113
$25k–50k20%3,566
$50k–75k17%3,056

Homes

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

Owners and renters

17,838 households (±496)

Roswell, New Mexico
New Mexico share

Own69%12,242
Rent31%5,596

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

19,041 workers (±862)

Roswell, New Mexico
New Mexico share

Drive alone82%15,568
Carpool9.5%1,818
Public transit0.2%†38

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 Roswell, 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 Chaves County, the county holding most of Roswell's residents.

Chaves County has 1,342 employer establishments, 211 for every 10,000 residents (0.85× the US rate of 248; 1.00× New Mexico's), with 16,093 paid employees at an average annual pay of $42,483. The Census Bureau also counts 3,379 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 1,342; 3,379 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 211; US 248 · New Mexico 212
Paid employees: 16,093
Average annual pay: $42,483; US $68,342

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

Ambulatory health care services	125	19.6	0.94×About typical	1,125	$65,494	123
Restaurants and other eating places	101	15.9	0.86×About typical	2,349	$20,831	33
Specialty trade contractors	80	12.6	0.81×About typical	914	$47,055	199
Lessors of real estate	49	7.7	0.62×Fewer than typical	150	$34,127	297
Truck transportation	49	7.7	1.52×More than typical	369	$62,304	194
Offices of other health practitioners	47	7.4	1.22×About typical	216	$40,065	58
Limited-service restaurants	45	7.1	0.88×About typical	1,199	$19,412	19
Full-service restaurants	41	6.4	0.84×About typical	1,037	$21,643	6
Religious organizations	40	6.3	1.13×About typical	402	$27,408	—
Automotive repair and maintenance	38	6	1.19×About typical	224	$32,906	76
Building equipment contractors	38	6	0.99×About typical	290	$53,607	39
Construction of buildings	34	5.3	0.71×Fewer than typical	147	$40,660	129

Rank places for an industry Open Chaves County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 63,662 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 $1.7M of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Roswell, New Mexico: $34.86 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $1.7M; +37% vs FY2025
Per resident: $34.86; US $1,994
Sole-source: 0.0%; US 30%
Single offer: 0.0%; 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

Agricultural Marketing Service$1.6M99%
Transportation Security Administration$17.1K1.0%
USTRANSCOM$6550.0%
U.S. Customs and Border Protection$4960.0%
Federal Aviation Administration$4700.0%

Top recipients

LEPRINO FOODS DAIRY PRODUCTS COMPANY$1.6M99%
KR CONTRACTING INC$17.1K1.0%
SIERRA PACIFIC AIRLINES, INC$6550.0%
CITI CONCEPTS INC$4960.0%
AMT66 LLC$4700.0%
AEVEX AEROSPACE, LLC

Spending by fiscal year

1.2MFY2017
633.1KFY2018
1.7MFY2019
682.9KFY2020
697KFY2021
-81.5KFY2022
171.3KFY2023
841.3KFY2024

Top industries (NAICS)

Dairy product manufacturing · 3115$1.6M99%
Investigation and security services · 5616$17.1K1.0%
Nonscheduled air transportation · 4812$6550.0%
Other transit and ground passenger transportation · 4859$4960.0%
Services to buildings and dwellings · 5617$4700.0%

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

Roswell, New Mexico's figures are part of those of Chaves County, NM ($116.9M in FY2026), never added to them: 1.4% of that total.

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

See federal money in Chaves 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.

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

House

Senate

Martin Heinrich

County

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

Chaves County9100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Roswell, NM8

Other cities and towns in Chaves 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/3564930

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends