Data / Rankings / Unemployment rate / Counties in New Mexico

Counties in New Mexico by unemployment rate

Luna County had the highest unemployment rate of 33 counties in May 2026, at 13.9%. Los Alamos County had the lowest, at 2.1%. The median was 4.7% and the figure for New Mexico was 4.9%. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Highest13.9Luna County
Lowest2.1Los Alamos County
Median4.733 counties
New Mexico4.9History

All counties, May 2026

CSVChart (SVG)

Luna CountyLuna County: 13.9 %13.9Sierra CountySierra County: 6.7 %6.7Catron CountyCatron County: 6.3 %6.3Hidalgo CountyHidalgo County: 6.2 %6.2Torrance CountyTorrance County: 6.1 %6.1McKinley CountyMcKinley County: 6 %6Mora CountyMora County: 5.6 %5.6Taos CountyTaos County: 5.6 %5.6Cibola CountyCibola County: 5.5 %5.5Doña Ana CountyDoña Ana County: 5.3 %5.3Socorro CountySocorro County: 5 %5Valencia CountyValencia County: 5 %5San Juan CountySan Juan County: 4.9 %4.9De Baca CountyDe Baca County: 4.8 %4.8Colfax CountyColfax County: 4.7 %4.7Grant CountyGrant County: 4.7 %4.7Otero CountyOtero County: 4.7 %4.7Quay CountyQuay County: 4.7 %4.7Chaves CountyChaves County: 4.6 %4.6Guadalupe CountyGuadalupe County: 4.6 %4.6San Miguel CountySan Miguel County: 4.6 %4.6Lincoln CountyLincoln County: 4.5 %4.5Rio Arriba CountyRio Arriba County: 4.5 %4.5Sandoval CountySandoval County: 4.5 %4.5Bernalillo CountyBernalillo County: 4.3 %4.3Roosevelt CountyRoosevelt County: 4.2 %4.2Lea CountyLea County: 4.1 %4.1Santa Fe CountySanta Fe County: 4 %4Curry CountyCurry County: 3.9 %3.9Union CountyUnion County: 3.6 %3.6Eddy CountyEddy County: 3.5 %3.5Harding CountyHarding County: 3.5 %3.5Los Alamos CountyLos Alamos County: 2.1 %2.1
%. Source: BLS. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Full ranking

RankCountiesMay 2026 (%)Change on May 2025
1Luna County13.9+1 pts
2Sierra County6.7+0.4 pts
3Catron County6.3+1.4 pts
4Hidalgo County6.2+0.8 pts
5Torrance County6.1+1.2 pts
6McKinley County6+1 pts
7Mora County5.6+0.4 pts
7Taos County5.6+1 pts
9Cibola County5.5+0.5 pts
10Doña Ana County5.3+0.7 pts
11Socorro County5+0.7 pts
11Valencia County5+0.9 pts
13San Juan County4.9+0.8 pts
14De Baca County4.8+1.9 pts
15Colfax County4.7+0.5 pts
15Grant County4.7+1 pts
15Otero County4.7+0.8 pts
15Quay County4.7+1.2 pts
19Chaves County4.6+0.8 pts
19Guadalupe County4.6+0.8 pts
19San Miguel County4.6+0.4 pts
22Lincoln County4.5+1 pts
22Rio Arriba County4.5+0.8 pts
22Sandoval County4.5+0.8 pts
25Bernalillo County4.3+0.8 pts
26Roosevelt County4.2+0.5 pts
27Lea County4.1+0.9 pts
28Santa Fe County4+0.7 pts
29Curry County3.9+0.7 pts
30Union County3.6+0.2 pts
31Eddy County3.5+0.7 pts
31Harding County3.50 pts
33Los Alamos County2.1+0.5 pts

Other periods

About this ranking

Unemployed people as a percentage of the labour force, using the survey definition of unemployment: without work, available and looking for work. Spain: EPA, aged 16 and over. EU: Labour Force Survey, aged 15 to 74. United States: civilian labour force aged 16 and over, from the Current Population Survey for the nation and from BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics models, consistent with that survey, for states and counties. Other countries and the World: ILO modelled estimates published by the World Bank, aged 15 and over.

Survey-based. Available for Spain, regions, provinces, EU countries, US states and US counties, not Spanish municipalities. For municipalities use registered_unemployment_rate. US national and state rates are seasonally adjusted; county rates are not. Countries without a national or Eurostat series get the annual ILO modelled estimate, a model output rather than a survey result.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the counties are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Local Area Unemployment Statistics: unemployment rate by county, not seasonally adjusted. https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU25-29. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Use this data in your AI agent

Invokely serves this figure to AI assistants through MCP and to code through a REST API, with the source and citation attached. Ask your assistant:

Rank Counties in New Mexico by unemployment rate using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"unemployment_rate","level":"province","within":"New Mexico","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=unemployment_rate&level=province&within=New%20Mexico&limit=10

Connect Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor in one step. The trial answers 25 calls a day without an account.

Questions

Which county has the highest unemployment rate?

Luna County, with 13.9% in May 2026, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which county has the lowest unemployment rate?

Los Alamos County, with 2.1% in May 2026.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics: unemployment rate by county, not seasonally adjusted. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Unemployment rate: other rankings

Counties in New Mexico: more rankings