kids encyclopedia robot

List of municipalities in New Mexico facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts
New Mexico in United States
Map of the United States with New Mexico highlighted

New Mexico is a state located in the Western United States. According to the 2010 United States Census, New Mexico is the 15th least populous state with &&&&&&&&02059192.&&&&&02,059,192 inhabitants but the 5th largest by land area spanning 121,298.15 square miles (314,160.8 km2). New Mexico is divided into 33 counties and contains 106 municipalities consisting of cities, towns, villages and an incorporated county. New Mexico's incorporated municipalities cover only 1% of the state's land mass but are home to 65.4% of its population.

All municipalities are granted local government powers including the collection of property tax, funding of fire protection and public transit, providing and maintaining public parks, cemeteries, hospitals, libraries, and museums, building and zoning regulations, and the maintenance of municipal water, sewer, electric, natural gas and solid waste utilities. Municipalities in New Mexico may adopt one of five forms of municipal government including Mayor-Council, Mayor-Council with Manager, Council-Manager, Commission-Manager, or City-County Council-Manager. All municipalities over 10,000 people must elect their representatives by district, with those under 10,000 having option to do so. Citizens in a Mayor-Council form of government elect a mayor (who only votes to break a tie, and does not have veto power), and a council of 4 to 10 councilors or trustees. Any municipality with a population over 1,000 with a Mayor/Council form of government may establish the office of manager who is not elected and administers the hiring and firing of municipal employees, enforces ordinances, prepares the budget, but cannot vote on council. The manager in a Commission/Manager municipality has identical powers to the manager in the Mayor/Council form of government. Mayor-Council system can be changed to a Commission/Manager municipality by popular vote if the population exceeds 3,000. Citizens in a Commission/Manager municipality may also vote on initiatives, referendums and recalls and the mayor has the right to vote on council issues. Only one municipality, Los Alamos, is an incorporated City-County with a Council-Manager system through the Los Alamos County Charter. Municipalities may also adopt a home rule charter which gives local municipalities powers not specifically authorized for municipalities by the state statutes. Twelve municipalities have adopted home rule or a charter in New Mexico.

The largest municipality by population in New Mexico is Albuquerque with 545,852 residents or approximately 26.5% of the state population. The smallest municipality by population is Grenville with 38 residents. The largest municipality by land area is also Albuquerque which spans 187.73 sq mi (486.2 km2), while Virden is the smallest at 0.22 sq mi (0.57 km2).

