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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. It's the 15th least populated state, with about 2.1 million people. But it's the 5th largest state by land area, covering over 121,000 square miles (314,000 square kilometers)!

New Mexico is divided into 33 counties. Within these counties, there are 106 different types of local communities called municipalities. These include cities, towns, and villages. Even though these municipalities cover only a small part of the state's land (about 1%), most of New Mexico's people (about 65%) live in them.

What Municipalities Do

Municipalities in New Mexico have important jobs. They help manage local areas and provide services for the people living there.

Local Government Powers

Local governments in municipalities have many responsibilities. They collect taxes to fund services. They also pay for fire protection and public transportation. They create and take care of public parks, libraries, and museums. They also handle rules for building and zoning. Plus, they manage important services like water, sewer, electricity, natural gas, and trash collection.

How Municipalities are Governed

Municipalities in New Mexico can choose from five main ways to run their local government:

  • Mayor-Council: Citizens elect a mayor and a council (4 to 10 members). The mayor usually only votes if there's a tie.
  • Mayor-Council with Manager: This is like the Mayor-Council system, but there's also a manager. This manager is hired, not elected. They help run the daily operations, like hiring staff and preparing the budget.
  • Council-Manager: In this system, a council is elected, and they hire a manager to handle daily tasks.
  • Commission-Manager: Similar to the Council-Manager, but a commission is elected instead of a council. Citizens can also vote on important issues directly.
  • City-County Council-Manager: Only one place, Los Alamos, uses this system. It means the city and county governments are combined.

If a municipality has more than 10,000 people, its representatives must be elected by district. Smaller municipalities can choose to do this too. Some municipalities also have a "home rule charter." This gives them special powers not usually given to other municipalities by state laws. Twelve municipalities in New Mexico have adopted this.

Largest and Smallest Municipalities

New Mexico has a wide range of municipalities, from very large to very small.

Population and Area Leaders

The largest municipality by population in New Mexico is Albuquerque. It has about 564,559 residents. This means about one-quarter of everyone in New Mexico lives in Albuquerque!

The smallest municipality by population is Grenville, with only 22 residents.

Albuquerque is also the largest municipality by land area, covering about 187.73 square miles (486.22 square kilometers). The smallest by land area is Virden, which is only about 0.22 square miles (0.57 square kilometers).

