Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0Unemployment in Raton (1.8%) is lower than in 87% of U.S. towns
Jobs & income C−: better than 20% of U.S. towns on income, poverty, unemployment and job access · #32 of 72 in New Mexico.
Walkability B−: more walkable than 45% of U.S. towns · #43 of 73 in New Mexico.
Household incomes here are lower than in 84% of U.S. towns. Working residents average 19 minutes each way (New Mexico 24, U.S. 26). More than half work in Raton; the top destination outside it is Albuquerque (6%, 174 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Raton
Most jobs in Raton go to people who live here
Of the 2,082 jobs based in Raton, 61% are held by Raton residents. In most towns, people from elsewhere hold most of the local jobs. Day and night ↓
Commutes from Raton are quick
The average trip to work takes 19 minutes, against 24 across New Mexico. That’s about 38 hours a year less on the road than the typical New Mexico worker. Time on the road ↓
A big share show a job far from home
34% of working residents have a main job more than 50 miles away. Part of that is employers that report every worker at one head office, so not all of those trips happen daily. How far ↓
Fewer than half of Raton workers earn over $40,000 a year
44% of Raton’s working residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, wherever they work, and 18% earn $1,250 a month or less. The jobs ↓
Few Raton workers work from home
Only 3% of workers work from home, against 12% across New Mexico. Almost everyone here travels to a job. 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.
What’s behind Raton’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Raton is better than 20% of U.S. towns, #32 of 72 in New Mexico. Unemployment holds Raton’s grade up (1.8%, U.S. 5.2%); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 4% of U.S. towns).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Raton could be anywhere from D to C.
Who leaves, who stays, who comes in
On a workday 916 residents head out to work, 1,262 work right here, and 820 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.96 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
About 19 minutes each way, quicker than most of New Mexico
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Raton workers work from home, vs 12% across New Mexico. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,194 commuters (the 3% 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.
Half of Raton commutes less than 2 miles
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
About 34% 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.
What the 2,082 jobs in Raton are
2,082 jobs are based in Raton. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Raton’s own residents hold wherever they work.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Raton, 2013 → 2023: 2,419 → 2,082. 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.
6% of working residents work in Albuquerque
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
Where Raton clocks in
6% of workers
3% of workers
3% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
Most trips from Raton start in a car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Raton is more walkable than 45% of U.S. towns, #43 of 73 in New Mexico. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.5% 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 2,254 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). 11.5% of Raton households have no vehicle (New Mexico 5.6%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Raton’s commuters take a bus or train.
Raton is 2,779th of 3,336 U.S. towns of 4,200 to 8,000 on jobs and income
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Raton, the top three, the last and three more from New Mexico.
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Ho-Ho-Kus NJ | 4,313 | $250K | 0.0% | 1.7% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 539 | White Rock NM | 5,716 | $157K | 2.5% | 0.2% | 4% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 703 | Placitas NM | 4,223 | $110K | 3.2% | 3.5% | 3% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 764 | Los Ranchos de Albuquerque NM | 5,790 | $73K | 8.8% | 0.8% | 3% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,777 | Denton MD | 5,075 | $67K | 12.8% | 12.7% | 12% | C− |
| 2,778 | McRae-Helena GA | 5,443 | $44K | 31.5% | 1.8% | 20% | C− |
| 2,779 | Raton NM | 5,952 | $53K | 25.1% | 1.8% | 58% | C− |
| 2,780 | Morehead KY | 6,776 | $37K | 38.0% | 5.4% | 32% | C− |
| 2,781 | Eldon MO | 4,785 | $42K | 12.8% | 4.6% | 19% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,336 | Medina TX | 4,226 | $22K | 53.8% | 10.1% | 4% | 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.
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 Raton: questions
What is the median household income in Raton?
$52,641 (±$6,237) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $64,059 across New Mexico and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Raton?
25.1%, against 17.8% across New Mexico and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Raton?
19 minutes each way on average, against 24 across New Mexico and 26 nationally. 3% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Raton work?
58% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Albuquerque (6%, 174 mi), Santa Fe (3%, 120 mi), Trinidad (3%, 20 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Raton walkable?
Raton is more walkable than 45% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 7.2 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Raton without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 12% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Raton, from the people who make the trip.
More of Raton
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.