Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 11,734, settled in 1899.
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 92% of U.S. communities, with inland flooding at the top. Overall it grades C−, 25th among New Mexico's 72 graded towns. It is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 83% of U.S. towns and it has 10 miles of trail. Its weakest subject is incomes: the median household income is $51K, and 28% of residents live below the poverty line. 41% of working residents work locally in Portales, where New Mexico’s towns sit at 13% and U.S. towns at 8%. Portales is home to Eastern New Mexico University-Main Campus. Only 2 of the 49 New Mexico towns we compare have a lower midpoint home value than Portales.
Where Portales beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New Mexico), ordered by how far Portales is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 1,292 in 1910, 12,137 in 2020. The archive holds 16 old photos and papers going back to 1938 and 2 maps from 1957 on.
4 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Portales, 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 Portales.
Portales is healthier than towns with similar incomes, has homes that are cheap against local pay and has seen reported crime fall by a third or more.
At 2.4 years of the Clovis area’s $56K median household income, the typical home (about $135K) costs less against local pay than in 86% of New Mexico towns; that ratio is one input to its B for cost of living. At about $135K, home values are up 4% in five years, against a rise of 25% across New Mexico.
Among households in Portales, 48% are owner-occupiers. The midpoint rent for Portales comes to $903 a month.
| Portales | New Mexico towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 48% | 70% | 73% |
| Median rent | $903 a month | $944 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its public schools are run by the Portales school district. Two of its 7 schools are shown below, with the reason for each. The largest public high school is Portales High, with 754 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lindsey-Steiner ElementaryLargest public middle schoolGrades 5–6 | Grades 5–6 | 376 | B− |
| Portales HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 754 | C− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NM on state tests and graduation
Reported crimes fell from 313 to 193 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Within New Mexico, it does better than 43% of towns. For Portales, the violent crime rate is 7.8 per 1,000 residents.
| Portales | New Mexico towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2024) | 7.8 per 1,000 residents | 4.9 | 1.7 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2024) | 28.7 per 1,000 residents | 15.4 | 11.5 |
FBI crime data, 2024 · crimes reported to police
Trails run 9.7 miles in 5 parks and preserves. Portales Recreation Complex, at 172 acres with 3.2 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve. The trail network density here is 1.2 miles per square mile.
| Portales | New Mexico towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 1.2 miles per square mile | 1.0 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 3.8% | 4% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Portales Recreation Complex | 3.2 mi | 172 |
| 2. Rotary Park | — | 10 |
| 3. Lindsey Park | — | 4 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Among 73 New Mexico towns, just 3 have a higher FEMA hazard score than Portales. Expected losses in Portales break down as 68% from inland flooding and 15% from wildfires. Also worth knowing: this New Mexico town has had 20 paid flood insurance claims since 1981.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Only 47.6% of households own their home, against 70% across New Mexico.
The share of residents in Portales who are under 18: 29%. Adults 35 to 64 are 27% of residents (37% statewide); adults 18 to 34 are 32% of residents (23% statewide). Only 4 of the 73 New Mexico towns we compare have a lower median age than Portales. The town has lost 3.4% of its people since 2020, down to 11,734 in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate.
| Portales | New Mexico towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 27.1 years | 37.5 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 29% | 23% | 22% |
| Aged 65 or older | 12% | 18% | 18% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 25% | 23% | 29% |
49% women, 51% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±3 points. Across New Mexico, 50.3% of residents are women. Among residents 45 to 54, 73% are women (NM 50%).
| Portales | NM | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 17.6% | 11% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 11.4% | 10.7% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 17.9% | 9.3% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 13.7% | 13.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 12.6% | 12.8% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 7.2% | 11.2% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 7.4% | 12.5% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 8.3% | 11.5% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 3.9% | 7.8% | 7% |
| No diploma | 13.4% | 12% | 10.4% |
| High school | 24.1% | 25.7% | 26% |
| Some college | 28.8% | 22.2% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 8.3% | 9.2% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 13.8% | 17.1% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 11.6% | 13.9% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
In Portales, the typical July afternoon high is 93°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The average commute for its 4,724 working residents takes 12.3 minutes, against 23.5 across New Mexico.
Jobs in Portales fell by 464 from 2013 to 2023, to 4,396. Portales’ mean commuting time is 12 minutes. Half commute less than 7 miles. The top destinations are Clovis (15%), Albuquerque (6%) and Roswell (3%).
| Portales | New Mexico towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 12 minutes | 23 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $51,000 | $55,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Against the 5,984 U.S. towns with household incomes like Portales’s, it is healthier than 91%, so its B isn’t only a matter of income. Within New Mexico it is healthier than 78% of the 73 graded towns: much of New Mexico scores lower on these measures.
Nearly a quarter of adults have been diagnosed with depression in Portales. Of 32 CDC measures, Portales beats the New Mexico average on 7 and trails it on 4. Only 3 of the 73 New Mexico towns we compare have a lower share of adults who had a checkup this year than Portales. Among adults here, 37% feel lonely and 10% have diabetes.
| Portales | New Mexico towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 64% | 69% | 79% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 37% | 34% | 33% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 10% | 14% | 12% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 16% | 17% |
| What stands out | Portales | NM |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 5.6% | 7.4% |
| Fewer adults with diabetes | 10.2% | 13.2% |
| More adults in frequent mental distress | 18.5% | 16.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
1 within 15 miles of the center of Portales
About 14 of every 100 Portales residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across New Mexico.
4 places in Portales on the National Register of Historic Places.
8 notable people were born in Portales.
City in New Mexico, United States
Portales () is a city in and the county seat of Roosevelt County, New Mexico, United States. As of the 2020 census, Portales had a population of 12,137. Portales is located near the larger city of Clovis, and Cannon Air Force Base, a major contributor to the economy of the region. Eastern New Mexico University opened in Portales in 1934 as Eastern New Mexico Junior College, and has since grown to become the third-largest university in the state. The area is one of the largest producers of Valencia peanuts in the United States and is the nation's top producer of certified organic peanut butter. Portales is home to about 40 dairies and a major US dairy solids plant, together producing and exp…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Portales grades C− overall, better than 24% of U.S. towns and #25 of 72 in New Mexico. It grades B for health, D for safety and B+ for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a D−.
Within New Mexico, it does better than 43% of towns.
That is 2.4 years of the area's median household income ($55,690 across the Clovis, NM area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B.
8 notable people were born here, including Ed Foreman and Cody Ross.