List of Municipalities

  • Largest municipalities in New Mexico by population
  • Albuquerque and I-25

    Skyline of Albuquerque, largest municipality in New Mexico

  • Las Cruces

    Las Cruces, second largest municipality in New Mexico

  • Rio Rancho Sprawl

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

  • Santa Fe NM

    Santa Fe, capital and fourth largest municipality of New Mexico

  • Roswell NM Main Street

    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
(2020)		 Population
(2010)		 Change Land area
(2020)		 Population density
sq mi km2
AlamogordoCounty seat City Commission–Manager § Otero 30,898 30,403 &10000000000000001628128+1.6% 21.39 55.4 1,444.5/sq mi (557.7/km2)
AlbuquerqueCounty seat City Mayor–Council § Bernalillo 564,559 545,852 &10000000000000003427119+3.4% 187.27 485.0 3,014.7/sq mi (1,164.0/km2)
Angel Fire Village Mayor–Council Colfax 1,192 1,216 Template:Number table sorting/negative−2.0% 28.81 74.6 41.4/sq mi (16.0/km2)
Anthony City Mayor–Council Doña Ana 8,693 9,360 Template:Number table sorting/negative−7.1% 2.70 7.0 3,219.6/sq mi (1,243.1/km2)
Artesia City Mayor–Council Eddy 12,875 11,301 &10000000000000013927970+13.9% 11.33 29.3 1,136.4/sq mi (438.8/km2)
AztecCounty seat City Commission–Manager San Juan 6,201 6,763 Template:Number table sorting/negative−8.3% 17.06 44.2 363.5/sq mi (140.3/km2)
Bayard City Mayor–Council Grant 2,116 2,328 Template:Number table sorting/negative−9.1% 0.95 2.5 2,227.4/sq mi (860.0/km2)
Belen City Mayor–Council with Manager Valencia 7,360 7,269 &10000000000000001251891+1.3% 18.96 49.1 388.2/sq mi (149.9/km2)
BernalilloCounty seat Town Mayor–Council Sandoval 8,977 8,320 &10000000000000007896634+7.9% 4.89 12.7 1,835.8/sq mi (708.8/km2)
Bloomfield City Mayor–Council San Juan 7,421 8,112 Template:Number table sorting/negative−8.5% 18.55 48.0 400.1/sq mi (154.5/km2)
Bosque Farms Village Mayor–Council Valencia 4,020 3,904 &10000000000000002971311+3.0% 3.94 10.2 1,020.3/sq mi (393.9/km2)
Capitan Village Mayor–Council Lincoln 1,391 1,489 Template:Number table sorting/negative−6.6% 3.26 8.4 405.2/sq mi (156.4/km2)
CarlsbadCounty seat City Mayor–Council with Manager Eddy 32,238 26,138 &10000000000000023337669+23.3% 31.52 81.6 1,022.8/sq mi (394.9/km2)
CarrizozoCounty seat Town Mayor–Council Lincoln 972 996 Template:Number table sorting/negative−2.4% 8.36 21.7 116.3/sq mi (44.9/km2)
Causey Village Mayor–Council Roosevelt 68 104 Template:Number table sorting/negative−34.6% 3.75 9.7 18.1/sq mi (7.0/km2)
Chama Village Mayor–Council Rio Arriba 917 1,022 Template:Number table sorting/negative−10.3% 2.59 6.7 354.1/sq mi (136.7/km2)
Cimarron Village Mayor–Council Colfax 792 1,021 Template:Number table sorting/negative−22.4% 2.12 5.5 373.6/sq mi (144.2/km2)
ClaytonCounty seat Town Mayor–Council with Manager Union 2,643 2,980 Template:Number table sorting/negative−11.3% 7.77 20.1 340.2/sq mi (131.4/km2)
Cloudcroft Village Mayor–Council Otero 750 674 &10000000000000011275964+11.3% 1.64 4.2 457.3/sq mi (176.6/km2)
ClovisCounty seat City Commission–Manager § Curry 38,567 37,775 &10000000000000002096624+2.1% 23.63 61.2 1,632.1/sq mi (630.2/km2)
Columbus Village Mayor–Council Luna 1,442 1,664 Template:Number table sorting/negative−13.3% 4.67 12.1 308.8/sq mi (119.2/km2)
Corona Village Mayor–Council Lincoln 129 172 Template:Number table sorting/negative−25.0% 1.03 2.7 125.2/sq mi (48.3/km2)
Corrales Village Mayor–Council Sandoval 8,493 8,329 &10000000000000001969023+2.0% 10.79 27.9 787.1/sq mi (303.9/km2)
Cuba Village Mayor–Council Sandoval 628 731 Template:Number table sorting/negative−14.1% 3.26 8.4 192.6/sq mi (74.4/km2)
DemingCounty seat City Mayor–Council with Manager Luna 14,758 14,855 Template:Number table sorting/negative−0.7% 16.72 43.3 882.7/sq mi (340.8/km2)
Des Moines Village Mayor–Council Union 117 143 Template:Number table sorting/negative−18.2% 0.87 2.3 134.5/sq mi (51.9/km2)
Dexter Town Mayor–Council Chaves 1,074 1,266 Template:Number table sorting/negative−15.2% 0.73 1.9 1,471.2/sq mi (568.0/km2)
Dora Village Mayor–Council Roosevelt 117 133 Template:Number table sorting/negative−12.0% 2.63 6.8 44.5/sq mi (17.2/km2)
Eagle Nest Village Mayor–Council Colfax 315 290 &10000000000000008620689+8.6% 4.48 11.6 70.3/sq mi (27.1/km2)
Edgewood Town Commission-Manager Santa Fe 6,174 3,735 &10000000000000065301204+65.3% 56.80 147.1 108.7/sq mi (42.0/km2)
Elephant Butte City Mayor–Council Sierra 1,447 1,431 &10000000000000001118099+1.1% 4.18 10.8 346.2/sq mi (133.7/km2)
Elida Town Mayor–Council Roosevelt 166 197 Template:Number table sorting/negative−15.7% 1.02 2.6 162.7/sq mi (62.8/km2)
Encino Village Mayor–Council Torrance 51 82 Template:Number table sorting/negative−37.8% 1.99 5.2 25.6/sq mi (9.9/km2)
Espanola City Mayor–Council with Manager Rio Arriba
Santa Fe		 10,526 10,224 &10000000000000002953834+3.0% 8.22 21.3 1,280.5/sq mi (494.4/km2)
EstanciaCounty seat Town Mayor–Council Torrance 1,242 1,655 Template:Number table sorting/negative−25.0% 6.17 16.0 201.3/sq mi (77.7/km2)
Eunice City Mayor–Council Lea 3,056 2,562 &10000000000000019281811+19.3% 4.09 10.6 747.2/sq mi (288.5/km2)
Farmington City Mayor–Council with Manager San Juan 46,624 45,877 &10000000000000001628266+1.6% 34.46 89.3 1,353.0/sq mi (522.4/km2)
Floyd Village Mayor–Council Roosevelt 86 133 Template:Number table sorting/negative−35.3% 3.05 7.9 28.2/sq mi (10.9/km2)
Folsom Village Mayor–Council Union 51 56 Template:Number table sorting/negative−8.9% 0.65 1.7 78.5/sq mi (30.3/km2)
Fort SumnerCounty seat Village Mayor–Council De Baca 889 1,031 Template:Number table sorting/negative−13.8% 3.32 8.6 267.8/sq mi (103.4/km2)
GallupCounty seat City Mayor–Council with Manager § McKinley 21,899 21,678 &10000000000000001019466+1.0% 20.19 52.3 1,084.6/sq mi (418.8/km2)
Grady Village Mayor–Council Curry 86 107 Template:Number table sorting/negative−19.6% 0.27 0.70 318.5/sq mi (123.0/km2)
GrantsCounty seat City Mayor–Council with Manager § Cibola 9,163 9,182 Template:Number table sorting/negative−0.2% 14.91 38.6 614.6/sq mi (237.3/km2)
Grenville Village Mayor–Council Union 22 38 Template:Number table sorting/negative−42.1% 0.38 0.98 57.9/sq mi (22.4/km2)
Hagerman Town Mayor–Council Chaves 975 1,257 Template:Number table sorting/negative−22.4% 1.36 3.5 716.9/sq mi (276.8/km2)
Hatch Village Mayor–Council Doña Ana 1,539 1,648 Template:Number table sorting/negative−6.6% 3.01 7.8 511.3/sq mi (197.4/km2)
Hobbs City Commission–Manager § Lea 40,508 34,122 &10000000000000018715198+18.7% 26.40 68.4 1,534.4/sq mi (592.4/km2)
Hope Village Mayor–Council Eddy 113 105 &10000000000000007619047+7.6% 1.22 3.2 92.6/sq mi (35.8/km2)
House Village Mayor–Council Quay 56 68 Template:Number table sorting/negative−17.6% 0.91 2.4 61.5/sq mi (23.7/km2)
Hurley Town Mayor–Council Grant 1,256 1,297 Template:Number table sorting/negative−3.2% 1.02 2.6 1,231.4/sq mi (475.4/km2)
Jal City Mayor–Council Lea 2,202 2,047 &10000000000000007572056+7.6% 4.82 12.5 456.8/sq mi (176.4/km2)
Jemez Springs Village Mayor–Council Sandoval 198 250 Template:Number table sorting/negative−20.8% 4.80 12.4 41.3/sq mi (15.9/km2)
Kirtland Town Mayor–Council San Juan 585 1.7 4.4 344.1/sq mi (132.9/km2)
Lake Arthur Town Mayor–Council Chaves 378 436 Template:Number table sorting/negative−13.3% 0.53 1.4 713.2/sq mi (275.4/km2)
Las CrucesCounty seat City Council–Manager § Doña Ana 111,385 97,618 &10000000000000014102931+14.1% 76.93 199.2 1,447.9/sq mi (559.0/km2)
Las VegasCounty seat City Mayor–Council with Manager § San Miguel 13,166 13,753 Template:Number table sorting/negative−4.3% 7.82 20.3 1,683.6/sq mi (650.0/km2)
Logan Village Mayor–Council Quay 970 1,042 Template:Number table sorting/negative−6.9% 10.60 27.5 91.5/sq mi (35.3/km2)
LordsburgCounty seat City Mayor–Council Hidalgo 2,335 2,797 Template:Number table sorting/negative−16.5% 8.43 21.8 277.0/sq mi (107.0/km2)
Los Alamos County

