Photo: Vasiliymeshko · CC BY-SA 4.0Measured against area pay, Roswell costs less to live in than 50% of U.S. towns
It ranks #36 of 72 in New Mexico for affordability. Up 0.8% in a year, 45% below the New Mexico typical home.
Census 2020–24 home values, rents, tax bills and cost burden, measured against the median household income of the Roswell, NM micro area ($53K). How TownRatings grades cost of living
The grade compares costs with what households across the Roswell-area micro earn ($53K, Census 2020–24). The typical home costs 2.9 years of area income, and 50% of renters pay 30% or more of income for housing.
In dollars
- $175Ktypical home, 45% below the New Mexico typical homeZillow, September 2026
- $1,090a month for a two-bedroom, utilities includedHUD Fair Market Rent, 2026
In paychecks the grade
- 2.9 yrsof area income buys the typical home; the typical U.S. town: 3.3$53K, Roswell-area income
- 20%of area income goes to the median rent; the typical U.S. town: 18%Census 2020–24
- 50%of renters pay 30%+ of income for housing; across New Mexico: 50%Census 2020–24
- 24%of owners do; the typical U.S. town: 20%Census 2020–24
What Roswell’s housing numbers say
Values are about where they were five years ago
The typical Roswell home is up 1.1% in five years, against a gain of 25% across New Mexico. Over the ten years on the chart it’s up 47%, against 80% statewide. Price trend ↓
Owning can cost less than renting
With 20% down at the calculator’s rate, the typical Roswell home runs about $1,010 a month with tax and insurance. A two-bedroom rents for about $1,090. Can I afford it? ↓
Very little new building
Roswell permitted 684 new homes over the past 10 years, about 1.5 a year per 1,000 residents. Across New Mexico, the pace in 2025 was 5.2. In 2025, Roswell permitted 54. New homes ↓
Written from the data on this page. Home values are the Zillow Home Value Index, through September 2026; sales and supply are Redfin’s for September 2026; permits are Census figures through 2025 (2025 partly estimated); incomes, rents paid, taxes and ownership come from the Census American Community Survey.
What’s behind Roswell’s grade
Measured against what households in the area earn, Roswell is more affordable than 50% of U.S. towns, #36 of 72 in New Mexico. The share of households paying 30%+ for housing pulls the grade down most; property tax holds it up.
Values have lagged New Mexico: the typical Roswell home is up 1.1% in five years, against 25.1% statewide (Zillow).
Up 1.1% in five years
Slower than New Mexico (25.1%).
Show as a table
| January | Roswell | New Mexico |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | $120,000 | $177,000 |
| 2018 | $122,000 | $183,000 |
| 2019 | $128,000 | $191,000 |
| 2020 | $145,000 | $203,000 |
| 2021 | $159,000 | $228,000 |
| 2022 | $177,000 | $261,000 |
| 2023 | $179,000 | $285,000 |
| 2024 | $167,000 | $299,000 |
| 2025 | $179,000 | $310,000 |
| 2026 | $174,000 | $313,000 |
| September 2026 | $175,000 | $316,000 |
A typical Roswell home worth $119K in October 2016 is worth about $175K today.
Zillow Home Value Index: the typical value of all homes (middle third), smoothed and seasonally adjusted, through September 2026.
A balanced market
About 4 months of supply: neither buyers nor sellers have a clear edge.
Under ~4 months of supply favors sellers; over ~6 favors buyers.
Redfin Data Center, all residential sales, September 2026.
A typical home costs 2.9 years of area income
The calculator starts from the area income the grade uses. Switch to Roswell’s own median, or type yours.
That covers a typical Roswell home, with $39K to spare.
A two-bedroom rents for about $1,090 a month here, $80 more than owning.
An estimate, not a loan offer: payments of up to 28% of income, a 30-year fixed loan, Roswell’s typical property tax (0.65% of value a year, from the Census) and insurance of about 0.35%. Mortgage insurance, HOA fees and other debts aren’t included.
A two-bedroom rents for about $1,090
Renters already here pay a median of $876, so moving in tends to cost more than staying put.
Fair Market Rent a month, utilities included
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Fair Market Rents by ZIP code (Chaves County, NM): the 40th-percentile rent plus utilities for a standard unit. Median rent and renters: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey.
