County Maps US

Lincoln County, New Mexico

A county in New Mexico, ranked 19 of 33 by population.

CountyFIPS 35027

Within New Mexico
Lincoln County, highlighted, with the areas around it. Boundaries generalised from the 2025 Census cartographic boundary file; neighbour fills carry no data. The dot marks Carrizozo, the county seat, located via the 2025 Census Gazetteer.

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Population
19,844
-464 (-2.3%) since 2020
Land area
4,831
square miles. A further 0.0% of the total area is water
Population density
4.1
people per square mile, computed rather than published
County seat
Carrizozo
Seat of county government.
Established
1869
156 years ago
Largest city
Ruidoso village
Population 7,580.

Sources: US Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025 Population Estimates, released 26 March 2026; US Census Bureau, Gazetteer Files, 2025 Gazetteer Files, released 10 September 2025; Wikidata (CC0), Wikidata. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

Satellite view

Aerial imagery of Lincoln County with its boundary drawn on top. A map shows you the shape; this shows you what is inside it, and which side of the line a place falls on.

Aerial view of Lincoln County, New Mexico from the USGS National Map, with its boundary outlined
Imagery: USGS National Map, USGS Imagery Only, public domain, requested from USGS by your browser when you reach this point on the page, at 800 by 787 pixels. The boundary is the 2025 Census cartographic boundary file, reprojected to Web Mercator to match the imagery. You can also open the USGS National Map viewer.

Where Lincoln County ranks

Position among the 33 counties of New Mexico, and among all 3,144 US counties and county-equivalents. Computed from the figures on this page.

MeasureValueIn New MexicoNationally
Population19,84419th of 331,833rd of 3,144
Land area4,831 sq mi8th of 3385th of 3,144
Population density4.1 per sq mi22nd of 332,816th of 3,144
Median household income$53,30317th of 322,575th of 3,143

Full data for Lincoln County

Every figure below is attributed to the Census Bureau product it came from, with the vintage of that product.
MeasureValueSource and vintage
Population19,844Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
Population in 202020,308Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
2020 estimates base?20,267Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
Land area4,831 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Water area0.21 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Total area4,831 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Population density?4.1 per sq miComputed: Vintage 2025 estimates divided by 2025 Gazetteer land area
Median household income$53,303American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median home value$233,200American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median age52.4American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Households10,000American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Housing units17,871American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates

Sources: US Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025 Population Estimates, released 26 March 2026; US Census Bureau, Gazetteer Files, 2025 Gazetteer Files, released 10 September 2025; US Census Bureau, American Community Survey, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates, released 29 January 2026. Population density is computed here, not published: it divides the Vintage 2025 population estimate by the 2025 Gazetteer land area, which are two different Census products. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

How the population changed

The Census Bureau publishes the components behind an estimate, not just the total. For the year to July 2025:

Births minus deaths
-132
134 births, 266 deaths
Net migration
-60
More people moved out than moved in.

Source: US Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025 Population Estimates, released 26 March 2026. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

The 7 areas bordering Lincoln County

Ordered by the length of the border actually shared, which the Census Bureau publishes in its county adjacency file and which no other county reference presents.

Bordering areaStateShared borderPopulation
Chaves CountyNew Mexico91 mi63,364
Socorro CountyNew Mexico81 mi15,838
Otero CountyNew Mexico77 mi70,368
Torrance CountyNew Mexico41 mi16,100
Guadalupe CountyNew Mexico24 mi4,343
De Baca CountyNew Mexico18 mi1,647
Sierra CountyNew Mexico7.7 mi11,395

Source: US Census Bureau, County Adjacency File, 2025 County Adjacency File, released 15 September 2025. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

All 33 counties of New Mexico

Open the interactive New Mexico county map, or jump straight to any of them.

Data on this page last rebuilt 30 August 2026. How these figures are produced.