Santa Fe County, New Mexico Demographics
Population trends, housing costs, income, commuting, and health, all on one page.
Santa Fe County, NM Population Density Map and Area Scores
Area Score
Health, income and education, each graded from F to A+. Explore interactive maps for deeper analysis.
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A
Health Above averageAmong the top 3 healthiest counties in New Mexico
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B
Income Around averageAmong the top 3 wealthiest counties in New Mexico
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A
Education Above averageAmong the top 3 best educated counties in New Mexico
Source: Map AI Methodology
Population: density and quick facts
| Metric | Santa Fe County | New Mexico Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 155,407 | 2,118,085 | 337,468,954 |
| Population density (per sq mi) | 81.4 | 17.4 | 86.4 |
| Population growth (%/yr) | 0.73% | 0.20% | 0.59% |
| Median age | 47.3 | 38.1 | 37.3 |
| Households | 70,765 | 836,644 | 130,235,071 |
Population in Santa Fe County grew by 8.2% from 2009 to 2024, reaching 155,407 in 2024.
Population Growth 2009–2024
Race & Ethnicity
Age & Sex
The largest generation in Santa Fe County is Boomers, aged 61–79, at 24.4% of residents. That is 6.0 points above New Mexico as a whole.
- Gen Z 13–28 27,695 17.8% -3.7 pts
- Millennials 29–44 30,675 19.7% -1.6 pts
- Gen X 45–60 32,755 21.1% +2.3 pts
- Boomers 61–79 37,995 24.4% +6.0 pts
Residents by birth cohort, from the 2025 age distribution. The right-hand figure is how far each cohort's share sits above or below New Mexico, in percentage points. Children younger than Gen Z and the generations before the Boomers are counted in the population but not shown here, so these shares do not add up to 100%.
Male and female share
Women are 51.5% of the people living in Santa Fe County and men 48.5%.
- Women 51.5% New Mexico 50.5%
- Men 48.5% New Mexico 49.5%
How many residents match a customer profile?
Residents matching this profile
100% of everyone living in Santa Fe County
Pick an age range and a women/men split and the figure above answers with how many residents that profile reaches.
Economy
Santa Fe County has a the economy index of B, which means it is quite prosperous.
| Metric | Santa Fe County | New Mexico Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $79,204 | $64,523 | $80,455 |
| Income growth (%/yr) | 4.58% | 4.42% | 4.80% |
| Unemployment rate | 5.2% | 5.9% | 5.2% |
The median household income in Santa Fe County is about 23% higher than in New Mexico.
Housing
| Metric | Santa Fe County | New Mexico Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median home price | $448,701 | $204,122 | $248,835 |
| Median rent | $1,389 | $1,067 | $1,407 |
| Homeownership rate | 71.5% | 70.0% | 65.2% |
The median home price in Santa Fe County is about 26.9 years' worth of rent — buying at the median price costs roughly as much as paying the median rent of $1,389 per month for that long.
Commute Time & Mobility
Commuters in Santa Fe County spend about 41 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 171 hours, about 7.1 full days, spent commuting.
| Metric | Santa Fe County | New Mexico Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| One-way commute (min) | 20.5 | 18.8 | 22.4 |
| Round-trip commute (min) | 41.0 | 37.7 | 44.8 |
| Yearly time spent (hours) | 171 | 157 | 187 |
| Estimated yearly cost | $5,299 | $4,866 | $5,790 |
| Work from home | 18.4% | 12.2% | 15.0% |
| Highway traffic (vehicles/day) | 5,355 | 4,931 | 8,813 |
| Local road traffic (vehicles/day) | 1,012 | 619 | 1,355 |
Fastest commutes among counties in
New Mexico:
De Baca County (7.9 min), Quay County (8.0 min), Union County (8.3 min).
Slowest:
Torrance County (36.5 min), Mora County (30.1 min), Valencia County (30.1 min).
The average commute time in Santa Fe County is 21 minutes, longer than the 19 minutes in New Mexico.
Estimated yearly cost applies a single national wage rule of thumb (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics average hourly earnings), not a measurement of wages in this area. Traffic volume figures come from proprietary Ticon and TrafficZoom data.
Education & Households
Santa Fe County has a education index of A, which means it is very educated.
| Metric | Santa Fe County | New Mexico Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor's degree or higher | 39.4% | 26.3% | 31.6% |
| Average household size | 2.17 | 2.49 | 2.53 |
Highest education index among counties in
New Mexico:
Los Alamos County (0.6), Santa Fe County (0.4), Bernalillo County (0.3).
Lowest:
Guadalupe County (0.2), Luna County (0.2), McKinley County (0.2).
Health
Santa Fe County has a health index of A, which means it is very healthy.
| Metric | Santa Fe County | New Mexico Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Life expectancy (years) | 80.5 | 78.6 | 78.3 |
| Self-rated poor health | 13.1% | 17.9% | 16.3% |
| Smokers | 12.6% | 18.0% | 19.0% |
Highest health index among counties in
New Mexico:
Los Alamos County (0.8), Santa Fe County (0.8), Bernalillo County (0.8).
Lowest:
McKinley County (0.8), Cibola County (0.8), Luna County (0.8).
Santa Fe County, NM Compared With Nearby Counties
Santa Fe County, NM is typical in size for this group, 155,407 residents against a local median of 153,584, so the measures below are close to a like for like comparison. The measure that sets Santa Fe County, NM apart most is median home price: $448,701, 48% above the local median of $302,768.
The counties themselves sit within $72,360 of each other on median home price, a tighter band than the gap between any of them and Santa Fe County, NM, which makes it a genuine outlier here rather than one end of a wide local spread. Santa Fe County, NM has the highest median home price of the 4 areas compared here.
| Area | Population | Median household income | Median home price | Commute |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Santa Fe County, NM | 155,407 | $79,204 #2/4 | $448,701 #1/4 | 20.5 min #1/4 |
| Bernalillo County, NM | 672,163 | $69,651 | $260,969 | 20.9 min |
| Sandoval County, NM | 153,584 | $85,813 | $302,768 | 30.0 min |
| Taos County, NM | 34,542 | $59,024 | $333,329 | 21.1 min |
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about Santa Fe County, New Mexico.
How big is Santa Fe County, New Mexico by population?
About 155,407 people live in Santa Fe County, New Mexico, in 70,765 households of 2.2 people on average. The median age is 47.3, so residents are older than the U.S. median of 37.3 by about 10 years.
Is Santa Fe County, New Mexico urban or rural?
Averaged over its land area, Santa Fe County, New Mexico has 81 people per square mile, a density typical of rural areas. That is close to the U.S. average of 86.
How affordable is housing in Santa Fe County, New Mexico?
The median home costs 5.7 times the median household income ($448,701 against $79,204), compared with 3.1 times nationally. A ratio of about 3 is traditionally considered affordable. Median rent of $1,389 a month takes about 21% of the median household's income, below the 30% level at which HUD considers renters cost-burdened.
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