States / New Mexico

State rental intelligence

New Mexico rental market data

A source-traced view across 12 metro markets and 33 counties. State figures below are labelled medians and totals—not a made-up statewide investment score.

9/12 metros scored33/33 counties with FEMA risk14 sources used in this analysis

Median scored metro44.0out of 100 · 9 measured metros

New Mexico identity diorama showing regional landscape, cities, housing, and infrastructure

Median metro home value$266kmedian across published metro values

Median metro rent$1,489monthly · published metro values

Median gross yield7.7%annual rent ÷ price · before costs

Median job trend▼ 0.8%trailing 12-month metro employment

Direct monthly rental evidence

New Mexico rent market dynamics

Apartment List measures recent leases, rental vacancy and listing time separately. These figures do not replace Zillow, Census or Realtor measures elsewhere on this page.

Recent-lease rent$1,0972026-07 · ▼ 1.0% year over year

Rental Vacancy Index6.6%2026-07 · −0.7 pp in 12 months

Time on market26 days2026-07 · −3 days in 12 months

US recent-lease rent$1,3882026-07 · ▼ 1.1% year over year

Rent and rental vacancy through timesolid state series · dashed national series · no interpolation across missing observations

State research brief

Metro market rents outpaced nearly flat home values by 3.3 percentage points, yet New Mexico’s recent-lease rent fell 1.0% while rental vacancy tightened and listings moved faster.

Updated 2026-08-08 · evidence current to the releases listed below.

The central screening issue is a split between rental measures. Across measured metros, Zillow rent growth had a 3.4% median while home-value growth was 0.1%, but Apartment List’s statewide recent-lease rent declined 1.0%. The two series differ in method and geography, so neither establishes the rent trend for a specific property.

Local demand and liquidity also diverge. Median metro employment declined, migration was slightly negative, and several resale markets were slow, even though Carlsbad, Las Cruces and Farmington posted positive job growth. Underwriting should therefore verify achieved rent, concessions, tenant depth, permits and exit conditions locally. Coverage remains incomplete: metro rent growth is available for nine markets, county rents for 17 counties, and county listing-price coverage is absent.

3.4% median metro rent growth versus 0.1% home-value growth → screen measured metros for improving gross rent-to-price economics, but verify achieved rent

Recent-lease rent down 1.0% while vacancy fell 0.7 percentage points and marketing time shortened 2.7 days → do not treat occupancy or speed as proof of rent growth

-0.8% median metro job growth and net migration of -279, alongside positive growth in Carlsbad, Las Cruces and Farmington → favor locality-specific demand tests over a statewide assumption

Metro marketing time ranged from 14 to 100 days between the 10th and 90th percentiles → model resale timing and carrying costs by market

County hazard-loss and effective tax rates vary materially → convert gross yield to property-level cash flow only after local insurance and tax checks

Price and rent momentum

Metro rents separated from nearly flat home values

Across 12 measured metros, annual home-value growth had a 0.1% median, with a range from -3.0% at the 10th percentile to 1.4% at the 90th. Rent growth, available for nine metros, had a 3.4% median and ranged from 1.1% to 6.8%. The supplied median rent-minus-price spread was 3.3 percentage points, a favorable initial signal for gross income relative to entry values.

The separation was pronounced in Roswell, where rent rose 7.1%, home value rose 0.4% and indicated gross yield was 9.8%. Carlsbad recorded 6.8% rent growth against 0.8% price growth. Farmington is a counter-signal: its 5.2% rent gain trailed 6.0% price growth, with a 5.6% gross yield. These are market-level gross measures before vacancy, expenses, financing and capital work.

Evidence: Zillow ZHVI — metro home values · Zillow ZORI — metro market rents

Direct state rental dynamics

Lower recent-lease rent came with less vacancy and faster marketing

Apartment List’s July 2026 recent-lease rent was $1,097, down from $1,108 a year earlier, a 1.0% decline. Its separate Vacancy Index fell from 7.3% to 6.6%, a 0.7-percentage-point tightening, while the separate time-on-market series shortened from 29.0 to 26.3 days.

Faster marketing and lower vacancy are constructive liquidity signals, but they did not produce higher measured recent-lease rent. This is also a genuine counter-signal to Zillow’s rising metro rent distribution. Because the series use different coverage and definitions, they should not be averaged or used to infer pricing power in a particular city.

Evidence: Apartment List Rent Estimates — recent-lease rent index · Apartment List Time on Market — listing liquidity · Apartment List Vacancy Index — rental vacancy

Employment and household movement

Three positive job markets sit above a negative metro median

Employment growth across 12 measured metros had a -0.8% median, with the 10th and 90th percentiles at -1.5% and 1.8%. The named positive markets were Carlsbad at 2.4%, Las Cruces at 1.9% and Farmington at 1.5%. Their gains show why the negative median should not be assigned to every locality.

IRS movement data for 32 counties recorded 49,716 arrivals and 49,995 departures, for net migration of -279, or -0.13 per 1,000 residents. The slight net loss and negative employment median do not support a broad demand tailwind, while the three positive job markets justify local tenant-demand checks. Employment and migration cover different periods and cannot establish current household formation.

Evidence: Census ACS 5-year — population · BLS CES — payroll employment · BLS LAUS — resident employment · IRS SOI — county migration and mover income

Supply and resale conditions

Carlsbad is liquid, but permits and price cuts complicate the signal

Among 11 measured metros, months of for-sale supply had a 4.4-month median and ranged from 1.4 months at the 10th percentile to 6.5 at the 90th. Median days on market was 37, with a 14-to-100-day percentile range. The median share of listings with price drops was 24.2%, indicating that headline inventory alone does not capture seller flexibility.

Carlsbad combined 2.1 months of supply and 29 days on market with 414 permitted units, or 6.78 per 1,000 residents, and price drops on 25.0% of listings. That complicates its positive rent and job signals. At the slower end, Silver City had 116 days on market and 6.5 months of supply, while Taos had 100 days and 7.4 months. Acquisition screens should distinguish current rental demand from future resale liquidity and permitted supply.

Evidence: Census Building Permits Survey — permitted units · Redfin Data Center — inventory, days on market, and price cuts

Housing stock and tenant conditions

Catron’s 47.5% all-housing vacancy is not a rental-availability measure

Across 33 counties, ACS all-housing vacancy had a 20.7% median, ranging from 8.6% at the 10th percentile to 40.9% at the 90th. The median renter share was 26.9%. Separately, the median share of renters paying at least 30% of income toward rent was 48.4%, with a 34.1% to 56.4% percentile range.

Catron County had 47.5% all-housing vacancy but only a 6.2% renter share; Colfax and Lincoln counties had vacancy rates of 44.1% and 44.0%. Those figures do not show how many vacant units are offered as long-term rentals. De Baca County’s estimate placed 100% of renters above the burden threshold in a county with 1,576 residents, making it a small-area screening flag rather than a property-level rent ceiling.

Evidence: Census ACS 5-year — county housing value, tenure and stock

Physical risk and property tax

Mora’s loss ratio and McKinley’s tax rate sit well above county medians

FEMA’s mutually exclusive leading-hazard classification labels 29 counties with inland flood and four with wildfire. These are county-level top-hazard labels, not findings that every property in those counties is exposed.

The county median hazard-loss ratio was 0.25%, with a 90th percentile of 0.42%; Mora County measured 0.69%, Roosevelt County 0.52% and Catron County 0.49%. The median effective property-tax rate was 0.55%, versus 0.73% at the 90th percentile, while McKinley County measured 2.0%, Bernalillo County 0.90% and Cibola County 0.80%. Parcel-specific insurance, hazard and tax verification can therefore materially change an apparent gross yield.

Evidence: FEMA National Risk Index — hazard loss ratios · Census ACS 5-year — effective property tax

State ZIP rental intelligence

How direct rental evidence varies inside New Mexico

The distribution uses 13 current published ZIP reports across 3 cities and 3 counties. Twelve measured counter-signals are shown below; this is not a statewide neighborhood ranking.

Published ZIP rent range$1,019–$2,144full direct-ZORI report cohort

Median rent / income27.3%annual asking rent ÷ ACS household income

Median one-year growth▲ 1.7%exact direct Zillow endpoints

Renter households covered90,831across published ZCTA matches

01 · RENT DISPERSIONRepresentative direct ZIP ZORI

02 · AFFORDABILITY PRESSURERent / income × observed burden

03 · PATH QUALITYOne-year growth × variability

WHAT THE STATE DISTRIBUTION SAYS

Within the 13 current published direct-evidence ZIP reports, the June 2026 Zillow Observed Rent Index (ZORI) ranges from $1,019 to $2,144, a $1,125 spread, with a $1,632 median. That dispersion makes the practical question less about a single state rent than which observed ZIP asking-rent level is being compared and against what household-income or program benchmark. ZORI is an observed asking-rent index, so these figures describe indexed asking-rent conditions rather than a count of leases or all units. The statewide distribution is limited to current published direct-evidence ZIP reports, not every New Mexico ZIP, neighborhood, or rental property.