List of municipalities

  • Largest municipalities in New Mexico by population
  • Skyline of Albuquerque

    Skyline of Albuquerque, largest city in New Mexico

  • Las Cruces

    Las Cruces, second largest city in New Mexico

  • Aerial view of suburban Rio Rancho

    Aerial view of suburban Rio Rancho, New Mexico's third largest municipality

  • Santa Fe

    Santa Fe, capital and fourth largest municipality of New Mexico

  • Downtown Roswell

    Downtown Roswell, New Mexico's fifth largest municipality

       State capital and county seat        County seat        Home rule or chartered

Name Type Government type County(ies) Population
(2010)		 Population
(2000)		 Change Land area
(2010)		 Population density
sq mi km2
AlamogordoCounty seat City Commission–Manager Home rule Otero 30,403 35,582 Template:Number table sorting/negative−14.6% 21.43 55.5 1,418.7/sq mi (547.8/km2)
AlbuquerqueCounty seat City Mayor–Council Home rule Bernalillo 545,852 448,607 &10000000000000021677102+21.7% 187.73 486.2 2,907.6/sq mi (1,122.6/km2)
Angel Fire Village Mayor–Council Colfax 1,216 1,048 &10000000000000016030534+16.0% 28.93 74.9 42.0/sq mi (16.2/km2)
Anthony City Mayor–Council Doña Ana 9,360 7,904 &10000000000000018421052+18.4% 3.96 10.3 2,363.6/sq mi (912.6/km2)
Artesia City Mayor–Council Eddy 11,301 10,692 &10000000000000005695847+5.7% 9.92 25.7 1,139.2/sq mi (439.8/km2)
AztecCounty seat City Commission–Manager San Juan 6,763 6,378 &10000000000000006036375+6.0% 12.53 32.5 539.7/sq mi (208.4/km2)
Bayard City Mayor–Council Grant 2,328 2,534 Template:Number table sorting/negative−8.1% 0.95 2.5 2,450.5/sq mi (946.1/km2)
Belen City Mayor–Council with Manager Valencia 7,269 6,901 &10000000000000005332560+5.3% 8.29 21.5 876.8/sq mi (338.5/km2)
BernalilloCounty seat Town Mayor–Council Sandoval 8,320 6,611 &10000000000000025850854+25.9% 4.78 12.4 1,740.6/sq mi (672.0/km2)
Bloomfield City Mayor–Council San Juan 8,112 6,417 &10000000000000026414212+26.4% 7.91 20.5 1,025.5/sq mi (395.9/km2)
Bosque Farms Village Mayor–Council Valencia 3,904 3,931 Template:Number table sorting/negative−0.7% 3.97 10.3 983.4/sq mi (379.7/km2)
Capitan Village Mayor–Council Lincoln 1,489 1,443 &10000000000000003187803+3.2% 3.22 8.3 462.4/sq mi (178.5/km2)
CarlsbadCounty seat City Mayor–Council with Manager Eddy 26,138 25,625 &10000000000000002001951+2.0% 28.94 75.0 903.2/sq mi (348.7/km2)
CarrizozoCounty seat Town Mayor–Council Lincoln 996 1,036 Template:Number table sorting/negative−3.9% 8.36 21.7 119.1/sq mi (46.0/km2)
Causey Village Mayor–Council Roosevelt 104 52 &10000000000000100000000+100.0% 3.84 9.9 27.1/sq mi (10.5/km2)
Chama Village Mayor–Council Rio Arriba 1,022 1,199 Template:Number table sorting/negative−14.8% 2.67 6.9 382.8/sq mi (147.8/km2)
Cimarron Village Mayor–Council Colfax 1,021 917 &10000000000000011341330+11.3% 2.00 5.2 510.5/sq mi (197.1/km2)
ClaytonCounty seat Town Mayor–Council with Manager Union 2,980 2,524 &10000000000000018066561+18.1% 8.12 21.0 367.0/sq mi (141.7/km2)
Cloudcroft Village Mayor–Council Otero 674 749 Template:Number table sorting/negative−10.0% 1.56 4.0 432.1/sq mi (166.8/km2)
ClovisCounty seat City Commission–Manager Home rule Curry 37,775 32,667 &10000000000000015636575+15.6% 22.71 58.8 1,663.4/sq mi (642.2/km2)
Columbus Village Mayor–Council Luna 1,664 1,765 Template:Number table sorting/negative−5.7% 2.79 7.2 596.4/sq mi (230.3/km2)
Corona Village Mayor–Council Lincoln 172 165 &10000000000000004242424+4.2% 1.04 2.7 165.4/sq mi (63.9/km2)
Corrales Village Mayor–Council Bernalillo
Sandoval		 8,329 7,334 &10000000000000013566948+13.6% 10.53 27.3 791.0/sq mi (305.4/km2)
Cuba Village Mayor–Council Sandoval 731 590 &10000000000000023898305+23.9% 3.38 8.8 216.3/sq mi (83.5/km2)
DemingCounty seat City Mayor–Council with Manager Luna 14,855 14,116 &10000000000000005235194+5.2% 16.24 42.1 914.7/sq mi (353.2/km2)
