McKinley County, New Mexico

McKinley County population, land area and income

McKinley County had 68,945 residents in the Census Vintage 2024 estimate, on 5,451.1 square miles of land. It ranks 9th of 33 in New Mexico by population and 7th by land area. That works out to 12.6 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 McKinley County is 2.6 times that size.

Its SAIPE 2023 median household income of $41,427 is in the bottom quarter among 3,143 counties with an estimate.

How McKinley County's population changed since 2020

McKinley County lost 3,641 residents between the July 2020 and July 2024 estimates, a drop of 5.0%. That ranks 33rd 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, McKinley County recorded 3,293 births and 4,134 deaths, a natural change of -841. Net international migration added +416 and net domestic migration, people moving to or from other US counties, came to -3,582. The largest single component was domestic migration, which removed 3,582 people.

Where McKinley County is

The Census internal point of McKinley County is at 35.584100, -108.253300. 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 McKinley County outlined. Dots are towns of 1,000+ people with residents in it.

Towns in McKinley County

One incorporated place of 1,000+ people has residents in McKinley County, 20,339 people together, or 30% of the county. Each figure counts only the part of the town inside McKinley County; towns marked "part" extend into another county. The largest is Gallup with 20,339.

Counties bordering McKinley County

The Census 2024 county adjacency file lists 4 neighbors for McKinley County, including 1 across a state line. The most populous is Sandoval County, NM, with 157,757 residents. Distances run between Census internal points in a straight line.

• Sandoval County

  157,757 people

  77 mi E

• San Juan County

  120,817 people

  64 mi N

• AZ

  Apache County, AZ

  64,800 people

  71 mi W

• Cibola County

  26,686 people

  48 mi SSE

Distance to Santa Fe and the nearest big city

Santa Fe is 130.1 miles E of McKinley County's internal point in a straight line. The nearest place of 100,000 or more is Rio Rancho, NM (population 112,524), 89.9 miles away. The nearest place of 10,000 or more is Gallup, NM (population 20,339), 28.0 miles away.

McKinley County FIPS code

The FIPS code of McKinley County is 35031: state code 35 for New Mexico plus county code 031. Use it as text, with the leading zero, when joining Census, BLS, or CDC county tables. SAIPE lists its 2023 median household income as $41,427.