City · Quay County, New Mexico

Tucumcari, New Mexico

Tucumcari is a city in Quay County, New Mexico. It has 5,160 residents. Tucumcari, New Mexico has a quality-of-life score of 18 out of 100 (very low), ranking #12,901 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within New Mexico it ranks #55 of 163 cities and towns. It ranks best on mental health providers (high), average commute time (low) and public EV charging ports (high). It ranks worst on traffic deaths (high), primary care physicians (low) and broadband subscriptions (low).

18Very low

Quality-of-life score: #12,901 of 15,651 cities and towns
New Mexico: #55 of 163 in NM
Population: 5,160 (2020-2024)
Land area: 10 mi²
Density: 542.7 /mi²
FIPS code: 3579910

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 71 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.

Safety59#6,420/15,637
Economy1#15,479/15,631
Housing58#6,232/14,977
Health10#13,983/15,609
Healthcare29#11,091/15,650
Environment71#4,419/15,453
Education25#11,673/15,649
Infrastructure11#13,899/15,650
Community12#13,743/15,651
Leisure & amenities27#11,398/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Tucumcari, New Mexico ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Quay 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 · high1,404 /100k
100/100New Mexico 480 /100kUnited States 348 /100k2025University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteQuay County value
Average commute time · low8.2 min
100/100New Mexico 23.5 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013
Public EV charging ports · high43.8 /10k
99/100New Mexico 5.9 /10kUnited States 7.6 /10kOct 2026U.S. Department of EnergyQuay County value
Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) · low5.2 µg/m³
95/100New Mexico 5.9 µg/m³United States 8.0 µg/m³2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyQuay County value
Homicide rate · low0.0 /100k
94/100New Mexico 9.2 /100kUnited States 4.8 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataQuay County value
Students per teacher · low11.3×
92/100New Mexico 13.1×United States 15.2×2024National Center for Education StatisticsQuay County value

Weaknesses

Traffic deaths · high72.0 /100k
1/100New Mexico 20.7 /100kUnited States 12.3 /100k2020-2024National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationProvisional dataQuay County value
Primary care physicians · low12 /100k
1/100New Mexico 75 /100kUnited States 76 /100k2022University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteQuay County value
Broadband subscriptions · low73.5%
2/100New Mexico 86.5%United States 91.0%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B28002
Poverty rate · high34.3%
2/100New Mexico 15.8%United States 12.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001
Food environment index · low5.3
2/100New Mexico 4.6United States 7.62019 & 2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteQuay County value
Median household income · low$31,844
2/100New 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.

Broadband subscriptionsImproving
46.7% (2015-2019) → 73.5% (2020-2024)
+27 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Child poverty rateImproving
57.7% (2015-2019) → 37.2% (2020-2024)
−21 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
High school diploma or higherImproving
77.6% (2015-2019) → 89.1% (2020-2024)
+11 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 88.0% → 89.6%
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
51.6% (2015-2019) → 60.8% (2020-2024)
+9.2 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Poverty rateWorsening
26.2% (2015-2019) → 34.3% (2020-2024)
+8.1 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%
Average commute timeImproving
13.3 min (2015-2019) → 8.2 min (2020-2024)
−38%5 yearsCensus table B08013US 26.9 min → 26.4 min

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, Tucumcari, New Mexico improved on 3 of 12 measures with a comparison and declined on 1. 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.

Improved3

Broadband+27 points46.7% → 73.5%
Child poverty−21 points57.7% → 37.2%
Commute−5.1 min13.3 min → 8.2 min

Declined1

Inequality+0.1370.428 → 0.565

All 12 measures

Change of every measure of Tucumcari, New Mexico between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	13.3 min2015-2019	8.2 min2020-2024	−5.1 min	Improved	90%
Bachelor's degree or higher	11.7%2015-2019	18.5%2020-2024	+6.8 points	Within the margin of error	78%
Broadband subscriptions	46.7%2015-2019	73.5%2020-2024	+27 points	Improved	96%
Child poverty rate	57.7%2015-2019	37.2%2020-2024	−21 points	Improved	94%
Effective property tax rate	0.80%2015-2019	0.66%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Within the margin of error	47%
High school diploma or higher	77.6%2015-2019	89.1%2020-2024	+11 points	Within the margin of error	97%
Home price to income ratio	2.0×2015-2019	2.0×2020-2024	+0.0×	Within the margin of error	79%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4282015-2019	0.5652020-2024	+0.137	Declined	2%
Median household income	$26,0292015-2019	$31,8442020-2024	+22%	Within the margin of error	38%
Poverty rate	26.2%2015-2019	34.3%2020-2024	+8.1 points	Within the margin of error	6%
Rent as share of income	30.5%2015-2019	32.6%2020-2024	+2.1 points	Within the margin of error	39%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	4.9%2015-2019	6.4%2020-2024	+1.5 points	Within the margin of error	29%

“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 Tucumcari, New Mexico five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Tucumcari, 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, Tucumcari, New Mexico itself moved +0.4 points in standing on average over the same 9 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

5,160 residents (±15)

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

2,720 households (±210)

Tucumcari, New Mexico
New Mexico share

Under $25k42%1,133
$25k–50k18%†481
$50k–75k14%†389

Homes

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

Owners and renters

2,720 households (±210)

Tucumcari, New Mexico
New Mexico share

Own69%1,866
Rent31%854

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Own (+19.3 points).

Table view

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

2,124 workers (±266)

Tucumcari, New Mexico
New Mexico share

Drive alone84%1,775
Carpool8.9%†190
Public transit0.0%0

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 Quay County, the county holding most of Tucumcari's residents.

Quay County has 214 employer establishments, 248 for every 10,000 residents (1.00× the US rate of 248; 1.17× New Mexico's), with 1,779 paid employees at an average annual pay of $33,260. The Census Bureau also counts 482 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 214; 482 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 248; US 248 · New Mexico 212
Paid employees: 1,779
Average annual pay: $33,260; US $68,342

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

Traveler accommodation	17	19.7	10.9×More than typical	185	$20,627	7
Restaurants and other eating places	14	16.3	0.88×About typical	238	$18,697	3
Ambulatory health care services	13	15.1	0.72×Fewer than typical	79	$65,165	18
Gasoline stations	11	12.8	3.94×More than typical	304	$30,651	—
Automotive repair and maintenance	7	8.1	1.61×Too few to compare	37	$44,838	8
Full-service restaurants	7	8.1	1.06×Too few to compare	112	$21,000	—
Banks and credit unions	6	7	2.16×Too few to compare	43	$52,581	—
Individual and family services	6	7	2.49×Too few to compare	141	$19,915	4
Limited-service restaurants	6	7	0.87×Too few to compare	117	$17,239	—
Religious organizations	6	7	1.26×Too few to compare	17	$16,941	—
Specialty trade contractors	6	7	0.45×Too few to compare	25	$41,280	36
Truck transportation	6	7	1.38×Too few to compare	34	$48,118	13

Rank places for an industry Open Quay County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 8,615 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 Tucumcari, 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

920.5FY2017
79.3FY2018
32.6FY2019
-195.2FY2020
563.1FY2022
-560FY2023
92.3FY2024

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

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

See federal money in Quay 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.

Tucumcari, 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.

Quay County20100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Quay 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/3579910

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends