Carlsbad, New Mexico

Area Profile

31,746 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Carlsbad, in Eddy County.

56out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 40% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 14 sources
Opportunity2,202nd of 4,199 cities measured55
SchoolsTop 19% of 4,162 cities measured75
GrowthTop 7% of 4,224 cities measured76
Housing affordabilityTop 12% of 4,218 cities measured80
Climate3,492nd of 4,225 cities measured61
Physical resilience4,063rd of 4,226 cities measured9
Access3,956th of 4,226 cities measured61
Economic stability3,570th of 4,226 cities measured36
The quick read

Unemployment is 4.4% and median household income $72,306, putting employment conditions in the middle range of cities measured.

Public schools test above most of the state: 30% of students met the mathematics standard, placing the area in the top 19% of published profiles for schools. Math proficiency is published for Eddy County, NM, which contains Carlsbad, rather than for Carlsbad alone.

Development activity is both elevated and accelerating — 315 housing units permitted over the past twelve months, up 132% on the prior year.

These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.

At a glance

Population
31,746
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$72,306
Top 42% nationally
Density
1,003/sq mi
31.7 sq mi of land
Median age
36.7
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
New Mexico
Nearest major airport
HOB
63 mi · Lea County Rgnl
Median home value
$200,000
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 4.4% — higher than in all but 47% of the 4,226 measured US cities.

Employment fell 1.3% over the past year, to 16,737 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsEddy County, NM’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$63,39433rd percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftEddy County, NM’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$81,76767th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$13,8302024 ACS 5-Year$72,306Top 42%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$2,7872024 ACS 5-Year$38,402Top 36%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year13.8%Bottom 39%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.9 min2024 ACS 5-Year23.7 minTop 34%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year19.2%Bottom 46%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year79.5%58th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 202616,737Bottom 17%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026+8.0%Top 1%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026−1.3%Bottom 39%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forceJuly 202617,51217th percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year72.2%Bottom 32%of 31,5132024 ACS 5-Year
Public transit to work ±0.3%2024 ACS 5-Year0.3%76th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026+0.5%Bottom 16%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20264.4%Bottom 47%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year5.7%40th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/078.62.3
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 4.4% in July 2026. It has been rising for the last 2 months, over a series running from 2020-01 to 2026-07. 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.

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202478k71k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $72,306 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.

30% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 41% in reading, across the schools here that reported results. Math proficiency and 1 other measure here are published for Eddy County, NM, which contains Carlsbad, rather than for Carlsbad alone.

There are 16.9 students for every full-time teacher across 13 public schools, more than in most measured places.

Public schools
14
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
16.9
across 13 of them
Math proficiency
30.2%
Top 14% in New Mexico
Reading proficiency
41.0%
Top 18% in New Mexico

The proficiency and staffing figures above are for Eddy County, NM: too few schools in Carlsbad reported a usable figure on their own to weight one honestly. The schools listed below are this place’s own.

The 12 largest of 14 public schools, by enrollment. None of them has a proficiency figure in the federal file.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacher
Carlsbad HighCARLSBAD1,68519.8
Carlsbad Intermediate School - Pr Leyva CampusCARLSBAD90818.9
Carlsbad Sixth Grade Academy - Alta Vista CampusCARLSBAD74015.1
Cottonwood ElementaryCARLSBAD68415.5
Desert Willow ElementaryCARLSBAD66715.2
Ocotillo ElementaryCARLSBAD62116.8
Sunset ElementaryCARLSBAD43817.5
Monterrey ElementaryCARLSBAD36616.6
Hillcrest PreschoolCARLSBAD31615.8
Jefferson Montessori · charterCARLSBAD21511.9
Early Childhood Education CenterCARLSBAD20718.8
Carlsbad Early College HighCARLSBAD20014.3

24.5% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with, not how the schools perform, so it is shown and not scored.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against New Mexico’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the non-metropolitan parts of New Mexico is up 37% over five years, and up 1.3% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $1,066 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.53% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,188, close to the $1,236 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,188 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $47,500 a year, about 66% of the median household income here of $72,306.

The typical renter household here spends 27% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,236 a month.

A median home at $200,000 costs 2.2 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $91,795, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Rent as a share of income
26.7%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.2×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,188
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$1,236
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$200,000
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Carlsbad’s median household income of $72,306, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Home price change (1 year)the non-metropolitan parts of New Mexico’s figure2026 Q2+1.3%26th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the non-metropolitan parts of New Mexico’s figure2026 Q2+36.8%35th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the non-metropolitan parts of New Mexico’s figure2026 Q2+75.6%21st percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.32024 ACS 5-Year2.2Top 39%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year70.2%38th percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±4622024 ACS 5-Year14,28596th percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$1,084Top 29%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,619Top 24%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,188Top 20%of 4,072FY2026
Median gross rent ±$1472024 ACS 5-Year$1,236Bottom 30%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$14,3212024 ACS 5-Year$200,00053rd percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$1132024 ACS 5-Year$1,06626th percentileof 26,4402024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$9,4062024 ACS 5-Year$91,795Top 34%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.07%2024 ACS 5-Year0.53%14th percentileof 20,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year26.7%Top 40%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±2632024 ACS 5-Year40897th percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year2.9%74th percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year10.0%64th percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±4132024 ACS 5-Year1,84097th percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year

These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures.

Development Momentum

76/ 100
Top 7% of 4,224 published city profiles
The most recent move in permitting was upward, in a series running from 2020 to 2025. That is the direction of the recent run. The chart below compares the first year with the last, which can point the other way.

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 fallen 1% since 2020, to 31,999 in 2024.

Permitting has turned upward after moving the other way the year before: 220 units authorized in 2025, up 73% on the prior year.