Des Moines Village Mayor–Council Union 143 177 Template:Number table sorting/negative−19.2% 1.11 2.9 128.8/sq mi (49.7/km2)
Dexter Town Mayor–Council Chaves 1,266 1,235 &10000000000000002510121+2.5% 0.74 1.9 1,710.8/sq mi (660.5/km2)
Dora Village Mayor–Council Roosevelt 133 130 &10000000000000002307692+2.3% 2.78 7.2 47.8/sq mi (18.5/km2)
Eagle Nest Village Mayor–Council Colfax 290 306 Template:Number table sorting/negative−5.2% 4.22 10.9 68.7/sq mi (26.5/km2)
Edgewood Town Mayor–Council Santa Fe 3,735 1,893 &10000000000000097305863+97.3% 48.70 126.1 76.7/sq mi (29.6/km2)
Elephant Butte City Mayor–Council Sierra 1,431 1,390 &10000000000000002949640+2.9% 4.29 11.1 333.6/sq mi (128.8/km2)
Elida Town Mayor–Council Roosevelt 197 183 &10000000000000007650273+7.7% 0.82 2.1 240.2/sq mi (92.7/km2)
Encino Village Mayor–Council Torrance 82 94 Template:Number table sorting/negative−12.8% 1.99 5.2 41.2/sq mi (15.9/km2)
Espanola City Mayor–Council with Manager Rio Arriba
Santa Fe		 10,224 9,688 &10000000000000005532617+5.5% 7.85 20.3 1,302.4/sq mi (502.9/km2)
EstanciaCounty seat Town Mayor–Council Torrance 1,655 1,584 &10000000000000004482323+4.5% 5.75 14.9 287.8/sq mi (111.1/km2)
Eunice City Mayor–Council Lea 2,922 2,562 &10000000000000014051522+14.1% 3.01 7.8 970.8/sq mi (374.8/km2)
Farmington City Mayor–Council with Manager San Juan 45,877 37,844 &10000000000000021226614+21.2% 31.51 81.6 1,456.0/sq mi (562.2/km2)
Floyd Village Mayor–Council Roosevelt 133 78 &10000000000000070512820+70.5% 3.09 8.0 43.0/sq mi (16.6/km2)
Folsom Village Mayor–Council Union 56 75 Template:Number table sorting/negative−25.3% 0.53 1.4 105.7/sq mi (40.8/km2)
Fort SumnerCounty seat Village Mayor–Council De Baca 1,031 1,249 Template:Number table sorting/negative−17.5% 3.31 8.6 311.5/sq mi (120.3/km2)
GallupCounty seat City Mayor–Council with Manager Home rule McKinley 21,678 20,209 &10000000000000007269038+7.3% 18.91 49.0 1,146.4/sq mi (442.6/km2)
Grady Village Mayor–Council Curry 107 98 &10000000000000009183673+9.2% 0.25 0.65 428.0/sq mi (165.3/km2)
GrantsCounty seat City Mayor–Council with Manager Home rule Cibola 9,182 8,806 &10000000000000004269816+4.3% 14.86 38.5 617.9/sq mi (238.6/km2)
Grenville Village Mayor–Council Union 38 25 &10000000000000052000000+52.0% 0.62 1.6 61.3/sq mi (23.7/km2)
Hagerman Town Mayor–Council Chaves 1,257 1,168 &10000000000000007619863+7.6% 1.38 3.6 910.9/sq mi (351.7/km2)
Hatch Village Mayor–Council Doña Ana 1,648 1,673 Template:Number table sorting/negative−1.5% 2.48 6.4 664.5/sq mi (256.6/km2)
Hobbs City Commission–Manager Home rule Lea 34,122 28,657 &10000000000000019070384+19.1% 23.96 62.1 1,424.1/sq mi (549.8/km2)
Hope Village Mayor–Council Eddy 105 107 Template:Number table sorting/negative−1.9% 1.22 3.2 86.1/sq mi (33.2/km2)
House Village Mayor–Council Quay 68 72 Template:Number table sorting/negative−5.6% 0.91 2.4 74.7/sq mi (28.8/km2)
Hurley Town Mayor–Council Grant 1,297 1,464 Template:Number table sorting/negative−11.4% 1.02 2.6 1,271.6/sq mi (491.0/km2)
Jal City Mayor–Council Lea 2,047 1,996 &10000000000000002555110+2.6% 4.59 11.9 446.0/sq mi (172.2/km2)
Jemez Springs Village Mayor–Council Sandoval 250 375 Template:Number table sorting/negative−33.3% 4.75 12.3 52.6/sq mi (20.3/km2)
Kirtland Town Mayor–Council San Juan
Lake Arthur Town Mayor–Council Chaves 436 432 &10000000000000000925925+0.9% 0.55 1.4 792.7/sq mi (306.1/km2)
Las CrucesCounty seat City Council–Manager Home rule Doña Ana 97,618 74,267 &10000000000000031441959+31.4% 76.49 198.1 1,276.2/sq mi (492.7/km2)
Las VegasCounty seat City Mayor–Council with Manager Home rule San Miguel 13,753 14,565 Template:Number table sorting/negative−5.6% 7.59 19.7 1,812.0/sq mi (699.6/km2)
Logan Village Mayor–Council Quay 1,042 1,094 Template:Number table sorting/negative−4.8% 9.54 24.7 109.2/sq mi (42.2/km2)
LordsburgCounty seat City Mayor–Council Hidalgo 2,797 3,379 Template:Number table sorting/negative−17.2% 8.39 21.7 333.4/sq mi (128.7/km2)
Los Alamos County

