Taos County, New Mexico Demographics

Population trends, housing costs, income, commuting, and health, all on one page.

Taos 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.

  • B
    Health Around average
    Healthier than 81% of counties in New Mexico
  • D
    Income Well below average
    Wealthier than 78% of counties in New Mexico
  • C
    Education Below average
    Among the top 5 best educated counties in New Mexico

Source: Map AI Methodology

Taos County
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Population density, people per sq mi

Population: density and quick facts

Metric Taos County New Mexico Avg U.S. Average
Population 34,542 2,118,085 337,468,954
Population density (per sq mi) 15.7 17.4 86.4
Population growth (%/yr) 0.60% 0.20% 0.59%
Median age 52.8 38.1 37.3
Households 15,549 836,644 130,235,071

Population in Taos County grew by 9.9% from 2009 to 2024, reaching 34,542 in 2024.

Population Growth 2009–2024

Year Taos County

Race & Ethnicity

Group Share

Age & Sex

The largest generation in Taos County is Boomers, aged 61–79, at 26.0% of residents. That is 7.6 points above New Mexico as a whole.

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 51.0% of the people living in Taos County and men 49.0%.

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Economy

Taos County has a the economy index of D, which means it is barely prosperous.

Metric Taos County New Mexico Avg U.S. Average
Median household income $59,024 $64,523 $80,455
Income growth (%/yr) 6.73% 4.42% 4.80%
Unemployment rate 7.6% 5.9% 5.2%

The median household income in Taos County is about 9% lower than in New Mexico.

Detailed wealth and income breakdown →

Housing

Metric Taos County New Mexico Avg U.S. Average
Median home price $333,329 $204,122 $248,835
Median rent $1,034 $1,067 $1,407
Homeownership rate 77.6% 70.0% 65.2%

The median home price in Taos County is about 26.9 years' worth of rent — buying at the median price costs roughly as much as paying the median rent of $1,034 per month for that long.

Full housing market analysis →

Commute Time & Mobility

Commuters in Taos County spend about 42 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 176 hours, about 7.3 full days, spent commuting.

Metric Taos County New Mexico Avg U.S. Average
One-way commute (min) 21.1 18.8 22.4
Round-trip commute (min) 42.3 37.7 44.8
Yearly time spent (hours) 176 157 187
Estimated yearly cost $5,459 $4,866 $5,790
Work from home 19.7% 12.2% 15.0%
Highway traffic (vehicles/day) 1,499 4,931 8,813
Local road traffic (vehicles/day) 294 619 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 Taos 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.

Commute and transport details →

Education & Households

Taos County has a education index of C, which means it is somewhat educated.

Metric Taos County New Mexico Avg U.S. Average
Bachelor's degree or higher 32.0% 26.3% 31.6%
Average household size 2.20 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

Taos County has a health index of B, which means it is quite healthy.

Metric Taos County New Mexico Avg U.S. Average
Life expectancy (years) 81.4 78.6 78.3
Self-rated poor health 17.2% 17.9% 16.3%
Smokers 15.3% 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).

Full health data →

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about Taos County, New Mexico.

How big is Taos County, New Mexico by population?

About 34,542 people live in Taos County, New Mexico, in 15,549 households of 2.2 people on average. The median age is 52.8, so residents are older than the U.S. median of 37.3 by about 16 years.

Is Taos County, New Mexico mostly urban or rural?

Averaged over its land area, Taos County, New Mexico has 16 people per square mile, a density typical of rural areas. That is about 18% of the U.S. average of 86.

Is Taos County, New Mexico an affordable place to live?

The median home costs 5.6 times the median household income ($333,329 against $59,024), compared with 3.1 times nationally. A ratio of about 3 is traditionally considered affordable. Median rent of $1,034 a month takes about 21% of the median household's income, below the 30% level at which HUD considers renters cost-burdened.

How strong is the job market in Taos County, New Mexico?

Unemployment in Taos County, New Mexico is 7.6%, well above the U.S. rate of 5.2%, so job seekers may face more competition than elsewhere.

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