Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Fort Sumner’s average trip to work is 10 minutes, where New Mexico’s towns sit at 23 minutes and U.S. towns at 25 minutes. No town among the 74 in New Mexico we compare has a lower share of adults with a bachelor’s degree than Fort Sumner. Fort Sumner’s concentration of trails is 2.1 miles per square mile, against 1.0 in New Mexico’s towns and 0.4 across U.S. towns. Its National Register listings include De Baca County Courthouse and Fort Sumner Railroad Bridge. Fort Sumner has fewer than 1,000 residents, too few for fair grades; the figures below are still real.
Where Fort Sumner beats most towns.
1,031 counted in 2010 and 889 in 2020; an estimated 852 in 2025.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
Census counts: 777 in 1920, a peak of 1,982 in 1950, 889 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1864 and 2 maps from 1968 on.
4 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Fort Sumner, 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 Fort Sumner.
In Fort Sumner, 84% of households are owner-occupiers. Over the 12 months to September 2026, the typical home gained 3.2% in value.
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its public schools are run by the Fort Sumner school district. Below: Two of its 3 schools, each with why it was picked. The 3 public schools in Fort Sumner teach 283 students between them.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fort Sumner ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 124 | B− |
| Fort Sumner HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 89 | A |
NCES · EDFacts
FEMA expects more storm and flood damage in Fort Sumner than in 89% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
About one worker in three stays in Fort Sumner for work. Since 2013, Fort Sumner has lost 70 jobs, to 310 in 2023. Fort Sumner: 17% of residents live below the poverty line. The top destinations are Albuquerque (11%), Clovis (7%) and Portales (3%).
| Fort Sumner | New Mexico towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 31% | 14% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 17% | 21% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
30% of adults get no exercise outside work in Fort Sumner. The town does better than the New Mexico average on 4 of 32 CDC measures and worse on 9. Among adults locally, 12% binge drink and 42% have high blood pressure.
| Fort Sumner | New Mexico towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 14% | 12% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 13% | 16% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 42% | 35% | 35% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 17% | 14% |
| What stands out | Fort Sumner | NM |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 9.6% | 11.2% |
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 79.7% | 73.3% |
| More adults with heart disease | 9.7% | 7.2% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
None within 15 miles of Fort Sumner; the nearest are
About 1 of every 100 Fort Sumner residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across New Mexico.
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
4 places in Fort Sumner on the National Register of Historic Places.
Village and county seat in De Baca County, New Mexico, United States
Fort Sumner is a village in and the county seat of De Baca County, New Mexico, United States. As of the 2020 census, Fort Sumner had a population of 889. Fort Sumner is the spring and fall home of the Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Fort Sumner has fewer than 1,000 residents, too few for fair grades; the figures below are still real.