City–County
(Council–Manager) §

 Los Alamos 19,419 17,950 &10000000000000008183844+8.2% 109.17 282.7 177.9/sq mi (68.7/km2)
Los LunasCounty seat Village Mayor–Council Valencia 17,242 14,835 &10000000000000016225143+16.2% 18.73 48.5 920.6/sq mi (355.4/km2)
Los Ranchos de Albuquerque Village Mayor–Council Bernalillo 5,874 6,024 Template:Number table sorting/negative−2.5% 4.45 11.5 1,320.0/sq mi (509.7/km2)
Loving Village Mayor–Council Eddy 1,390 1,413 Template:Number table sorting/negative−1.6% 1.21 3.1 1,148.8/sq mi (443.6/km2)
LovingtonCounty seat City Commission–Manager Lea 11,668 11,009 &10000000000000005986011+6.0% 11.20 29.0 1,041.8/sq mi (402.2/km2)
Magdalena Village Mayor–Council Socorro 806 938 Template:Number table sorting/negative−14.1% 6.22 16.1 129.6/sq mi (50.0/km2)
Maxwell Village Mayor–Council Colfax 224 254 Template:Number table sorting/negative−11.8% 0.47 1.2 476.6/sq mi (184.0/km2)
Melrose Village Mayor–Council Curry 622 651 Template:Number table sorting/negative−4.5% 1.69 4.4 368.0/sq mi (142.1/km2)
Mesilla Town Mayor–Council Doña Ana 1,797 2,196 Template:Number table sorting/negative−18.2% 5.68 14.7 316.4/sq mi (122.2/km2)
Milan Village Mayor–Council Cibola 2,456 3,245 Template:Number table sorting/negative−24.3% 4.34 11.2 565.9/sq mi (218.5/km2)
Moriarty City Mayor–Council Torrance 1,946 1,910 &10000000000000001884816+1.9% 6.94 18.0 280.4/sq mi (108.3/km2)
MosqueroCounty seat Village Mayor–Council Harding
San Miguel		 98 93 &10000000000000005376344+5.4% 1.00 2.6 98.0/sq mi (37.8/km2)
Mountainair Town Mayor–Council Torrance 884 928 Template:Number table sorting/negative−4.7% 1.58 4.1 559.5/sq mi (216.0/km2)
Pecos Village Mayor–Council San Miguel 1,392 1,392 0.0% 1.78 4.6 782.0/sq mi (301.9/km2)
Peralta Town Mayor–Council Valencia 3,342 3,660 Template:Number table sorting/negative−8.7% 4.44 11.5 752.7/sq mi (290.6/km2)
PortalesCounty seat City Mayor–Council with Manager Roosevelt 12,137 12,280 Template:Number table sorting/negative−1.2% 7.95 20.6 1,526.7/sq mi (589.5/km2)
Questa Village Mayor–Council Taos 1,742 1,770 Template:Number table sorting/negative−1.6% 5.11 13.2 340.9/sq mi (131.6/km2)
RatonCounty seat City Commission–Manager Colfax 6,041 6,885 Template:Number table sorting/negative−12.3% 7.96 20.6 758.9/sq mi (293.0/km2)
Red River Town Mayor–Council Taos 542 477 &10000000000000013626834+13.6% 1.02 2.6 531.4/sq mi (205.2/km2)
ReserveCounty seat Village Mayor–Council Catron 293 289 &10000000000000001384083+1.4% 0.56 1.5 523.2/sq mi (202.0/km2)
Rio Communities City Mayor–Council Valencia 4,926 7.7 20= 639.7/sq mi (247.0/km2)
Rio Rancho City Mayor–Council with Manager § Bernalillo
Sandoval		 104,026 87,521 &10000000000000018858331+18.9% 103.36 267.7 1,006.4/sq mi (388.6/km2)
RoswellCounty seat City Mayor–Council with Manager Chaves 48,422 48,366 &10000000000000000115783+0.1% 29.72 77.0 1,629.3/sq mi (629.1/km2)
Roy Village Mayor–Council Harding 193 234 Template:Number table sorting/negative−17.5% 2.04 5.3 94.6/sq mi (36.5/km2)
Ruidoso Village Mayor–Council with Manager Lincoln 7,679 8,029 Template:Number table sorting/negative−4.4% 16.13 41.8 476.1/sq mi (183.8/km2)
Ruidoso Downs City Mayor–Council Lincoln 2,620 2,815 Template:Number table sorting/negative−6.9% 3.79 9.8 691.3/sq mi (266.9/km2)
