Catron County, New Mexico

Catron County population, land area and income

Catron County had 3,795 residents in the Census Vintage 2024 estimate, on 6,924.2 square miles of land. It is the largest by land of New Mexico's 33 county-equivalents. That works out to 0.5 people per square mile, below the US average of 96.3, and in the bottom quarter nationally.

The median county-equivalent in New Mexico has 26,428 residents, so Catron County has 14% of the typical county's population.

Its SAIPE 2023 median household income of $45,802 is in the bottom quarter among 3,143 counties with an estimate.

How Catron County's population changed since 2020

Catron County gained 186 residents between the July 2020 and July 2024 estimates, a rise of 5.2%. That ranks 4th of 33 in New Mexico for growth. The median New Mexico county changed by -1.3%, and the state as a whole by +0.5%.

Since the April 2020 estimates base, Catron County recorded 63 births and 286 deaths, a natural change of -223. Net international migration added +27 and net domestic migration, people moving to or from other US counties, came to +411. The largest single component was domestic migration, which added 411 people.

Where Catron County is

The Census internal point of Catron County is at 33.901600, -108.391900. It sits in UTM zone 12N. The map shades New Mexico's 33 county-equivalents by population change from 2020 to 2024, darker for faster growth, with Catron County outlined. Dots are towns of 1,000+ people with residents in it.

Towns in Catron County

No incorporated place of 1,000 or more people has residents in Catron County. Its 3,795 residents live in smaller towns, census-designated places, or unincorporated land, which the subcounty estimates do not list at this size.

Counties bordering Catron County

The Census 2024 county adjacency file lists 6 neighbors for Catron County, including 2 across a state line. The most populous is Apache County, AZ, with 64,800 residents. Distances run between Census internal points in a straight line.

• AZ

  Apache County, AZ

  64,800 people

  120 mi NNW

• Grant County

  27,541 people

  81 mi S

• Cibola County

  26,686 people

  74 mi NNE

• Socorro County

  15,967 people

  84 mi E

• Sierra County

  11,389 people

  88 mi SE

• AZ

  Greenlee County, AZ

  9,410 people

  67 mi SW

Distance to Santa Fe and the nearest big city

Santa Fe is 185.7 miles NE of Catron County's internal point in a straight line. The nearest place of 100,000 or more is Albuquerque, NM (population 560,326), 129.6 miles away. The nearest place of 10,000 or more is Show Low, AZ (population 12,366), 97.5 miles away.

Catron County FIPS code

The FIPS code of Catron County is 35003: state code 35 for New Mexico plus county code 003. Use it as text, with the leading zero, when joining Census, BLS, or CDC county tables. SAIPE lists its 2023 median household income as $45,802.