Socorro County, New Mexico

Socorro County population, land area and income

Socorro County had 15,967 residents in the Census Vintage 2024 estimate, on 6,646.4 square miles of land. It ranks 23rd of 33 in New Mexico by population and 2nd by land area. That works out to 2.4 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; Socorro County is somewhat smaller.

Its SAIPE 2023 median household income of $46,070 is in the bottom quarter among 3,143 counties with an estimate.

How Socorro County's population changed since 2020

Socorro County lost 592 residents between the July 2020 and July 2024 estimates, a drop of 3.6%. That ranks 30th 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, Socorro County recorded 659 births and 871 deaths, a natural change of -212. Net international migration added +45 and net domestic migration, people moving to or from other US counties, came to -459. The largest single component was domestic migration, which removed 459 people.

Where Socorro County is

The Census internal point of Socorro County is at 33.991700, -106.939100. 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 Socorro County outlined. Dots are towns of 1,000+ people with residents in it.

Towns in Socorro County

One incorporated place of 1,000+ people has residents in Socorro County, 8,348 people together, or 52% of the county. Each figure counts only the part of the town inside Socorro County; towns marked "part" extend into another county. The largest is Socorro with 8,348.

Counties bordering Socorro County

The Census 2024 county adjacency file lists 6 neighbors for Socorro County. The most populous is Valencia County, NM, with 80,813 residents. Distances run between Census internal points in a straight line.

• Valencia County

  80,813 people

  51 mi N

• Cibola County

  26,686 people

  88 mi NW

• Lincoln County

  20,025 people

  87 mi E

• Torrance County

  15,986 people

  71 mi ENE

• Sierra County

  11,389 people

  62 mi SSW

• Catron County

  3,795 people

  84 mi W

Distance to Santa Fe and the nearest big city

Santa Fe is 129.8 miles NNE of Socorro County's internal point in a straight line. The nearest place of 100,000 or more is Albuquerque, NM (population 560,326), 78.7 miles away. The nearest place of 10,000 or more is Los Lunas, NM (population 19,907), 56.5 miles away.

Socorro County FIPS code

The FIPS code of Socorro County is 35053: state code 35 for New Mexico plus county code 053. Use it as text, with the leading zero, when joining Census, BLS, or CDC county tables. SAIPE lists its 2023 median household income as $46,070.