Chaves County, New Mexico

Chaves County population, land area and income

Chaves County had 63,697 residents in the Census Vintage 2024 estimate, on 6,067.2 square miles of land. It ranks 10th of 33 in New Mexico by population and 4th by land area. That works out to 10.5 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 Chaves County is 2.4 times that size.

Its SAIPE 2023 median household income of $51,179 is in the bottom quarter among 3,143 counties with an estimate.

How Chaves County's population changed since 2020

Chaves County lost 1,456 residents between the July 2020 and July 2024 estimates, a drop of 2.2%. That ranks 22nd 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, Chaves County recorded 3,145 births and 3,326 deaths, a natural change of -181. Net international migration added +587 and net domestic migration, people moving to or from other US counties, came to -1,913. The largest single component was domestic migration, which removed 1,913 people.

Where Chaves County is

The Census internal point of Chaves County is at 33.361600, -104.469800. It sits in UTM zone 13N. The map shades New Mexico's 33 county-equivalents by population change from 2020 to 2024, darker for faster growth, with Chaves County outlined. Dots are towns of 1,000+ people with residents in it.

Towns in Chaves County

2 incorporated places of 1,000+ people have residents in Chaves County, 48,231 people together, or 76% of the county. Each figure counts only the part of the town inside Chaves County; towns marked "part" extend into another county. The largest is Roswell with 47,176.

Counties bordering Chaves County

The Census 2024 county adjacency file lists 6 neighbors for Chaves County. The most populous is Lea County, NM, with 75,151 residents. Distances run between Census internal points in a straight line.

• Lea County

  75,151 people

  73 mi ESE

• Otero County

  69,711 people

  90 mi SW

• Eddy County

  61,436 people

  63 mi S

• Lincoln County

  20,025 people

  62 mi WNW

• Roosevelt County

  18,713 people

  73 mi NE

• De Baca County

  1,657 people

  69 mi N

Distance to Santa Fe and the nearest big city

Santa Fe is 180.8 miles NNW of Chaves County's internal point in a straight line. The nearest place of 100,000 or more is Lubbock, TX (population 272,086), 149.4 miles away. The nearest place of 10,000 or more is Roswell, NM (population 47,176), 3.5 miles away.

Chaves County FIPS code

The FIPS code of Chaves County is 35005: state code 35 for New Mexico plus county code 005. Use it as text, with the leading zero, when joining Census, BLS, or CDC county tables. SAIPE lists its 2023 median household income as $51,179.