Ranked from NOAA 1991-2020 Climate Normals
Driest Counties in New Mexico
The least rainfall in the country. Dry is easier on a building than wet, but it moves the cost somewhere else: irrigation, foundation movement in shrink-swell soils, and in the driest counties the price and reliability of water itself. Figures are NOAA 1991-2020 Climate Normals from the weather station nearest each county seat, so they describe a thirty-year average rather than any single year.
New Mexico ranked
| # | County | Annual rainfall | FEMA risk rating | Median home |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Juan County | 7.8" | Relatively Moderate | $185,100 |
| 2 | Bernalillo County | 8.8" | Relatively High | $268,500 |
| 3 | Doña Ana County | 9.1" | Relatively High | $205,400 |
| 4 | Valencia County | 9.2" | Relatively Moderate | $206,800 |
| 5 | Luna County | 9.3" | Relatively Low | $112,500 |
| 6 | Sierra County | 9.9" | Relatively Low | $144,800 |
| 7 | Socorro County | 10.1" | Relatively Low | $143,200 |
| 8 | Hidalgo County | 10.3" | Very Low | $114,000 |
| 9 | Cibola County | 10.7" | Relatively Low | $120,000 |
| 10 | McKinley County | 10.7" | Relatively Low | $72,100 |
| 11 | Santa Fe County | 10.7" | Relatively Moderate | $416,900 |
| 12 | Chaves County | 11.6" | Relatively Moderate | $141,900 |
| 13 | Eddy County | 12.1" | Relatively Moderate | $199,400 |
| 14 | Quay County | 13.3" | Very Low | $82,200 |
| 15 | Taos County | 13.4" | Relatively Low | $354,000 |
| 16 | Colfax County | 14.1" | Relatively Low | $161,000 |
| 17 | Rio Arriba County | 14.1" | Relatively Low | $230,900 |
| 18 | Torrance County | 14.3" | Relatively Low | $145,100 |
| 19 | Grant County | 14.5" | Relatively Low | $164,400 |
| 20 | De Baca County | 14.6" | Very Low | $158,000 |
| 21 | Lea County | 14.8" | Relatively Moderate | $176,000 |
| 22 | Guadalupe County | 15.0" | Very Low | $107,200 |
| 23 | San Miguel County | 15.7" | Relatively Low | $177,600 |
| 24 | Harding County | 15.8" | Very Low | $86,500 |
| 25 | Mora County | 15.9" | Very Low | $119,900 |
| 26 | Union County | 16.1" | Very Low | $135,900 |
| 27 | Lincoln County | 16.6" | Relatively Low | $212,200 |
| 28 | Roosevelt County | 16.7" | Relatively Moderate | $136,000 |
| 29 | Catron County | 16.9" | Very Low | $171,800 |
| 30 | Los Alamos County | 17.5" | Very Low | $452,500 |
| 31 | Curry County | 17.6" | Relatively Low | $160,800 |
| 32 | Sandoval County | 25.5" | Relatively Low | $282,300 |
| 33 | Otero County | 28.4" | Relatively Moderate | $149,500 |
Every figure is modelled on the county's own median home with 20% down at 7.03%. Property tax and electricity are county and state specific; homeowners insurance uses the NAIC average premium for that state, which ranges from 0.16% of home value in Hawaii to 1.16% in Oklahoma. Maintenance and water are national estimates. Full methodology.
Nationwide
Driest Counties across all 3,133 US counties · Every county in New Mexico