Counties with the most born-and-bred residents in New Mexico

Many people choose not to leave the state they were raised in for reasons ranging from wanting to be close to family, to not having the resources to leave, to sticking with a lower cost of living.

In order to determine where people stay put in your home state, Stacker compiled a list of counties with the most born-and-bred residents in New Mexico using data from the Census Bureau. Counties are ranked by the highest percentage of residents who were born in the state according to the latest data, which is 2024 five-year estimates. The percentage of residents who were born in another state, a U.S. territory, and another country is also included.

Read on to find out where the most loyal New Mexico residents live.

33. Los Alamos County
- Population: 19,435
- Born in New Mexico: 5,531 (28.5% of population)
- Born in a different state: 11,508 (59.2% of population)
- Born in U.S. territories: 567 (2.9% of population)
- Born in another country: 1,829 (9.4% of population)

32. Catron County
- Population: 3,743
- Born in New Mexico: 1,105 (29.5% of population)
- Born in a different state: 2,353 (62.9% of population)
- Born in U.S. territories: 94 (2.5% of population)
- Born in another country: 191 (5.1% of population)

31. Otero County
- Population: 68,816
- Born in New Mexico: 24,812 (36.1% of population)
- Born in a different state: 36,171 (52.6% of population)
- Born in U.S. territories: 1,184 (1.7% of population)
- Born in another country: 6,649 (9.7% of population)

30. Lincoln County
- Population: 20,224
- Born in New Mexico: 8,086 (40.0% of population)
- Born in a different state: 11,017 (54.5% of population)
- Born in U.S. territories: 345 (1.7% of population)
- Born in another country: 776 (3.8% of population)

29. Doña Ana County
- Population: 224,266
- Born in New Mexico: 96,206 (42.9% of population)
- Born in a different state: 92,630 (41.3% of population)
- Born in U.S. territories: 2,387 (1.1% of population)
- Born in another country: 33,043 (14.7% of population)

28. Sierra County
- Population: 11,500
- Born in New Mexico: 5,007 (43.5% of population)
- Born in a different state: 5,533 (48.1% of population)
- Born in U.S. territories: 92 (0.8% of population)
- Born in another country: 868 (7.5% of population)

27. Lea County
- Population: 73,733
- Born in New Mexico: 32,551 (44.1% of population)
- Born in a different state: 26,871 (36.4% of population)
- Born in U.S. territories: 821 (1.1% of population)
- Born in another country: 13,490 (18.3% of population)

26. Santa Fe County
- Population: 156,105
- Born in New Mexico: 69,085 (44.3% of population)
- Born in a different state: 66,148 (42.4% of population)
- Born in U.S. territories: 2,031 (1.3% of population)
- Born in another country: 18,841 (12.1% of population)

25. Curry County
- Population: 47,638
- Born in New Mexico: 21,791 (45.7% of population)
- Born in a different state: 19,778 (41.5% of population)
- Born in U.S. territories: 1,318 (2.8% of population)
- Born in another country: 4,751 (10.0% of population)

24. Luna County
- Population: 25,611
- Born in New Mexico: 12,282 (48.0% of population)
- Born in a different state: 9,139 (35.7% of population)
- Born in U.S. territories: 51 (0.2% of population)
- Born in another country: 4,139 (16.2% of population)

23. Grant County
- Population: 27,775
- Born in New Mexico: 14,158 (51.0% of population)
- Born in a different state: 12,067 (43.4% of population)
- Born in U.S. territories: 264 (1.0% of population)
- Born in another country: 1,286 (4.6% of population)

22. Taos County
- Population: 34,543
- Born in New Mexico: 17,834 (51.6% of population)
- Born in a different state: 14,236 (41.2% of population)
- Born in U.S. territories: 515 (1.5% of population)
- Born in another country: 1,958 (5.7% of population)

21. Bernalillo County
- Population: 673,930
- Born in New Mexico: 350,900 (52.1% of population)
- Born in a different state: 241,401 (35.8% of population)
- Born in U.S. territories: 10,644 (1.6% of population)
- Born in another country: 70,985 (10.5% of population)

20. Sandoval County
- Population: 153,604
- Born in New Mexico: 80,052 (52.1% of population)
- Born in a different state: 63,085 (41.1% of population)
- Born in U.S. territories: 1,820 (1.2% of population)
- Born in another country: 8,647 (5.6% of population)

19. Union County
- Population: 4,013
- Born in New Mexico: 2,106 (52.5% of population)
- Born in a different state: 1,704 (42.5% of population)
- Born in U.S. territories: 52 (1.3% of population)
- Born in another country: 151 (3.8% of population)

