Americans on the whole were doing well financially heading into 2020, with major markers like unemployment reaching 50-year lows. The pandemic changed all that: During the second quarter of the 2020 fiscal year, our nation's real GDP fell by a whopping 31.4%, a number that hasn't been seen since the Great Depression. Since then the GDP has recovered, the first quarter of 2022 was 11% above the fourth quarter of 2019.
While GDP has recovered since the height of the pandemic, wage growth has not kept pace with inflation. In 2021 average hourly wages increased 4.7% while there was 7% inflation, meaning the worker's purchasing power dropped by 2.4%.
Where you live can make a big impact on your financial situation. The highest earning county in the U.S. earns $147,111, while the lowest earns $22,292. Stacker compiled a list of the lowest-earning counties in New Mexico using data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Counties are ranked by the Census' 2020 5-year estimate median household income.
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#33. Los Alamos County
- Median household income: $119,266
--- 132.7% above state average, 83.5% above national average
- Households earning over $100k: 60.2%
--- #8 highest among all counties nationwide
- Households earning less than $15k: 3.1%
--- #3,132 highest among all counties nationwide
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#32. Sandoval County
- Median household income: $65,071
--- 27.0% above state average, 0.1% above national average
- Households earning over $100k: 28.3%
--- #596 highest among all counties nationwide
- Households earning less than $15k: 9.0%
--- #2,567 highest among all counties nationwide
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#31. Eddy County
- Median household income: $65,000
--- 26.8% above state average, 0.0% above national average
- Households earning over $100k: 32.0%
--- #391 highest among all counties nationwide
- Households earning less than $15k: 11.6%
--- #2,564 highest among all counties nationwide
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#30. Lea County
- Median household income: $61,867
--- 20.7% above state average, 4.8% below national average
- Households earning over $100k: 24.9%
--- #892 highest among all counties nationwide
- Households earning less than $15k: 12.4%
--- #2,384 highest among all counties nationwide
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#29. Santa Fe County
- Median household income: $60,668
--- 18.4% above state average, 6.7% below national average
- Households earning over $100k: 27.4%
--- #668 highest among all counties nationwide
- Households earning less than $15k: 9.9%
--- #2,306 highest among all counties nationwide
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#28. Bernalillo County
- Median household income: $54,308
--- 6.0% above state average, 16.4% below national average
- Households earning over $100k: 23.6%
--- #1,039 highest among all counties nationwide
- Households earning less than $15k: 13.1%
--- #1,730 highest among all counties nationwide
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#27. Valencia County
- Median household income: $50,801
--- 0.9% below state average, 21.8% below national average
- Households earning over $100k: 18.3%
--- #1,902 highest among all counties nationwide
- Households earning less than $15k: 12.0%
--- #1,296 highest among all counties nationwide
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#26. Curry County
- Median household income: $48,903
--- 4.6% below state average, 24.8% below national average
- Households earning over $100k: 13.8%
--- #2,680 highest among all counties nationwide
- Households earning less than $15k: 13.2%
--- #1,085 highest among all counties nationwide
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#25. San Juan County
- Median household income: $47,643
--- 7.0% below state average, 26.7% below national average
- Households earning over $100k: 18.7%
--- #1,839 highest among all counties nationwide
- Households earning less than $15k: 14.0%
--- #969 highest among all counties nationwide
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#24. Chaves County
- Median household income: $46,254
--- 9.7% below state average, 28.8% below national average
- Households earning over $100k: 17.3%
--- #2,087 highest among all counties nationwide
- Households earning less than $15k: 16.3%
--- #840 highest among all counties nationwide
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#23. Otero County
- Median household income: $45,032
--- 12.1% below state average, 30.7% below national average
- Households earning over $100k: 14.9%
--- #2,521 highest among all counties nationwide
- Households earning less than $15k: 13.7%
--- #736 highest among all counties nationwide
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#22. Lincoln County
- Median household income: $44,939
--- 12.3% below state average, 30.9% below national average
- Households earning over $100k: 19.7%
--- #1,651 highest among all counties nationwide
- Households earning less than $15k: 12.9%
--- #728 highest among all counties nationwide
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#21. Cibola County
- Median household income: $44,731
--- 12.7% below state average, 31.2% below national average
- Households earning over $100k: 16.6%
--- #2,216 highest among all counties nationwide
- Households earning less than $15k: 17.8%
--- #710 highest among all counties nationwide
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#20. Hidalgo County
- Median household income: $44,722
--- 12.7% below state average, 31.2% below national average
- Households earning over $100k: 12.8%
--- #2,780 highest among all counties nationwide
- Households earning less than $15k: 19.3%
--- #709 highest among all counties nationwide
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#19. Dona Ana County
- Median household income: $44,024
--- 14.1% below state average, 32.3% below national average
- Households earning over $100k: 17.8%
--- #2,000 highest among all counties nationwide
- Households earning less than $15k: 17.5%
--- #650 highest among all counties nationwide