An asking-rent-to-income screen and the renter-burden statistic should not be collapsed into one affordability claim. The current ZORI-to-ACS median household-income ratio spans 20.3% to 34.4%, with a 27.3% median across the published distribution. Separately, the ACS 2024 five-year share of renter households paying 30% or more of income toward gross rent runs from 37.6% to 56.7%; its median is 48.9%. The first is a ZIP-level comparison of current asking rent with area median income, whereas the second is a survey estimate of renter households’ gross-rent burden. It is useful as a counter-signal, not a translation from a listed asking rent into any household’s budget. ACS values here apply to ZCTAs, statistical areas that do not exactly match USPS delivery ZIPs.

Monthly ZORI history supplies a separate signal: the 1-year annualized growth range is -1.1% to 5.5%, and the distribution median is 1.7%. Santa Fe’s 87507 has a -0.5% 3-year annualized change, while the strongest one-year increase is at the other end of the distribution. That does not make momentum synonymous with a smooth path. Annualized volatility ranges from 2.2% to 3.9%, versus a 2.9% median; 87507 is at the high-volatility end and has a -5.8% maximum drawdown. Thus negative near-term and longer-window growth readings coexist with the greatest reported variability, a useful counter-signal to ranking ZIPs only by recent change. Growth, volatility, and drawdown all come from the direct monthly Zillow series rather than ACS or HUD data.

HUD adds a different comparison, not a replacement for ZORI. The administrative two-bedroom HUD benchmark is $1,464 in the Bernalillo and Sandoval County reports shown and $1,685 in the Santa Fe County reports. The published distribution’s asking-versus-HUD ratio ranges from 69.6% to 127.2%, with a 105.5% median. Those ratios compare a ZIP asking-rent index with a bedroom-specific FMR/SAFMR standard and should not be read as observed asking rents for actual two-bedroom units or as household affordability. The packet contains no unit-level rents, bedroom counts, square footage, lease terms, or property attributes, so neither the ZIP index, ACS ZCTA estimates, nor the HUD benchmark can characterize or price a particular property.

DECISION NOTES

Price spread guides the first screen

The reported asking-rent spread is substantial enough that statewide shorthand can obscure the decision at hand. Start with the applicable published ZIP-level ZORI reading, then compare it with relevant income context and the separate HUD administrative benchmark where applicable.

Affordability and burden answer different questions

Use the asking-rent-to-income ratio as an area-level screen, not as an estimate of tenant burden. The ACS burden share is a survey estimate for renter households and gross rent, making it a complementary measure that may point in a different direction.

Benchmarks and history need separate uses

Treat the HUD comparison as a bedroom-standard context check and read the growth and volatility measures together. Neither input supplies property-level characteristics, an available-unit quote, or a prediction; each addresses a different part of rental-market measurement in this packet.

Representative direct evidence

Twelve useful contrasts, every one traceable

The statewide summaries use all 13 qualifying reports. The table preserves measured extremes in rent, affordability, burden, momentum, volatility and the HUD benchmark gap.

ZIP report	Place	Zillow rent	1Y growth	Rent / income	Burden 30%+	Variability	HUD 2BR gap
87108 →	Albuquerque	$1,019	▲ 3.6%	28.6%	55.0%	2.8%	▲ 69.6%
87111 →	Albuquerque	$1,525	▲ 0.9%	20.3%	46.6%	2.6%	▲ 104.2%
87114 →	Albuquerque	$1,736	▼ 0.4%	24.7%	48.2%	2.5%	▲ 118.6%
87106 →	Albuquerque	$1,425	▲ 4.3%	34.4%	56.7%	2.7%	▲ 97.3%
87110 →	Albuquerque	$1,544	▲ 2.1%	28.6%	48.9%	3.4%	▲ 105.5%
87112 →	Albuquerque	$1,349	▲ 2.5%	21.9%	37.6%	3.6%	▲ 92.1%
87507 →	Santa Fe	$1,920	▼ 1.1%	32.7%	51.4%	3.9%	▲ 113.9%
87505 →	Santa Fe	$1,777	▲ 1.4%	27.3%	46.3%	3.1%	▲ 105.5%
87123 →	Albuquerque	$1,351	▲ 0.7%	25.2%	46.1%	2.9%	▲ 92.3%
87121 →	Albuquerque	$1,632	▲ 3.8%	32.2%	47.6%	3.5%	▲ 111.5%
87124 →	Rio Rancho	$1,684	▲ 1.7%	23.3%	54.5%	2.2%	▲ 115.0%
87501 →	Santa Fe	$2,144	▲ 5.5%	32.3%	49.4%	3.1%	▲ 127.2%

