NMMap-doton-Loving, 2004
Loving’s story
118 years in pictures
Census counts: 1,487 in 1950, 1,390 in 2020. The archive holds 1 old photo or paper going back to 2004 and 4 maps from 1939 on.
- 1908Loving is settled
LovingNM
With 1,391 residents, this town was settled in 1908.
Population
1,391
2025 Census estimate · −0.2% since 2020
Median home value
$172K
Census ACS
Household income
$44K
median
Median age
37.3
years
Jobs based here
612
A job hub
Is Loving a good place to live?
The best of Loving’s subject grades are an A for cost of living and an A− for walkability; the weakest is a D− for incomes. Loving’s midsummer high is 98°F, above both the New Mexico town median (93°F) and the median of U.S. towns (85°F). Only 11 of New Mexico’s 159 towns score higher on walkability. FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 83% of U.S. communities, with inland flooding at the top. Loving's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) trails 98% of U.S. towns. Loving has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
What makes Loving stand out
Where Loving beats most towns.
Small town
1,391 people, and everyone knows the way
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
Nearby towns
How Loving grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New Mexico), ordered by how far Loving is from typical.
Jobs & income$44K median household incomeD−Open →Cost of livingTypical home $172K, 2.2 years of the Carlsbad area’s $78K median household incomeAOpen →Hazard riskInland flooding tops the listDOpen →WalkabilityEPA walkability 9.3 of 20; 2.4% of households have no carA−Open →HealthCarlsbad Medical Center 14.3 miles awayC−Open →SchoolsBetter than most of the towns comparedBOpen →
Character Graded, but not part of the overall grade.
OutdoorsGraded on parks, trails and protected landCOpen →History2 notable people born hereCOpen →Civic life1.5 community nonprofits per 1,000 residentsD−Open →
Described, not graded Taste, not quality: snow or an older crowd is neither good nor bad.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Getting set up
The full setup list →Moving to Loving: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in Loving, and how to reach them.
PowerXcel Energy12.9¢/kWh · EIA 2025HIFLD · EIA
WaterLoving Water System9 health-based violations in 5 years · EPAEPA
Internet6 providers100% of addresses get 100/20 MbpsFCC
Trash & dumpNot on file yetWe don’t have Loving’s trash rules yet
Register to voteOnlineIn New Mexico you can register online until 28 days before Election Day, in person up to and including Election Day, or by mail (postmarked 28 days before).vote.govWho runs elections hereEddy County ClerkEddy County; contacts on the Handbook page.FVAP, Dec 2025
ZIP code8825688256 100%Census 2020
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 Loving.
Work & commuteJobs & income grade D−
About two in five of Loving’s working residents commute to Carlsbad
The top destinations are Carlsbad (39%), Albuquerque (4%) and Hobbs (3%). Only 9% of working residents stay in Loving for work; the rest commute out. Employers in Loving added 323 jobs between 2013 and 2023, to 612. Its average trip to work stands at 17 minutes.
9%work in town
| Loving | New Mexico towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 17 minutes | 23 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 20% | 21% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 8.6% | 14% | 8% |
Where working residents work
In Loving9%
Carlsbad39%
Albuquerque4%
Hobbs3%
Artesia3%
13 mi
median commute distance
612
jobs based in Loving
A job hub
jobs vs. working residents
A−
Walkability grade: more walkable than 84% of U.S. towns
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
SchoolsB
On state tests, Loving’s schools beat 63% of New Mexico districts
Two of its 3 schools are shown below, with the reason for each. The public schools here belong to the Loving school district.
63%of NM districts it outscoresBSchool Grade
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Loving ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 355 | – |
| Loving HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 225 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NM on state tests and graduation
HealthC−
On CDC estimates, Loving is less healthy than 79% of U.S. towns
Among 74 New Mexico towns, just 6 have a lower share of adults who have been diagnosed with depression than Loving. The town does better than the New Mexico average on 2 of 32 CDC measures and worse on 8. Nearly two thirds of adults had a checkup this year here.
21%healthier than U.S. townsC−Health Grade
| Loving | New Mexico towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 66% | 69% | 79% |
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 24% | 16% | 8.1% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 43% | 35% | 35% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 41% | 34% | 36% |
32 measures vs. New Mexico
2 better22 too close to call8 worse
| What stands out | Loving | NM |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 5.4% | 7.4% |
| Fewer adults with arthritis | 22.2% | 25.6% |
| More uninsured adults | 23.9% | 15.6% |
Carlsbad Medical Center
14.3 mi away · emergency room
3 of 3
care shortages: primary care, dental, mental health
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Natural hazardsHazard risk grade D
Natural hazards: very high risk in Loving, mostly inland flooding
FEMA puts 69% of Loving’s expected hazard losses down to inland flooding, and 12% to drought.
83risk score of 100
FEMA risk score
Inland floodingDrought
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
3″snow a winter
Typical low → high °F
Winter31–61°
Spring48–82°
Summer68–97°
Fall49–79°
Nov 12
typical first frost
Mar 17
typical last frost
+2.1°
vs. the 20th-century average
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
0%conserved
0%
conserved · 0 of 768 acres
0.0 mi
of trails · 0 per sq mi
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Ervell M Guevara Memorial Park | — | 13 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Keep exploring
Everything we know about Loving
19pages on Loving
The big questions
Out and about
The story
After high school
Colleges nearby
1 within 15 miles of the center of Loving
About 9 of every 100 Loving residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across New Mexico.
A job hub
Every workday, about 577 people come to Loving for work
Where Loving’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
612jobs based in Loving
9%of working residents work in town
13 mimedian commute distance
Census LEHD 2023
About Loving
Village in New Mexico, United States
Loving is a village in Eddy County, New Mexico. As of the 2020 census, Loving had a population of 1,390. Loving was settled by Swiss immigrants in the 1890s.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 1.2 sq mi
- Elevation
- 3,051 ft
- ZIP code
- 88256
Questions about Loving
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Loving, NM expensive?
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.
What is Loving, NM known for?
2 notable people were born here, including Al Montgomery and Alejandro R. Ruiz.