Federal tax returns show Eddy County, which contains Carlsbad, gained about 0.2% of its residents through moves within the US in the most recent year, counting those who arrived against those who left. Households that moved in reported an average income of $63,394, below the $81,767 of households that moved out.

At 9.9 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US cities.

Units permitted
315
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
9.9
Top 12% nationally
Year over year
+132%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
39.4%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202432k31k
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. It has been rising for the last 2 years, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

People moving in and out

Net migration
+0.2%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
71%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$63,394
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$81,767
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. El Paso County, TX 236 people · 8.6% of arrivals
  2. Chaves County, NM 197 people · 7.2% of arrivals
  3. Doña Ana County, NM 117 people · 4.2% of arrivals
  4. Bernalillo County, NM 80 people · 2.9% of arrivals
  5. Lea County, NM 78 people · 2.8% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Chaves County, NM 237 people · 9.0% of departures
  2. Midland County, TX 126 people · 4.8% of departures
  3. Lubbock County, TX 119 people · 4.5% of departures
  4. El Paso County, TX 113 people · 4.3% of departures
  5. Bernalillo County, NM 99 people · 3.7% of departures

Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. This is the figure for Eddy County, NM. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

20202021202220232024202539886
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was lower than 2020 (−45%).

Weather & climate

5 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 95°F and January a low of 30°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 12.0 inches.

Air quality measures a median index of 49, in the Good band, and about 36 days a year pass 100, the threshold at which the air is unhealthy for sensitive groups.

20°40°60°80°100°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station CARLSBAD CAVERN CITY AP, 4.7 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND2.6"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year1002024 calendar year
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals12.0"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals30°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals95°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals51991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year362024 calendar year
Median air quality index2024 calendar year492024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals39°F1991-2020 Normals

Air quality

Median air quality index
49
Good on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
100
90th percentile index
Days above 100
36
unhealthy for sensitive groups

A comfortable median and a bad tail are different problems. Wildfire smoke and summer ozone show up in the worst tenth of days, not in the middle of the year.

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. Air quality is measured by EPA monitors and published by county only where a monitor sits; a county without one shows nothing rather than an estimate, and a county reading is still the county’s. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

9 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, strong wind and heat wave, with inland flooding alone responsible for 81% of it. Strong wind is independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large that hazard is.

Winter weatherModerate
Inland floodingHigh
WildfireModerate
DroughtModerate
Ice stormModerate
Heat waveModerate
AvalancheModerate

Low or minimal exposure: strong wind, lightning, hail, cold wave, tornado, earthquake, hurricane, landslide, volcanic activity, tsunami, coastal flooding.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. City values are the population-weighted mean of the counties the city overlaps, using AreaProfile place-to-county land-area weights. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

Violent crime
576
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year
Property crime
2,721
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year

Below these are deaths rather than offenses, published for the county. The two measure different things and are not comparable with each other.

Carlsbad's police department reported 576 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, higher than most places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 2,721.

Eddy County has a modeled homicide rate of about 7.6 per 100,000 residents a year, because the CDC suppresses counts this small, higher than most counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 18.2 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 33.2 per 100,000 residents in Eddy County.

Homicide
7.6
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Firearm deaths, all intents
18.2
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
33.2
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
16.6
per 100,000 residents

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.

Offenses are reported to the FBI by Carlsbad’s own police department and shown only where it reported every month of the year; a partial year is withheld rather than scaled up. Reported crime is what police recorded, which is not the same as what happened. Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe the county around Carlsbad (Eddy County) rather than Carlsbad itself. Neither is part of the Area Score. How to read crime rates and death rates.

What this profile does not cover

Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.

Cost of living
Price parities are published for metropolitan areas, and this place lies outside one.
Taxes
Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. Cost of living is published where the Bureau of Economic Analysis measures it, though not for this place. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

2 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Lea County Rgnl at 63 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year85.3%Bottom 32%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle63 miBottom 7%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle2Bottom 8%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year11.2%Bottom 33%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Lea County RgnlHOB63 mi8,000 ft
Roswell Air CenterROW64 mi13,000 ft
Sierra Blanca RgnlSRR105 mi8,120 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
56
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—

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Other cities in Carlsbad-Artesia, NM

Same metropolitan area, measured the same way
CityCountyPopulationArea ScoreCompare
ArtesiaEddy County12,57657Artesia vs Carlsbad

Every city here is measured on the same scale from the same source releases, so the comparison is like for like. A higher Area Score reflects AreaProfile’s standardized weighting rather than a judgment about which is the better place to live.

Compare

Put Carlsbad side by side with a similar place.

Carlsbad vs ArtesiaCarlsbad vs McAllen

Moving to Carlsbad from somewhere else?

You get the difference in prices, rent and weather, and the income that would keep pace.

Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
SafetyFederal Bureau of Investigation, Crime Data Explorer
Summarized offense counts by law enforcement agency
2025 calendar year
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
Demographics, IncomeInternal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division
U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county)
filing years 2022–2023
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
SafetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
HousingU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
Fair Market Rents
FY2026
ClimateU.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System
Daily Air Quality Index by county
2024 calendar year
HousingU.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency
House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions)
2026 Q2
Current conditionsNOAA National Weather Service
National Weather Service current conditions
Live observation, read when the page opens

Profile recalculated October 8, 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 every source with how often each updates.

ZIP codes in Carlsbad

1 ZIP area

Every ZIP area in Carlsbad with census figures of its own, largest first. The ones linked below diverge enough from the city as a whole to carry a full profile; the rest track Carlsbad closely, so their figures are here rather than on a page that would repeat this one. An Area Score is calculated for published profiles only, which is why it is blank on those rows.

ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeMedian home valueArea Score
8822039,828$78,162$206,900—