City–County
(Council–Manager) Home rule

 Los Alamos 17,950 18,343 Template:Number table sorting/negative−2.1% 109.17 282.7 164.4/sq mi (63.5/km2)
Los LunasCounty seat Village Mayor–Council Valencia 14,835 10,034 &10000000000000047847319+47.8% 14.63 37.9 1,014.0/sq mi (391.5/km2)
Los Ranchos de Albuquerque Village Mayor–Council Bernalillo 6,024 5,092 &10000000000000018303220+18.3% 4.35 11.3 1,384.8/sq mi (534.7/km2)
Loving Village Mayor–Council Eddy 1,413 1,326 &10000000000000006561085+6.6% 1.17 3.0 1,207.7/sq mi (466.3/km2)
LovingtonCounty seat City Commission–Manager Lea 11,009 9,471 &10000000000000016239045+16.2% 4.74 12.3 2,322.6/sq mi (896.8/km2)
Magdalena Village Mayor–Council Socorro 938 913 &10000000000000002738225+2.7% 6.26 16.2 149.8/sq mi (57.8/km2)
Maxwell Village Mayor–Council Colfax 254 274 Template:Number table sorting/negative−7.3% 0.47 1.2 540.4/sq mi (208.6/km2)
Melrose Village Mayor–Council Curry 651 736 Template:Number table sorting/negative−11.5% 1.69 4.4 385.2/sq mi (148.7/km2)
Mesilla Town Mayor–Council Doña Ana 2,196 2,180 &10000000000000000733944+0.7% 6.74 17.5 325.8/sq mi (125.8/km2)
Milan Village Mayor–Council Cibola 3,245 1,891 &10000000000000071602326+71.6% 4.34 11.2 747.7/sq mi (288.7/km2)
Moriarty City Mayor–Council Torrance 1,910 1,765 &10000000000000008215297+8.2% 5.84 15.1 327.1/sq mi (126.3/km2)
MosqueroCounty seat Village Mayor–Council Harding
San Miguel		 93 120 Template:Number table sorting/negative−22.5% 1.00 2.6 93.0/sq mi (35.9/km2)
Mountainair Town Mayor–Council Torrance 928 1,116 Template:Number table sorting/negative−16.8% 1.07 2.8 867.3/sq mi (334.9/km2)
Pecos Village Mayor–Council San Miguel 1,392 1,441 Template:Number table sorting/negative−3.4% 1.74 4.5 800.0/sq mi (308.9/km2)
Peralta Town Mayor–Council Valencia 3,660 4.46 11.6 820.6/sq mi (316.8/km2)
PortalesCounty seat City Mayor–Council with Manager Roosevelt 12,280 11,131 &10000000000000010322522+10.3% 7.06 18.3 1,739.4/sq mi (671.6/km2)
Questa Village Mayor–Council Taos 1,770 1,864 Template:Number table sorting/negative−5.0% 5.13 13.3 345.0/sq mi (133.2/km2)
RatonCounty seat City Commission–Manager Colfax 6,885 7,282 Template:Number table sorting/negative−5.5% 7.96 20.6 864.9/sq mi (333.9/km2)
Red River Town Mayor–Council Taos 477 484 Template:Number table sorting/negative−1.4% 1.00 2.6 477.0/sq mi (184.2/km2)
ReserveCounty seat Village Mayor–Council Catron 289 387 Template:Number table sorting/negative−25.3% 0.55 1.4 525.5/sq mi (202.9/km2)
Rio Communities City Mayor–Council Valencia
Rio Rancho City Mayor–Council with Manager Home rule Bernalillo
Sandoval		 87,521 51,765 &10000000000000069073698+69.1% 103.35 267.7 846.8/sq mi (327.0/km2)
RoswellCounty seat City Mayor–Council with Manager Chaves 48,366 45,293 &10000000000000006784712+6.8% 29.86 77.3 1,619.8/sq mi (625.4/km2)
Roy Village Mayor–Council Harding 234 304 Template:Number table sorting/negative−23.0% 2.04 5.3 114.7/sq mi (44.3/km2)
Ruidoso Village Mayor–Council with Manager Lincoln 8,029 7,698 &10000000000000004299818+4.3% 16.12 41.8 498.1/sq mi (192.3/km2)
Ruidoso Downs City Mayor–Council Lincoln 2,815 1,824 &10000000000000054331140+54.3% 3.79 9.8 742.7/sq mi (286.8/km2)