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#18. Roosevelt County
- Median household income: $42,917
--- 16.2% below state average, 34.0% below national average
- Households earning over $100k: 17.6%
--- #2,035 highest among all counties nationwide
- Households earning less than $15k: 18.0%
--- #569 highest among all counties nationwide
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#17. Rio Arriba County
- Median household income: $42,264
--- 17.5% below state average, 35.0% below national average
- Households earning over $100k: 17.4%
--- #2,072 highest among all counties nationwide
- Households earning less than $15k: 18.9%
--- #514 highest among all counties nationwide
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#16. Taos County
- Median household income: $41,973
--- 18.1% below state average, 35.4% below national average
- Households earning over $100k: 22.2%
--- #1,245 highest among all counties nationwide
- Households earning less than $15k: 18.2%
--- #488 highest among all counties nationwide
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#15. Socorro County
- Median household income: $40,297
--- 21.4% below state average, 38.0% below national average
- Households earning over $100k: 17.2%
--- #2,106 highest among all counties nationwide
- Households earning less than $15k: 19.3%
--- #369 highest among all counties nationwide
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#14. Torrance County
- Median household income: $38,240
--- 25.4% below state average, 41.2% below national average
- Households earning over $100k: 13.0%
--- #2,756 highest among all counties nationwide
- Households earning less than $15k: 12.6%
--- #266 highest among all counties nationwide
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#13. Grant County
- Median household income: $37,453
--- 26.9% below state average, 42.4% below national average
- Households earning over $100k: 16.9%
--- #2,170 highest among all counties nationwide
- Households earning less than $15k: 18.6%
--- #233 highest among all counties nationwide
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#12. Colfax County
- Median household income: $36,937
--- 27.9% below state average, 43.2% below national average
- Households earning over $100k: 13.8%
--- #2,680 highest among all counties nationwide
- Households earning less than $15k: 16.4%
--- #208 highest among all counties nationwide
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#11. Catron County
- Median household income: $36,607
--- 28.6% below state average, 43.7% below national average
- Households earning over $100k: 8.5%
--- #3,079 highest among all counties nationwide
- Households earning less than $15k: 13.9%
--- #193 highest among all counties nationwide
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#10. McKinley County
- Median household income: $36,179
--- 29.4% below state average, 44.3% below national average
- Households earning over $100k: 12.9%
--- #2,770 highest among all counties nationwide
- Households earning less than $15k: 25.8%
--- #180 highest among all counties nationwide
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#9. Union County
- Median household income: $35,484
--- 30.8% below state average, 45.4% below national average
- Households earning over $100k: 8.1%
--- #3,088 highest among all counties nationwide
- Households earning less than $15k: 18.4%
--- #160 highest among all counties nationwide
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#8. Quay County
- Median household income: $33,962
--- 33.7% below state average, 47.7% below national average
- Households earning over $100k: 12.1%
--- #2,852 highest among all counties nationwide
- Households earning less than $15k: 13.5%
--- #117 highest among all counties nationwide
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#7. Sierra County
- Median household income: $33,873
--- 33.9% below state average, 47.9% below national average
- Households earning over $100k: 14.6%
--- #2,565 highest among all counties nationwide
- Households earning less than $15k: 21.7%
--- #115 highest among all counties nationwide
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#6. Harding County
- Median household income: $32,500
--- 36.6% below state average, 50.0% below national average
- Households earning over $100k: 17.0%
--- #2,143 highest among all counties nationwide
- Households earning less than $15k: 10.2%
--- #82 highest among all counties nationwide
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#5. San Miguel County
- Median household income: $32,310
--- 36.9% below state average, 50.3% below national average
- Households earning over $100k: 14.4%
--- #2,591 highest among all counties nationwide
- Households earning less than $15k: 24.1%
--- #79 highest among all counties nationwide
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#4. Luna County
- Median household income: $32,251
--- 37.1% below state average, 50.4% below national average
- Households earning over $100k: 8.9%
--- #3,068 highest among all counties nationwide
- Households earning less than $15k: 23.2%
--- #77 highest among all counties nationwide
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#3. De Baca County
- Median household income: $31,532
--- 38.5% below state average, 51.5% below national average
- Households earning over $100k: 13.0%
--- #2,756 highest among all counties nationwide
- Households earning less than $15k: 21.8%
--- #63 highest among all counties nationwide
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#2. Guadalupe County
- Median household income: $31,061
--- 39.4% below state average, 52.2% below national average
- Households earning over $100k: 9.7%
--- #3,038 highest among all counties nationwide
- Households earning less than $15k: 15.0%
--- #55 highest among all counties nationwide
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#1. Mora County
- Median household income: $29,458
--- 42.5% below state average, 54.7% below national average
- Households earning over $100k: 6.9%
--- #3,117 highest among all counties nationwide
- Households earning less than $15k: 24.4%
--- #32 highest among all counties nationwide