18. Colfax County
- Population: 12,322
- Born in New Mexico: 6,544 (53.1% of population)
- Born in a different state: 5,212 (42.3% of population)
- Born in U.S. territories: 41 (0.3% of population)
- Born in another country: 525 (4.3% of population)

17. Harding County
- Population: 741
- Born in New Mexico: 400 (54.0% of population)
- Born in a different state: 338 (45.6% of population)
- Born in U.S. territories: 0 (0.0% of population)
- Born in another country: 3 (0.4% of population)

16. Roosevelt County
- Population: 18,928
- Born in New Mexico: 10,274 (54.3% of population)
- Born in a different state: 6,787 (35.9% of population)
- Born in U.S. territories: 301 (1.6% of population)
- Born in another country: 1,566 (8.3% of population)

15. Hidalgo County
- Population: 4,041
- Born in New Mexico: 2,280 (56.4% of population)
- Born in a different state: 1,418 (35.1% of population)
- Born in U.S. territories: 31 (0.8% of population)
- Born in another country: 312 (7.7% of population)

14. Eddy County
- Population: 61,105
- Born in New Mexico: 34,936 (57.2% of population)
- Born in a different state: 20,964 (34.3% of population)
- Born in U.S. territories: 522 (0.9% of population)
- Born in another country: 4,683 (7.7% of population)

13. Torrance County
- Population: 15,490
- Born in New Mexico: 9,164 (59.2% of population)
- Born in a different state: 5,655 (36.5% of population)
- Born in U.S. territories: 64 (0.4% of population)
- Born in another country: 607 (3.9% of population)

12. Chaves County
- Population: 64,217
- Born in New Mexico: 38,057 (59.3% of population)
- Born in a different state: 18,139 (28.2% of population)
- Born in U.S. territories: 787 (1.2% of population)
- Born in another country: 7,234 (11.3% of population)

11. Valencia County
- Population: 78,458
- Born in New Mexico: 47,950 (61.1% of population)
- Born in a different state: 22,564 (28.8% of population)
- Born in U.S. territories: 1,130 (1.4% of population)
- Born in another country: 6,814 (8.7% of population)

10. San Juan County
- Population: 120,942
- Born in New Mexico: 74,636 (61.7% of population)
- Born in a different state: 42,109 (34.8% of population)
- Born in U.S. territories: 505 (0.4% of population)
- Born in another country: 3,692 (3.1% of population)

9. Guadalupe County
- Population: 4,381
- Born in New Mexico: 2,833 (64.7% of population)
- Born in a different state: 1,105 (25.2% of population)
- Born in U.S. territories: 0 (0.0% of population)
- Born in another country: 443 (10.1% of population)

8. Quay County
- Population: 8,564
- Born in New Mexico: 5,540 (64.7% of population)
- Born in a different state: 2,904 (33.9% of population)
- Born in U.S. territories: 69 (0.8% of population)
- Born in another country: 51 (0.6% of population)

7. Socorro County
- Population: 16,200
- Born in New Mexico: 11,154 (68.9% of population)
- Born in a different state: 4,208 (26.0% of population)
- Born in U.S. territories: 154 (1.0% of population)
- Born in another country: 684 (4.2% of population)

6. Cibola County
- Population: 26,845
- Born in New Mexico: 18,983 (70.7% of population)
- Born in a different state: 7,194 (26.8% of population)
- Born in U.S. territories: 80 (0.3% of population)
- Born in another country: 588 (2.2% of population)

5. San Miguel County
- Population: 26,850
- Born in New Mexico: 19,056 (71.0% of population)
- Born in a different state: 7,016 (26.1% of population)
- Born in U.S. territories: 125 (0.5% of population)
- Born in another country: 653 (2.4% of population)

4. McKinley County
- Population: 70,431
- Born in New Mexico: 53,203 (75.5% of population)
- Born in a different state: 15,215 (21.6% of population)
- Born in U.S. territories: 302 (0.4% of population)
- Born in another country: 1,711 (2.4% of population)

3. Rio Arriba County
- Population: 40,070
- Born in New Mexico: 30,443 (76.0% of population)
- Born in a different state: 6,904 (17.2% of population)
- Born in U.S. territories: 218 (0.5% of population)
- Born in another country: 2,505 (6.3% of population)

2. De Baca County
- Population: 1,576
- Born in New Mexico: 1,250 (79.3% of population)
- Born in a different state: 317 (20.1% of population)
- Born in U.S. territories: 0 (0.0% of population)
- Born in another country: 9 (0.6% of population)

1. Mora County
- Population: 4,149
- Born in New Mexico: 3,313 (79.9% of population)
- Born in a different state: 778 (18.8% of population)
- Born in U.S. territories: 4 (0.1% of population)
- Born in another country: 54 (1.3% of population)

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