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1 / 13#13. Cibola County and San Juan County
- Cibola County population: 26,780
- San Juan County population: 120,675
- Social connectedness index: 315,274
Most socially connected counties in New Mexico
In today's digital age, social media platforms enable people to bridge geographic distances and connect with their friends, family, and community, no matter where they are. According to a 2022 Gallup and Meta study, at least 1 in 3 people across seven countries, including the U.S., said they used social media to interact with others at least once a day in the past week.
While social media has its drawbacks—such as pulling attention away from other tasks or fostering a problematic comparison culture—it remains a vital tool for helping people stay connected.
A majority of students in grades 3 to 12 said social media helped them develop relationships, learn social skills, and make a positive impact in their community, according to a 2024 report from The Social Institute.
Spokeo compiled a ranking of the most socially connected counties in New Mexico using 2021 data from Facebook, based on a national analysis. County pairs were ranked by their social connectedness index, which measures the relative probability that two individuals across two locations are friends with each other on Facebook. The social connectedness index is a scaled value up to a billion. Larger indexes indicate a greater share of Facebook friends between county pairs.
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2 / 13#12. Bernalillo County and Sandoval County
- Bernalillo County population: 671,586
- Sandoval County population: 155,936
- Social connectedness index: 582,736
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3 / 13#11. Torrance County and Valencia County
- Torrance County population: 15,633
- Valencia County population: 79,141
- Social connectedness index: 751,084
Rosemarie Mosteller // Shutterstock
4 / 13#10. Luna County and Doña Ana County
- Luna County population: 25,316
- Doña Ana County population: 225,210
- Social connectedness index: 810,267
Cheri Alguire // Shutterstock
5 / 13#9. Eddy County and Chaves County
- Eddy County population: 60,275
- Chaves County population: 63,561
- Social connectedness index: 1,357,177
Kristi Blokhin // Shutterstock
6 / 13#8. Lincoln County and Otero County
- Lincoln County population: 20,029
- Otero County population: 68,835
- Social connectedness index: 1,634,437
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7 / 13#7. Rio Arriba County and Santa Fe County
- Rio Arriba County population: 39,876
- Santa Fe County population: 155,956
- Social connectedness index: 1,969,392
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8 / 13#6. Socorro County and Catron County
- Socorro County population: 15,963
- Catron County population: 3,825
- Social connectedness index: 2,933,819
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9 / 13#5. Curry County and Roosevelt County
- Curry County population: 47,222
- Roosevelt County population: 18,787
- Social connectedness index: 3,823,750
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10 / 13#4. Grant County and Hidalgo County
- Grant County population: 27,472
- Hidalgo County population: 3,965
- Social connectedness index: 4,189,930
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11 / 13#3. De Baca County and Guadalupe County
- De Baca County population: 1,657
- Guadalupe County population: 4,292
- Social connectedness index: 8,729,416
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12 / 13#2. Mora County and San Miguel County
- Mora County population: 4,123
- San Miguel County population: 26,668
- Social connectedness index: 15,954,687
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13 / 13#1. Harding County and Union County
- Harding County population: 624
- Union County population: 3,964
- Social connectedness index: 23,321,165
This story features data reporting by Karim Noorani, writing by Kayla Zhu, and is part of a series utilizing data automation across 46 states.
