Otero County, New Mexico

Otero County population, land area and income

Otero County had 69,711 residents in the Census Vintage 2024 estimate, on 6,612.6 square miles of land. It ranks 8th of 33 in New Mexico by population and 3rd 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 Otero County is 2.6 times that size.

Its SAIPE 2023 median household income of $51,298 is in the bottom quarter among 3,143 counties with an estimate.

How Otero County's population changed since 2020

Otero County gained 1,845 residents between the July 2020 and July 2024 estimates, a rise of 2.7%. That ranks 6th 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, Otero County recorded 3,296 births and 3,168 deaths, a natural change of +128. Net international migration added +1,485 and net domestic migration, people moving to or from other US counties, came to +262. The largest single component was international migration, which added 1,485 people.

Where Otero County is

The Census internal point of Otero County is at 32.615600, -105.751300. 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 Otero County outlined. Dots are towns of 1,000+ people with residents in it.

Towns in Otero County

2 incorporated places of 1,000+ people have residents in Otero County, 34,299 people together, or 49% of the county. Each figure counts only the part of the town inside Otero County; towns marked "part" extend into another county. The largest is Alamogordo with 31,667.

Counties bordering Otero County

The Census 2024 county adjacency file lists 8 neighbors for Otero County, including 3 across a state line. The most populous is El Paso County, TX, with 875,784 residents. Distances run between Census internal points in a straight line.

• TX

  El Paso County, TX

  875,784 people

  65 mi SSW

• Doña Ana County

  229,366 people

  66 mi WSW

• Chaves County

  63,697 people

  90 mi NE

• Eddy County

  61,436 people

  85 mi E

• Lincoln County

  20,025 people

  80 mi NNE

• Sierra County

  11,389 people

  90 mi WNW

• TX

  Hudspeth County, TX

  3,608 people

  83 mi SSE

• TX

  Culberson County, TX

  2,254 people

  108 mi SE

Distance to Santa Fe and the nearest big city

Santa Fe is 212.1 miles N of Otero County's internal point in a straight line. The nearest place of 100,000 or more is Las Cruces, NM (population 116,998), 63.8 miles away. The nearest place of 10,000 or more is Alamogordo, NM (population 31,667), 22.2 miles away.

Otero County FIPS code

The FIPS code of Otero County is 35035: state code 35 for New Mexico plus county code 035. Use it as text, with the leading zero, when joining Census, BLS, or CDC county tables. SAIPE lists its 2023 median household income as $51,298.