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Towns / New Mexico

Aztec, New Mexico

Aztec is a small town of about 6,100 people in San Juan County, New Mexico, about 5,900 feet above sea level. It's the county seat. Its population has held about steady since 2020. A typical home costs about 4.2 years of the typical household's income, compared with 4.1 across the U.S. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, Denver, is about 264 miles away as the crow flies.

County seat

Population
6,091
down 1.6% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$175,000
San Juan County prices up 24% since 2022
Household income
$41,977
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Farmington area
87.7
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
15 miles
Farmington, NM
To Denver
264 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 12.3% below the U.S. average in the Farmington metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 4.2 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood23 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 3.8 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 16.4 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town6 public schools: 4 elementary, 1 middle and 1 high school.
  • A hospital close bySan Juan Regional Medical Center INC in Farmington, about 15 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityDenver is about 264 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means Aztec meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
$175,000U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 24%San Juan County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$629 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$41,977U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
63%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$1,338 a yearNew Mexico: $1,731
Homes built before 1940
3%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
5%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
1%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
87.7U.S. average = 100 (the Farmington metro area)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 24% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Farmington metro area, not Aztec alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2025 estimate
6,0912020: 6,192
Median age
37.2 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
16%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
25%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
16%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
4%U.S.: 6%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work
Schools, health care and social services (23%); arts, recreation, lodging and restaurants (14%); retail (11%)
Unemployment rate
4%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
21 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
5%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
26%U.S.: 12%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: San Juan Regional Medical Center INC, Farmington, NM, about 15 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 2 of 5 stars.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

6 public schools in Aztec, run by Aztec.

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on New Mexico's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Internet

Homes with cable, fiber or DSL internet
61%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
71%U.S.: 91%

Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Weather

January average low
17°F
July average high
94°F
Days 90°F or hotter
61 a year
Nights at or below freezing
158 a year
Rain and melted snow
10.1 inches a year
Snow
11 inches a year
Elevation
5,942 feet

Weather station: Aztec Ruins Nm (2 miles away). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: San Juan Regional Medical Center INC, Rio Rancho, Denver.

San Juan County is in a metro area of fewer than 250,000 people (USDA rural-urban code 3, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

18 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Aztec Main Street Historic District, Aztec Ruins National Monument and Church Avenue-Lovers Lane Historic Ditrict.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Aztec Ruins National Monument2 miles
  • Mesa Verde National Park34 miles
  • Yucca House National Monument49 miles
  • Chaco Culture National Historical Park50 miles
  • Hovenweep National Monument58 miles

Read about Aztec's history on Wikipedia.

Know Aztec?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

Smaller places

  • Center Point, NM (unincorporated)2,286 people, 4 miles
  • North Light Plant, NM (unincorporated)579 people, 5 miles
  • Spencerville, NM (unincorporated)1,264 people, 5 miles
  • South River, NM (unincorporated)1,810 people, 5 miles
  • Angustura, NM (unincorporated)1,997 people, 8 miles
  • Sullivan, NM (unincorporated)463 people, 9 miles
  • West Hammond, NM (unincorporated)2,236 people, 10 miles
  • Cedar Hill, NM (unincorporated)902 people, 10 miles

Sources

  1. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
  2. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates
  3. Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions)
  4. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
  6. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
  7. National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal)
  8. National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024
  9. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
  10. U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
  11. National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
  12. National Park Service, park unit boundaries
  13. USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
  14. U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Gazetteer files and 2020 urban areas

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.