54 new homes permitted in 2025
Builders were permitted 54 new homes in Roswell in 2025, all single-family houses, worth about $8.6 million to build. That's 1.1 per 1,000 residents, slower than across New Mexico (5.2). Over the past 10 years, Roswell has permitted 684 homes in all.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses, Roswell gained 56 residents while 494 new homes were permitted: about 0.1 new residents per new home. Building outpaced population growth, which usually means smaller households or homes used part of the year. Across New Mexico: 1.2 new residents per new home.
Every year as a table
| Year | New homes | Single-family | 2+ per building | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 (Jan–Aug) | 34 | 34 | 0 | $5.4 million |
| 2025 | 54 | 54 | 0 | $8.6 million |
| 2024 | 61 | 61 | 0 | $9.7 million |
| 2023 | 53 | 53 | 0 | $8.4 million |
| 2022 | 67 | 67 | 0 | $10.7 million |
| 2021 | 67 | 67 | 0 | $10.5 million |
| 2020 | 44 | 44 | 0 | $7.5 million |
| 2019 | 45 | 41 | 4 | $7 million |
| 2018 | 41 | 41 | 0 | $7.1 million |
| 2017 | 52 | 48 | 4 | $9.3 million |
| 2016 | 200 | 56 | 144 | $19 million |
| 2015 | 47 | 47 | 0 | $7.8 million |
| 2014 | 44 | 44 | 0 | $7.6 million |
| 2013 | 50 | 50 | 0 | $9.5 million |
| 2012 | 6 | 6 | 0 | $1.1 million |
| 2011 | 4 | 4 | 0 | $705,000 |
| 2010 | 5 | 5 | 0 | $882,000 |
| 2009 | 5 | 5 | 0 | $882,000 |
| 2008 | 9 | 9 | 0 | $1.6 million |
| 2007 | 16 | 16 | 0 | $2.8 million |
| 2006 | 20 | 20 | 0 | $3.5 million |
| 2005 | 27 | 27 | 0 | $4.7 million |
| 2004 | 11 | 11 | 0 | $2.1 million |
| 2003 | 33 | 33 | 0 | $3.9 million |
| 2002 | 29 | 29 | 0 | $3.4 million |
| 2001 | 27 | 27 | 0 | $3.1 million |
| 2000 | 30 | 30 | 0 | $3.7 million |
Roswell's permit office didn't report to the Census in 2025, so the 2025 figures are Census estimates.
Homes authorized by building permits, counted in the year the permit was issued. U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey.
Property tax runs below the New Mexico norm
The median bill is $995 (New Mexico: $1,731), 0.65% of a home’s value a year, against 0.70% statewide.
Census American Community Survey 2020–24: the median real-estate tax bill homeowners report, and that bill ÷ the median home value. Bills include town, school and county taxes. The Census reports bills over $10,000 only as “$10,000+”.
Roswell and its neighbors
One source per column.
Cost next door · one source per column
| Town | Cost | Typical home Zillow, September 2026 | Median value Census 2020–24 | Tax rate bill ÷ value | 2-bed rent HUD 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roswell | B− | $175K | $153K | 0.65% | $1,090 |
Questions about the cost of living in Roswell
Is Roswell expensive to live in?
Measured against what households in the area earn, Roswell costs less than 50% of U.S. towns: a B− for cost of living, #36 of 72 in New Mexico. The typical home costs 2.9 years of the median household income of the Roswell, NM micro area ($53K).
How much does a house cost in Roswell?
About $175K, Zillow’s typical value for September 2026, up 0.8% in a year. The New Mexico typical home is $316K.
What salary do you need to live in Roswell?
To buy the typical home with 20% down at 6.3%, about $43,000 a year, keeping the payment (about $1,010 a month with tax and insurance) at 28% of income. To rent a two-bedroom at 30% of income, about $44,000.
How much is rent in Roswell?
HUD puts a two-bedroom at about $1,090 a month with utilities, the going rate for someone moving in. Renters already here pay a median of $876 (Census 2020–24).
What are property taxes in Roswell?
The median bill is $995 a year, 0.65% of the median home value (New Mexico: $1,731, 0.70%), from the Census 2020–24.
Are home prices in Roswell going up?
Barely: up 0.8% in the past year and 1.1% in five years, against 25.1% across New Mexico (Zillow).
Neighbors talk housing
What Roswell buyers, sellers and renters are saying.
Home values: Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI), Zillow Research, September 2026. Sales, days on market and supply: Redfin Data Center, September 2026. Income, ownership, taxes and rent: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey. New homes: U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey. Fair Market Rents: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The calculator is an estimate, not a loan offer. Regional price levels: BEA; electricity: EIA. How TownRatings grades cost of living.