READ BEFORE USING

Zillow ZORI is an observed asking-rent index, and this state distribution includes only current published direct-evidence ZIP reports. It is not a transaction series, a lease-level price, or a complete inventory of statewide rental units.

ACS figures are 2024 five-year survey estimates for ZCTAs, not USPS delivery ZIPs. They use different timing and geographic definitions from the Zillow index, while HUD values are administrative two-bedroom standards.

SOURCE LEDGERCensus ACS five-year — ZCTA housing and incomeACS 2024 5-year ZCTA · pulled 2026-08-08 HUD USPS crosswalk and Small Area FMRs — ZIP rent fallbackZIP-CBSA 2025Q4 + SAFMR FY2026 · pulled 2026-07-26 Zillow ZORI — ZIP market rentsZORI ZIP 2026-06 · pulled 2026-08-08

Evidence selected for New Mexico

The ranges behind the analysis

Each row keeps its own unit and shows the measured 10th percentile, median and 90th percentile. A single-value row is labelled directly.

Price and rent momentumAre home values and asking rents moving together or separating?

Employment and household movementDo jobs, household movement and mover income point in the same direction?

Supply and resale conditionsWhat do permits, inventory, marketing time and price cuts say about pressure?

Shape of the state

Distribution before conclusion

A statewide median can hide a wide spread. These SVG charts render at build time and carry no chart library or browser-side data request.

Metro score distribution9 scored metros · median 44.0

County evidence coverageEvery gap stays visible as missing—not estimated

Highest measured metro gross yieldsscreening metric only · before expenses and financing

Metro leaderboard

Markets touching New Mexico

Multi-state CBSAs appear in every member state. Score is still a metro score; no value is reweighted into a statewide ranking.

#	Metro	Score	Price	Rent	Yield	Jobs
1	Farmington, NM	72	$278k	$1,286	5.5%	▲ 1.5%
2	Carlsbad, NM	68	$254k	$1,600	7.6%	▲ 2.4%
3	Las Cruces, NM	48	$289k	$1,449	6.0%	▲ 1.9%
4	Hobbs, NM	45	$202k	$1,455	8.6%	▼ 0.7%
5	Santa Fe, NM	44	$561k	$1,931	4.1%	▲ 0.4%
6	Clovis, NM	40	$163k	$1,206	8.9%	▼ 1.4%
7	Roswell, NM	40	$172k	$1,399	9.8%	▼ 1.6%
8	Albuquerque, NM	31	$354k	$1,522	5.2%	▼ 0.8%
9	Alamogordo, NM	26	$233k	$1,525	7.9%	▼ 0.8%

Showing the top 9 scored metros of 12. Unscored metros remain discoverable through the national rankings.

Below the metro line

Largest counties in New Mexico

County figures join on the five-digit FIPS code. The table uses measured local values and prints “n/a” wherever a publisher has no record.

County	Population	Price	Rent	Yield	Hazard
Bernalillo County, NM	673,930	$354k	$1,488	5.1%	inland flooding
Doña Ana County, NM	224,266	$289k	$1,449	6.0%	inland flooding
Santa Fe County, NM	156,105	$561k	$1,931	4.1%	inland flooding
Sandoval County, NM	153,604	$379k	$1,850	5.9%	inland flooding
San Juan County, NM	120,942	$278k	$1,286	5.5%	inland flooding
Valencia County, NM	78,458	$318k	$1,885	7.1%	inland flooding
Lea County, NM	73,733	$203k	$1,455	8.6%	inland flooding
McKinley County, NM	70,431	$223k	n/a	n/a	inland flooding
Otero County, NM	68,816	$233k	$1,525	7.9%	inland flooding
Chaves County, NM	64,217	$172k	$1,399	9.8%	inland flooding
Eddy County, NM	61,105	$254k	$1,600	7.6%	inland flooding
Curry County, NM	47,638	$163k	$1,206	8.9%	inland flooding

County yield sample17/33counties have the rent needed to compute yield

Statewide net migration−279IRS tax-return households summed across counties

Median investor share4.3%among counties with HMDA purchase records

City markets

Go from New Mexico to a city record

These links exist only where an official Census place, direct city price and rent series, and a checked city brief are all available.