San Jon Village Mayor–Council Quay 216 306 Template:Number table sorting/negative−29.4% 2.57 6.7 84.0/sq mi (32.4/km2)
San Ysidro Village Mayor–Council Sandoval 193 238 Template:Number table sorting/negative−18.9% 2.28 5.9 84.6/sq mi (32.7/km2)
Santa Clara Village Mayor–Council Grant 1,686 1,944 Template:Number table sorting/negative−13.3% 1.28 3.3 1,317.2/sq mi (508.6/km2)
Santa FeCounty seat City Mayor–Council with Manager Home rule Santa Fe 67,947 62,203 &10000000000000009234281+9.2% 45.98 119.1 1,477.8/sq mi (570.6/km2)
Santa RosaCounty seat City Mayor–Council Guadalupe 2,848 2,744 &10000000000000003790087+3.8% 4.97 12.9 573.0/sq mi (221.2/km2)
Silver CityCounty seat Town Mayor–Council with Manager Home rule Grant 10,315 10,545 Template:Number table sorting/negative−2.2% 10.13 26.2 1,018.3/sq mi (393.2/km2)
SocorroCounty seat City Mayor–Council Socorro 9,051 8,877 &10000000000000001960121+2.0% 14.39 37.3 629.0/sq mi (242.9/km2)
Springer Town Mayor–Council Colfax 1,047 1,285 Template:Number table sorting/negative−18.5% 1.47 3.8 712.2/sq mi (275.0/km2)
Sunland Park City Mayor–Council Doña Ana 14,106 13,309 &10000000000000005988428+6.0% 11.40 29.5 1,237.4/sq mi (477.8/km2)
TaosCounty seat Town Mayor–Council with Manager Taos 5,716 4,700 &10000000000000021617021+21.6% 5.70 14.8 1,002.8/sq mi (387.2/km2)
Taos Ski Valley Village Mayor–Council Taos 69 56 &10000000000000023214285+23.2% 2.34 6.1 29.5/sq mi (11.4/km2)
Tatum Town Mayor–Council Lea 798 683 &10000000000000016837481+16.8% 1.58 4.1 505.1/sq mi (195.0/km2)
Texico City Mayor–Council Curry 1,130 1,065 &10000000000000006103286+6.1% 0.83 2.1 1,361.4/sq mi (525.6/km2)
Tijeras Village Mayor–Council Bernalillo 541 474 &10000000000000014135021+14.1% 1.15 3.0 470.4/sq mi (181.6/km2)
Truth or ConsequencesCounty seat City Commission–Manager Sierra 6,475 7,289 Template:Number table sorting/negative−11.2% 27.57 71.4 234.9/sq mi (90.7/km2)
TucumcariCounty seat City Commission–Manager Quay 5,363 5,989 Template:Number table sorting/negative−10.5% 9.49 24.6 565.1/sq mi (218.2/km2)
Tularosa Village Mayor–Council Otero 2,842 2,864 Template:Number table sorting/negative−0.8% 2.81 7.3 1,011.4/sq mi (390.5/km2)
Vaughn Town Mayor–Council Guadalupe 446 539 Template:Number table sorting/negative−17.3% 5.60 14.5 79.6/sq mi (30.7/km2)
Virden Village Mayor–Council Hidalgo 152 143 &10000000000000006293706+6.3% 0.22 0.57 690.9/sq mi (266.8/km2)
Wagon Mound Village Mayor–Council Mora 314 369 Template:Number table sorting/negative−14.9% 1.03 2.7 304.9/sq mi (117.7/km2)
Willard Village Mayor–Council Torrance 253 240 &10000000000000005416666+5.4% 0.98 2.5 258.2/sq mi (99.7/km2)
Williamsburg Village Mayor–Council Sierra 449 527 Template:Number table sorting/negative−14.8% 0.48 1.2 935.4/sq mi (361.2/km2)
Total – – – 1,347,159 1,148,631 &10000000000000017283879+17.3% &&&&&&&&&&&01197.8300001,197.83 3,102.4 1,124.7/sq mi (434.2/km2)
kids search engine
All content from Kiddle encyclopedia articles (including the article images and facts) can be freely used under Attribution-ShareAlike license, unless stated otherwise. Cite this article:
List of municipalities in New Mexico Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.