San Jon Village Mayor–Council Quay 195 216 Template:Number table sorting/negative−9.7% 2.93 7.6 66.6/sq mi (25.7/km2)
San Ysidro Village Mayor–Council Sandoval 166 193 Template:Number table sorting/negative−14.0% 2.34 6.1 70.9/sq mi (27.4/km2)
Santa Clara Village Mayor–Council Grant 1,637 1,686 Template:Number table sorting/negative−2.9% 1.99 5.2 822.6/sq mi (317.6/km2)
Santa FeCounty seat City Mayor–Council with Manager § Santa Fe 87,505 67,947 &10000000000000028784199+28.8% 52.23 135.3 1,675.4/sq mi (646.9/km2)
Santa RosaCounty seat City Mayor–Council Guadalupe 2,850 2,848 &10000000000000000070224+0.1% 5.00 12.9 570.0/sq mi (220.1/km2)
Silver CityCounty seat Town Mayor–Council with Manager § Grant 9,704 10,315 Template:Number table sorting/negative−5.9% 10.12 26.2 958.9/sq mi (370.2/km2)
SocorroCounty seat City Mayor–Council Socorro 8,707 9,051 Template:Number table sorting/negative−3.8% 14.45 37.4 602.6/sq mi (232.7/km2)
Springer Town Mayor–Council Colfax 931 1,047 Template:Number table sorting/negative−11.1% 2.20 5.7 423.2/sq mi (163.4/km2)
Sunland Park City Mayor–Council Doña Ana 16,702 14,106 &10000000000000018403516+18.4% 13.58 35.2 1,229.9/sq mi (474.9/km2)
TaosCounty seat Town Mayor–Council with Manager Taos 6,474 5,716 &10000000000000013261021+13.3% 6.02 15.6 1,075.4/sq mi (415.2/km2)
Taos Ski Valley Village Mayor–Council Taos 77 69 &10000000000000011594202+11.6% 2.85 7.4 27.0/sq mi (10.4/km2)
Tatum Town Mayor–Council Lea 706 798 Template:Number table sorting/negative−11.5% 1.59 4.1 444.0/sq mi (171.4/km2)
Texico City Mayor–Council Curry 956 1,130 Template:Number table sorting/negative−15.4% 0.83 2.1 1,151.8/sq mi (444.7/km2)
Tijeras Village Mayor–Council Bernalillo 465 541 Template:Number table sorting/negative−14.0% 1.13 2.9 411.5/sq mi (158.9/km2)
Truth or ConsequencesCounty seat City Commission–Manager Sierra 6,052 6,475 Template:Number table sorting/negative−6.5% 28.00 72.5 216.1/sq mi (83.4/km2)
TucumcariCounty seat City Commission–Manager Quay 5,278 5,363 Template:Number table sorting/negative−1.6% 9.51 24.6 555.0/sq mi (214.3/km2)
Tularosa Village Mayor–Council Otero 2,553 2,842 Template:Number table sorting/negative−10.2% 2.82 7.3 905.3/sq mi (349.5/km2)
Vaughn Town Mayor–Council Guadalupe 286 446 Template:Number table sorting/negative−35.9% 5.60 14.5 51.1/sq mi (19.7/km2)
Virden Village Mayor–Council Hidalgo 126 152 Template:Number table sorting/negative−17.1% 0.21 0.54 600.0/sq mi (231.7/km2)
Wagon Mound Village Mayor–Council Mora 266 314 Template:Number table sorting/negative−15.3% 1.01 2.6 263.4/sq mi (101.7/km2)
Willard Village Mayor–Council Torrance 201 253 Template:Number table sorting/negative−20.6% 0.92 2.4 218.5/sq mi (84.4/km2)
Williamsburg Village Mayor–Council Sierra 462 449 &10000000000000002895322+2.9% 0.49 1.3 942.9/sq mi (364.1/km2)
Total municipalities – – – 1,446,366 1,347,159 &10000000000000007364164+7.4% &&&&&&&&&&&01275.5800001,275.58 3,303.7 1,133.9/sq mi (437.8/km2)
New Mexico – – – 2,117,522 2,059,179 &10000000000000002833313+2.8% &&&&&&&&&0121298.150000121,298.15 314,160.8 17.5/sq mi (6.8/km2)

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List of municipalities in New Mexico Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.