Farmington, NM

Metro Area Profile

120,942 residents. Jobs, income, development, climate and physical risk across the Farmington, NM metropolitan area.

41out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 2% of 379 published profiles

How we calculate this

How this area ranks
Opportunity372nd of 379 published metros19
Growth633rd of 821 published metros32
Housing affordability540th of 822 published metros89
Climate706th of 822 published metros56
Physical resilience699th of 822 published metros26
Access564th of 822 published metros66
Economic stability779th of 822 published metros15
The quick read

Employment conditions sit below most comparable published metro profiles: unemployment is 5.8% and the Opportunity signal places Farmington in the bottom 2%.

84 housing units were authorized over the past twelve months, within 1% of the prior year — steady rather than turning.

Physical-risk exposure is above the national median, driven mainly by inland flooding, drought and earthquake.

At a glance

Population
120,942
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$55,872
Bottom 16% nationally
Density
22/sq mi
5517.2 sq mi of land
Median age
38.3
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Metro area
Farmington, NM
Nearest major airport
DRO
54 mi · Durango-La Plata County
Median home value
$193,800
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 5.8% is lower than 8% of the 379 measured US metros.

Employment fell 2.5% over the past year, to 46,693 employed residents.

Median household income of $55,872 is below 84% of measured US metros.

MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Median household income ±$1,667$55,872Bottom 16%2024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$969$28,099Bottom 9%2024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate23.1%Top 6%2024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute26.1 minTop 29%2024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher18.3%Bottom 15%2024 ACS 5-Year
Employment46,693Bottom 10%June 2026
Employment change (3 years)0.7%Top 43%June 2026
Employment change (year over year)-2.5%Bottom 12%June 2026
Labor force49,555Bottom 10%June 2026
Labor force participation53.1%Bottom 11%2024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wage$56,830Bottom 26%2025 OEWS
Median annual wage$45,820Bottom 27%2025 OEWS
Metro employment47,670Bottom 13%2025 OEWS
Unemployment change (year over year)0.6%Top 20%June 2026
Unemployment rate5.8%Top 8%June 2026
Unemployment rate
2021/062022/032022/122023/092024/062025/032025/102026/06103.6
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 5.8% in June 2026. A break in the line is a month the Bureau of Labor Statistics did not publish for this area — it is left empty rather than estimated.
Largest occupations — Farmington, NM
OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Home Health and Personal Care Aides1,900$27,290
Fast Food and Counter Workers1,730$27,420
Retail Salespersons1,430$31,530
Construction Laborers1,310$38,150
Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive1,250$45,860
Cashiers1,140$28,610

Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Housing & affordability

How it’s calculated →

Median rent of $956 takes 21% of median household income, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened.

A median home costs 3.5 times median household income here, above the historic benchmark of about three times income.

Rent as a share of income
20.5%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
3.5×
median home value ÷ median income
Median gross rent
$956
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$193,800
2024 ACS 5-Year
MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Home price to income3.47Top 40%2024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate71.2%Top 41%2024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±13948,255Top 42%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median gross rent ±$44$956Bottom 47%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$6,671$193,800Bottom 42%2024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income20.5%Top 24%2024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate13.5%Top 36%2024 ACS 5-Year

Both affordability measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with, so the comparison is like for like. They describe housing cost against local earnings and are not a cost-of-living index — transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not included, and a place can look affordable here and still be expensive to live in for reasons this does not capture.

Growth & development

How it’s calculated →
Development Momentum
32/ 100
Ranks 633 of 821 published city profiles
Permitting is broadly steady, measured from 2024 to 2025.

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

Population has been broadly flat since 2020, at 120,817 in 2024.

New construction is predominantly single-family: only 0% of permitted units are in buildings of five or more homes.

At 0.7 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US metros.

Units permitted
84
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
0.7
Bottom 12% nationally
Year over year
+1%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings
Population, annual estimates
20202021202220232024121k121k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population.

Weather & climate

5 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 93°F and January a low of 19°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 7.8 inches.

10°30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station FARMINGTON RGNL AP, 16.9 miles from this location.
Precipitation
JFMAMJJASOND1.1"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation7.8"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low19°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high93°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months51991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing46°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. They describe what a typical year looks like rather than what the weather is doing today.

Physical risk

26 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, drought and earthquake.

DroughtHigh
LandslideModerate
Inland floodingElevated
EarthquakeElevated
Heat waveModerate

Low or minimal exposure: lightning, winter weather, cold wave, wildfire, ice storm, avalanche, strong wind, tornado, hail.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. This value is the population-weighted mean of all component counties; expected annual loss is their sum. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

What this profile does not cover

Three things people look for are missing from every AreaProfile page, and each is missing for a reason rather than by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them and the weighting is documented on the methodology page.

Reported crime
The FBI’s Crime Data Explorer is the only source for reported offences with national coverage and a published method, and it requires an API key AreaProfile does not hold. Arrest counts, news volume and commercial “safety scores” are not substituted in the meantime. What is published above under Safety is a different measurement — deaths rather than offences, from death certificates rather than police returns — and it covers no property crime at all.
Taxes
No tax dataset has met the source admission test for coverage, transparent methodology and update cadence. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Full cost of living
No public source publishes one with national coverage and a documented method. Housing affordability above is computed from published rent, price and income, and excludes transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes — commuting cost in particular tends to offset suburban housing savings.

Access

2 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest 54 miles away.

AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Durango-La Plata CountyDRO54 mi9,201 ft
Stevens FldPSO88 mi8,100 ft
Santa Fe RgnlSAF139 mi8,366 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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Area Score
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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource periodUpdated
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle28-day NASR cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)Periodic dataset versions (v1.20.0 current)
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 NormalsEvery ten years (next release follows the 2001–2030 period)
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
June 2026Monthly
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWSAnnual (spring release)
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimateAnnual (vintage released each spring)
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026Monthly, roughly three weeks after the reference month
Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-YearAnnual (5-year estimates released each December)

Profile recalculated August 30, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology or browse every source.

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