Photo: AllenS · Public domainAt 7.3%, unemployment in Lovington is higher than in 84% of U.S. towns
About one in three stay in Lovington for work; outside it, Hobbs is the main destination (24%, 18 miles). The two grades for Lovington are D for jobs and income and B− for walkability. Below the poverty line: 25.0% of residents, where New Mexico as a whole has 17.8%.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Lovington: the figures worth knowing
Lovington and Hobbs trade workers both ways
Hobbs is the top workplace for Lovington residents (24%) and also where the most people who work in Lovington come from (15% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Lovington workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 31 minutes each way, against 24 across New Mexico. Over a year that’s about 238 hours of commuting, 54 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
Where Lovington’s Jobs & income grade comes from
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Lovington is better than 12% of U.S. towns, #49 of 72 in New Mexico. Household income holds Lovington’s grade up ($68,821, U.S. $80,734); the poverty rate pulls it down.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Lovington could be anywhere from D− to C.
The places Lovington commutes to
Where Lovington clocks in
24% of workers
4% of workers
4% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
A commute of about 31 minutes in Lovington
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Lovington workers work from home, vs 12% across New Mexico. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,854 commuters (the 9% who work from home are left out). Across New Mexico: 84% drive alone, 1% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
In and out of Lovington on a workday
On a workday 2,988 residents head out to work, 1,290 work right here, and 1,778 people come in from elsewhere.
About 10,000 people are in Lovington on a workday afternoon, 10% fewer than live here.
0.72 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
The 3,068 jobs based in Lovington
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Lovington, 2013 → 2023: 3,791 → 3,068. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.
Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2023.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Lovington’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The distance from Lovington to work
About 27% show a job over 50 miles away. Some of that is real, and some is employers that report every worker at a head office, so a few long commutes are on paper only.
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Getting around Lovington: mostly by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Lovington is more walkable than 51% of U.S. towns, #40 of 73 in New Mexico. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.6% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 3.4% across New Mexico.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 4,231 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service: no data. EPA’s transit file has no stops for most of this county (its agencies had not published schedules in the format EPA used in 2020). That is missing data, not a finding that there is no bus or train.
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 3.1% of Lovington households have no vehicle (New Mexico 5.6%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Lovington’s commuters take a bus or train.
Where Lovington sits among U.S. towns of 8,000 to 16,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 2 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Ladue MO | 8,934 | $250K | 1.1% | 1.7% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 478 | Los Alamos NM | 13,317 | $141K | 4.1% | 0.8% | 77% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,245 | Corrales NM | 8,484 | $102K | 7.0% | 6.3% | 7% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,057 | Bernalillo NM | 9,159 | $64K | 15.9% | 6.9% | 12% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 2,495 | New Kingman-Butler AZ | 13,993 | $41K | 20.8% | 4.1% | 3% | D |
| 2,496 | North Adams MA | 12,368 | $48K | 18.6% | 5.0% | 28% | D |
| 2,497 | Lovington NM | 11,620 | $69K | 25.0% | 7.3% | 30% | D |
| 2,498 | Alma MI | 9,304 | $53K | 21.7% | 6.9% | 24% | D |
| 2,499 | Slippery Rock Township PA | 8,349 | $57K | 23.4% | 7.1% | 6% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 2,695 | Roma TX | 11,543 | $25K | 37.1% | 12.4% | 22% | D− |
Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Lovington, the top three, the last and three more from New Mexico.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs, where the employer reports them. Income, poverty, unemployment, commute time and how people travel: Census ACS 2020–24 averages.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Lovington: questions
What is the median household income in Lovington?
$68,821 (±$14,046) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $64,059 across New Mexico and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Lovington?
25.0%, against 17.8% across New Mexico and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Lovington?
31 minutes each way on average, against 24 across New Mexico and 26 nationally. 9% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Lovington work?
30% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Hobbs (24%, 18 mi), Albuquerque (4%, 241 mi), Carlsbad (4%, 64 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Lovington walkable?
Lovington is more walkable than 51% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 7.6 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Lovington without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Lovington, from the people who make the trip.
More of Lovington
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer. Walkability index, job access and transit service: U.S. EPA Smart Location Database. The two grades are our own summaries of these figures, not official ratings.