Photo: Public domain · Public domainRuidoso’s household incomes are lower than in 84% of U.S. towns
About half work in Ruidoso; the top destination outside it is Albuquerque (9%, 134 miles). Poverty touches 20.6% of residents, next to 17.8% for New Mexico as a whole. Ruidoso grades C− for jobs and income and B+ for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Ruidoso apart
Ruidoso’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Ruidoso is Albuquerque, 134 miles away as the crow flies. 9% of working residents (227) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Commutes from Ruidoso are quick
The average trip to work takes 14 minutes, against 24 across New Mexico. That’s about 77 hours a year less on the road than the typical New Mexico worker. Time on the road ↓
Fewer than half of Ruidoso workers earn over $40,000 a year
44% of Ruidoso’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 ↓
A big share show a job far from home
33% 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 ↓
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.
Why Ruidoso gets the Jobs & income grade it does
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Ruidoso is better than 17% of U.S. towns, #35 of 72 in New Mexico. Unemployment holds Ruidoso’s grade up (3.3%, U.S. 5.2%); job access by car pulls it down.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Ruidoso could be anywhere from D− to C+.
How many miles Ruidoso commutes
About 33% 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.
About 14 minutes to work from Ruidoso
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 4.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Ruidoso workers work from home, vs 12% across New Mexico. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,001 commuters (the 13% 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.
What the 3,640 jobs in Ruidoso are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Ruidoso, 2013 → 2023: 3,481 → 3,640. 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 Ruidoso’s own residents hold wherever they work.
A workday in Ruidoso: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 1,406 residents head out to work, 1,209 work right here, and 2,431 people come in from elsewhere.
About 8,600 people are in Ruidoso on a workday afternoon, 14% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.39 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.
Where Ruidoso’s working residents head each day
Where Ruidoso clocks in
9% of workers
6% 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.
For most of Ruidoso, work means a drive
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Ruidoso is more walkable than 71% of U.S. towns, #22 of 73 in New Mexico. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 2.6% 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 3,444 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). 3.4% of Ruidoso households have no vehicle (New Mexico 5.6%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Ruidoso’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 5,300 to 10,200, Ruidoso ranks 2,697th of 3,071 on jobs and income
| # | 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 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 579 | White Rock NM | 5,716 | $157K | 2.5% | 0.2% | 4% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 790 | Los Ranchos de Albuquerque NM | 5,790 | $73K | 8.8% | 0.8% | 3% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,230 | Eldorado at Santa Fe NM | 5,619 | $107K | 8.4% | 2.1% | 7% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,695 | Buena Vista Township MI | 7,473 | $44K | 20.7% | 7.4% | 5% | C− |
| 2,696 | Marianna FL | 7,289 | $40K | 22.1% | 3.2% | 39% | C− |
| 2,697 | Ruidoso NM | 7,580 | $53K | 20.6% | 3.3% | 46% | C− |
| 2,698 | Gun Barrel City TX | 7,133 | $71K | 16.1% | 8.7% | 11% | C− |
| 2,699 | Maquoketa IA | 6,027 | $60K | 14.2% | 8.6% | 34% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,071 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | 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 Ruidoso, the top three, the last and three more from New Mexico.
Next door to Ruidoso
The biggest share goes to Ruidoso Downs (6%).
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Ruidoso workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ruidoso | – | C− | B+ | 14 min | $52,736 |
| Ruidoso Downs | 6% | D | C+ | 13 min | $31,354 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Ruidoso’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
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 Ruidoso: questions
What is the median household income in Ruidoso?
$52,736 (±$7,967) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $64,059 across New Mexico and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Ruidoso?
20.6%, against 17.8% across New Mexico and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Ruidoso?
14 minutes each way on average, against 24 across New Mexico and 26 nationally. 13% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Ruidoso work?
46% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Albuquerque (9%, 134 mi), Ruidoso Downs (6%, 4 mi), Roswell (4%, 66 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Ruidoso walkable?
Ruidoso is more walkable than 71% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 8.8 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Ruidoso 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 Ruidoso, from the people who make the trip.
More of Ruidoso
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.