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Towns / New Mexico

Lordsburg, New Mexico

Lordsburg is a small town of about 2,200 people in Hidalgo County, New Mexico. It's the county seat. It has lost about 6% of its people since 2020. A typical home costs about 2.4 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, Tucson, is about 127 miles away as the crow flies.

County seat

Population
2,181
down 6.1% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$86,200
U.S.: $332,700
Household income
$36,607
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, rural New Mexico
85.9
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
40 miles
Silver City, NM
To Tucson
127 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 14.1% below the U.S. average in the parts of New Mexico outside metro areas.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 2.4 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood11 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 5.1 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 9.7 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town4 public schools: 1 elementary, 2 middle and 1 high school.
  • A hospital close byGila Regional Medical Center in Silver City, about 40 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityTucson is about 127 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 Lordsburg 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.

What kind of town

Worth a closer look

Lordsburg has lost about 6% of its people since 2020, and about 1 in 5 homes stands empty (not counting vacation homes or homes for sale or rent). A shrinking town can mean bargains, but visit Main Street on a weekday and ask what's closed lately.

The book sorts small towns into six types. These labels come only from the numbers; take the quiz to see which type fits your family.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
$86,200U.S.: $332,700
Typical rent, with utilities
$826 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$36,607U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
67%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$475 a yearNew Mexico: $1,731
Homes built before 1940
10%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
3%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
0%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
85.9U.S. average = 100 (the parts of New Mexico outside metro areas)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of New Mexico outside metro areas, not Lordsburg 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
2,1812020: 2,323
Median age
37.9 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
22%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
19%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
8%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
10%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 (35%); arts, recreation, lodging and restaurants (19%); retail (8%)
Unemployment rate
5%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
17 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
4%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
23%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Gila Regional Medical Center, Silver City, NM, about 40 miles away. It's a critical access hospital (a small rural hospital with 25 or fewer beds). Medicare gives it 2 of 5 stars.

Nearest general hospital: Canyon Vista Medical Center, Sierra Vista, AZ, about 105 miles away. 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

4 public schools in Lordsburg, run by Lordsburg.

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
57%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
79%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
24°F
July average high
99°F
Days 90°F or hotter
134 a year
Nights at or below freezing
122 a year
Rain and melted snow
12.5 inches a year
Snow
1 inches a year
Elevation
4,268 feet

Weather stations: Lordsburg 4 SE (4 miles away) and Redrock 1 NNE (25 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: Gila Regional Medical Center, Las Cruces, Tucson.

Hidalgo County is outside any metro area, with fewer than 5,000 people in its towns, not next to a metro area (USDA rural-urban code 9, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

4 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including Shakespeare Ghost Town.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Chiricahua National Monument41 miles
  • Fort Bowie National Historic Site45 miles

Read about Lordsburg's history on Wikipedia.

Know Lordsburg?

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

  • Glen Acres, NM (unincorporated)247 people, 2 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.