La UnionNM
A town of 1,071, settled in 1909.
Is La Union a good place to live?
The best of La Union’s subject grades are a B for cost of living and schools; the weakest is a D− for walkability. Among 74 New Mexico towns, just 2 have a higher January low than La Union. La Union has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
1,071 people, and everyone knows the way
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
How La Union grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New Mexico), ordered by how far La Union is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Sun Bowl Stadium and 14 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around La Union. Close and well known come first.
15 mi Stadium & arenaSun Bowl Stadium
11 mi State parkFranklin Mountains State Park
36 mi Ancient siteHueco Tanks
17 mi National MemorialChamizal National Memorial8K visitors a year
12 mi Theme parkWestern Playland
17 mi TheatrePlaza TheatrePhoto credits
Sun Bowl Stadium: Quintin Soloviev, CC BY 4.0 · Franklin Mountains State Park: Larry D. Moore, CC BY 4.0 · Hueco Tanks: Brian Stansberry, CC BY 3.0 · Chamizal National Memorial: Original uploader was Mosamiazaz at en.wikipedia, Public domain · Western Playland: Dimples915, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Plaza Theatre: Donitza Marie, CC BY-SA 3.0
Moving to La Union: who provides what
La Union is unincorporated, so Doña Ana County and regional agencies provide most services.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Aug 27, 2026.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in La Union.
About half of La Union’s working residents commute to El Paso
Most working residents leave La Union for work: only 1% work in town. La Union’s average trip to work is 32 minutes, where New Mexico’s towns sit at 23 minutes and U.S. towns at 25 minutes. 14% of La Union residents live below the poverty line.
| La Union | New Mexico towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 32 minutes | 23 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 1.4% | 14% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 14% | 21% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $56,000 | $55,000 | $80,000 |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Public schools in La Union beat 60% of New Mexico districts
Its public schools are run by the Gadsden school district. Its one school is below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| La Union ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 340 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NM on state tests and graduation
Inland flooding leads a high hazard risk in La Union
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 70% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
La Union has mild winters and hot summers
La Union has mild winters and hot summers, with very little rain. La Union’s July high is 96°F, above both New Mexico’s towns (93°F) and U.S. towns (85°F).
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
A college town: 27% of residents are 18 to 24
Adults 18 to 34 are 30% of residents (23% statewide); people 65 and older are 12% of residents (19% statewide). 29% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 31% across New Mexico.
| La Union | New Mexico towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aged 65 or older | 12% | 17% | 18% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 29% | 23% | 29% |
Ages · share of residents
Education · adults 25 and older
Women and men · all residents
Somewhere between 44% and 75% women
The Census survey reached too few of La Union’s residents to say more: its margin here is ±15.5 points. Across New Mexico, 50.3% of residents are women.
| La Union | NM | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 9.1% | 11% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 12.1% | 10.7% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 26.7% | 9.3% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 3.2% | 13.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 6.3% | 12.8% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 18.9% | 11.2% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 11.8% | 12.5% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 7.7% | 11.5% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 4.3% | 7.8% | 7% |
| No diploma | 22.8% | 12% | 10.4% |
| High school | 33.3% | 25.7% | 26% |
| Some college | 10.6% | 22.2% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 4.7% | 9.2% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 25.3% | 17.1% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 3.4% | 13.9% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 1,100, single groups can be off by several points
La Union has set aside 9.2% of its land for conservation
1.1 miles of trail in 0 parks and preserves. La Union’s trail density is 0.3 miles per square mile.
| La Union | New Mexico towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.3 miles per square mile | 1.0 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 9.2% | 3.9% | 4.3% |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
La Union stands out in New Mexico and nationally, with fewer of its adults who have been diagnosed with depression
19% of adults have been diagnosed with depression in La Union. La Union beats the New Mexico average on 10 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 0. 14% of adults have diabetes in La Union.
| La Union | New Mexico towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 16% | 17% |
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 16% | 8.1% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 23% | 23% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 9% | 14% | 14% |
| What stands out | La Union | NM |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults with COPD | 4.2% | 6.6% |
| Fewer smokers | 9% | 13.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
A home in La Union sells for about $365K at the median
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Everything we know about La Union
Colleges nearby
1 within 15 miles of the center of La Union
About 0 of every 100 La Union residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across New Mexico.
99% of working residents leave La Union for work
Where La Union’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
About La Union
Census-designated place in New Mexico, United States
La Union is a census-designated place in Doña Ana County, New Mexico, United States. As of the 2020 census, La Union had a population of 997. NM 182 connects the community to NM 28. It is a part of the El Paso–Las Cruces combined statistical area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 4.1 sq mi
- Elevation
- 3,799 ft
Questions about La Union
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is La Union, NM expensive?
The typical home is worth about $252,000, 20% below the New Mexico typical home. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B.