Lake Arthur, New Mexico

Population

Steady. Within 1% of 2020, every year since.

377

people, the 80th-largest of New Mexico's cities and towns.

Census Population Estimates, 2025. Rank among New Mexico's cities and towns computed by the Almanac. Sources: Census Population Estimates

The workday

Nearly every job here goes to someone who lives somewhere else.

98.3%

of 407 jobs located in Lake Arthur are filled by in-commuters.

Census LEHD LODES, 2023. Sources: Census LEHD LODES

Rent

Median rent is up 145% since the 2005–2009 survey, before inflation.

$675

a month. New Mexico's median is $1,067.

Census ACS 5-year, 2015-2019 (latest), with earlier 5-year windows. Survey estimates for a place this size carry wide margins of error. Sources: Census ACS 5-year

The seam

Cross one tract line and median rent doubles.

A $1,260 gap between neighbors, the sharpest rent edge between adjacent tracts in Chaves County.

• $434 Tract 3.02
• $1,694 Tract 10.01

Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024, adjacent tracts compared by the Almanac. Tract estimates carry wide margins of error. Sources: Census ACS 5-year

Room to build

The median rent sits inside what local wages can carry.

$468–$701

is the monthly rent range local workforce wages support.

• $675 median

Supportable rent computed by the Almanac from 2023 source wage data. Median rent: Census ACS 5-year, 2015-2019. Sources: Computed by the Almanac, Census ACS 5-year

Building

74% of the housing here was built before 2000.

• 74% of all homes were built before 2000

Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Survey estimates for a place this size carry wide margins of error. Sources: Census ACS 5-year

Units needed

Closing the gap would add 0–3% to the 160 homes here.

0–4

is the estimated number of missing housing units, from the lowest to the highest of three estimates.

Range computed by the Almanac from 2023 jobs and household data, using three demand models: 1% of jobs located here, 1% of renter households, and a rate by town size applied to renters. The low end is the lowest of the three and the high end the highest. It is an estimate, not a count. Sources: Computed by the Almanac

Home value

A median home costs 53% less than New Mexico's.

$116,100

median home value in Lake Arthur.

• $116,100 Lake Arthur
• $248,100 New Mexico
• $332,700 U.S.

Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Survey estimates for a place this size carry wide margins of error. Sources: Census ACS 5-year