Lincoln County, New Mexico

Lincoln County population, land area and income

Lincoln County had 20,025 residents in the Census Vintage 2024 estimate, on 4,831.1 square miles of land. It ranks 19th of 33 in New Mexico by population and 8th by land area. That works out to 4.1 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; Lincoln County is somewhat smaller.

Its SAIPE 2023 median household income of $59,386 is below the national county median among 3,143 counties with an estimate.

How Lincoln County's population changed since 2020

Lincoln County lost 279 residents between the July 2020 and July 2024 estimates, a drop of 1.4%. That ranks 18th 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, Lincoln County recorded 680 births and 1,223 deaths, a natural change of -543. Net international migration added +45 and net domestic migration, people moving to or from other US counties, came to +273. The largest single component was natural change, which removed 543 people.

Where Lincoln County is

The Census internal point of Lincoln County is at 33.740800, -105.449800. 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 Lincoln County outlined. Dots are towns of 1,000+ people with residents in it.

Towns in Lincoln County

3 incorporated places of 1,000+ people have residents in Lincoln County, 11,676 people together, or 58% of the county. Each figure counts only the part of the town inside Lincoln County; towns marked "part" extend into another county. The largest is Ruidoso with 7,640.

Counties bordering Lincoln County

The Census 2024 county adjacency file lists 7 neighbors for Lincoln County. The most populous is Otero County, NM, with 69,711 residents. Distances run between Census internal points in a straight line.

• Otero County

  69,711 people

  80 mi SSW

• Chaves County

  63,697 people

  62 mi ESE

• Torrance County

  15,986 people

  62 mi NNW

• Socorro County

  15,967 people

  87 mi WNW

• Sierra County

  11,389 people

  109 mi WSW

• Guadalupe County

  4,385 people

  87 mi NNE

• De Baca County

  1,657 people

  75 mi NE

Distance to Santa Fe and the nearest big city

Santa Fe is 137.0 miles NNW of Lincoln County's internal point in a straight line. The nearest place of 100,000 or more is Albuquerque, NM (population 560,326), 116.3 miles away. The nearest place of 10,000 or more is Roswell, NM (population 47,176), 58.8 miles away.

Lincoln County FIPS code

The FIPS code of Lincoln County is 35027: state code 35 for New Mexico plus county code 027. Use it as text, with the leading zero, when joining Census, BLS, or CDC county tables. SAIPE lists its 2023 median household income as $59,386.