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Farmington, New Mexico

Farmington is a small city of about 46,000 people in San Juan County, New Mexico, about 5,500 feet above sea level. Its population has held about steady since 2020. A typical home costs about 3.4 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 274 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
46,055
down 1% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$233,000
San Juan County prices up 24% since 2022
Household income
$68,784
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Farmington area
87.7
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
In town
San Juan Regional Medical Center INC
To Denver
274 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 3.4 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood481 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 10.4 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 24.8 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town18 public schools: 10 elementary, 4 middle, 3 high schools and 1 other.
  • A hospital close bySan Juan Regional Medical Center INC is in town and has an emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityDenver is about 274 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 Farmington 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
$233,000U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 24%San Juan County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$1,037 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$68,784U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
66%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$1,427 a yearNew Mexico: $1,731
Homes built before 1940
2%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
10%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 Farmington 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
46,0552020: 46,501
Median age
38.7 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
17%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
26%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
26%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
6%U.S.: 6%
College students
6%share of all residents

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 (27%); retail (15%); arts, recreation, lodging and restaurants (11%)
Unemployment rate
4%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
20 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
6%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
17%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, in town. 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

18 public schools in Farmington, run by Farmington.

Colleges in or next to town: San Juan College (5,000 to 9,999 students).

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
65%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
81%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
19°F
July average high
93°F
Days 90°F or hotter
69 a year
Nights at or below freezing
149 a year
Rain and melted snow
8 inches a year
Snow
9 inches a year
Elevation
5,452 feet

Weather stations: Farmington Rgnl Ap (3 miles away) and Farmington Ag Sci Cnt (8 miles away, rain and snow). 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: 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

1 place on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Farmington Historic Downtown Commercial District.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Aztec Ruins National Monument11 miles
  • Mesa Verde National Park31 miles
  • Yucca House National Monument43 miles
  • Chaco Culture National Historical Park47 miles
  • Hovenweep National Monument54 miles

Read about Farmington's history on Wikipedia.

Know Farmington?

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

  • Totah Vista, NM (unincorporated)235 people, 3 miles
  • South River, NM (unincorporated)1,810 people, 7 miles
  • Napi Headquarters, NM (unincorporated)717 people, 7 miles
  • Upper Fruitland, NM (unincorporated)1,457 people, 8 miles
  • Spencerville, NM (unincorporated)1,264 people, 8 miles
  • West Hammond, NM (unincorporated)2,236 people, 9 miles
  • La Plata, NM (unincorporated)2,233 people, 10 miles
  • Kirtland, NM572 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.