City · NMAlbuquerque$350k home · $1,486 rent · 5.1% yield City · NMLas Cruces$292k home · $1,424 rent · 5.9% yield City · NMSanta Fe$590k home · $1,932 rent · 3.9% yield City · NMRoswell$176k home · $1,399 rent · 9.6% yield City · NMClovis$163k home · $1,206 rent · 8.9% yield City · NMLos Lunas$328k home · $2,025 rent · 7.4% yield

Sources used in this analysis

Measured releases, not a global source count

Only sources supporting the selected evidence modules are listed here.

Census ACS 5-year — populationACS 2024 5-yearRetrieved 2026-07-26 Apartment List Rent Estimates — recent-lease rent indexApartment List 2026-07Retrieved 2026-08-08 Apartment List Time on Market — listing liquidityApartment List 2026-07Retrieved 2026-08-08 Apartment List Vacancy Index — rental vacancyApartment List 2026-07Retrieved 2026-08-08 BLS CES — payroll employmentCES SM currentRetrieved 2026-07-26 BLS LAUS — resident employmentLAUS currentRetrieved 2026-07-26 Census Building Permits Survey — permitted unitsBPS through 2026Retrieved 2026-07-26 Census ACS 5-year — county housing value, tenure and stockACS 2024 5-yearRetrieved 2026-07-30 FEMA National Risk Index — hazard loss ratiosNRI counties (FEMA ArcGIS)Retrieved 2026-07-26 IRS SOI — county migration and mover incomeSOI migration 2022-2023Retrieved 2026-07-26 Census ACS 5-year — effective property taxACS 2024 5-yearRetrieved 2026-08-06 Redfin Data Center — inventory, days on market, and price cutsmetro tracker through 2026-05-01Retrieved 2026-07-26 Zillow ZHVI — metro home valuesMetro_zhvi_uc_sfrcondo_tier_0.33_0.67_sm_sa_month.csvRetrieved 2026-07-26 Zillow ZORI — metro market rentsMetro_zori_uc_sfrcondomfr_sm_sa_month.csvRetrieved 2026-07-26

Bear case

What can break the thesis

The core rent thesis may fail because Zillow’s metro rent series rose while Apartment List’s statewide recent-lease series fell; their different coverage cannot identify which pattern applies to a target property.
A negative median employment change and slight net out-migration could limit tenant depth outside the named positive job markets.
Slow resale conditions in Silver City and Taos, plus substantial listing price cuts elsewhere, could extend holding periods or weaken exit proceeds.
ACS vacancy covers all housing and does not identify units available for long-term rent; high county vacancy may therefore overstate usable rental supply.
Evidence coverage is incomplete: metro rent growth covers nine markets, county rent covers 17 counties, county listing-price observations are absent, and FEMA labels do not provide parcel exposure.

Investor questions

Before underwriting a property

Are rents rising in New Mexico?

The answer depends on the measure. Zillow’s nine measured metros had 3.4% median rent growth, while Apartment List’s statewide recent-lease rent fell 1.0%. The packet cannot resolve that difference for an individual locality or property.

Where does the measured rent-to-price setup look most favorable?

Among the named momentum examples, Roswell paired 7.1% rent growth with 0.4% home-value growth and a 9.8% indicated gross yield. That is a screening signal, not a net return estimate.

Does Carlsbad’s job growth make it an unqualified target?

No. Carlsbad had 2.4% job growth, 6.8% rent growth and 2.1 months of for-sale supply, but it also recorded 414 permitted units, 6.78 permits per 1,000 residents and price drops on 25.0% of listings.

Should high county vacancy be treated as abundant rental inventory?

No. ACS vacancy covers all housing. Catron County’s 47.5% vacancy rate accompanied a renter share of only 6.2%, and the data do not identify which vacant homes are available for long-term tenants.

What remains missing before an acquisition decision?

The packet does not provide property-level achieved rent, concessions, operating expenses, condition, insurance quotes or parcel hazard exposure. County listing-price coverage is also absent, so local comparable sales and current listings remain necessary.