Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
3.2 times the library visits per person than the typical New Mexico town.
Columbus’ best subject grades are an A+ for cost of living and civic life; its weakest is a D− for incomes. On civic life, just 1 of New Mexico’s 62 towns do better. Village of Columbus and Camp Furlong is on the National Register of Historic Places. Columbus has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Columbus beats most towns.
Village of Columbus and Camp Furlong1,664 counted in 2010 and 1,442 in 2020; an estimated 1,484 in 2025.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New Mexico), ordered by how far Columbus is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 2,110 in 1920, a low of 241 in 1970, 1,442 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1915 and 4 maps from 1917 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Columbus, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Aug 27, 2026.
Ordered by what stands out in Columbus.
The share of adults in Columbus who had a checkup this year is 70%, against 69% in New Mexico’s towns and 79% across U.S. towns. In Columbus, a fifth of adults have been diagnosed with depression. The town beats the New Mexico average on 2 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 14. Among 74 New Mexico towns, just 5 have a higher share of adults 18 to 64 who have no health insurance than Columbus.
| Columbus | New Mexico towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 34% | 26% | 19% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 14% | 12% |
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 16% | 8.1% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 33% | 23% | 14% |
| What stands out | Columbus | NM |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 6.2% | 7.4% |
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 77.2% | 73.3% |
| More uninsured adults | 27.6% | 15.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Public schools: the Deming school district. Its one school is below. Columbus’ only public school teaches 483 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Columbus ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 483 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NM on state tests and graduation
Of the 73 New Mexico towns we compare, none has a lower income of the median household than Columbus. The share of working residents in Columbus who work locally: 3.7%. Since 2013, Columbus has added 207 jobs, to 242 in 2023. The median commute is under 31 miles.
| Columbus | New Mexico towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 38 minutes | 23 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $26,000 | $55,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 23% | 21% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 3.7% | 14% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Among 74 New Mexico towns, just 6 have a higher peak summer temperature than Columbus. July afternoons reach 96°, January nights drop to 29° and snow is almost unheard of.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
In Columbus, the risk rating from FEMA is 53 of 100. Federal disaster aid has reached households in Columbus after 2 declared disasters, most recently in 2013. Of the losses FEMA expects here, 47% come from drought and 35% from inland flooding.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The biggest park or preserve is Pancho Villa State Park, at 50 acres. There are 4.5 miles of trail across 3 parks and preserves. Columbus’ trail density is 1.0 miles per square mile.
| Columbus | New Mexico towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 1.4% | 3.9% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 1.0 miles per square mile | 1.0 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Pancho Villa State Park | — | 50 |
| 2. Albert Fields Park | — | 5 |
| 3. Gazebo Plaza Park | — | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
None within 15 miles of Columbus; the nearest are
About 7 of every 100 Columbus residents are enrolled in college, about the same as New Mexico.
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
Village in New Mexico, United States
Columbus is an incorporated village in Luna County, New Mexico, United States, about 3 miles (5 km) north of the Mexican border. It is considered a place of historical interest, as the scene of a 1916 attack by Mexican general Francisco "Pancho" Villa that caused the United States to send 10,000 troops there in the Mexican Expedition (originally referred to as the "punitive Mexican Expedition"). As of the 2020 census, Columbus had a population of 1,442.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
3.2 times the library visits per person than the typical New Mexico town.
Not for the area. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades A+.