Living in Salem, NM: what to set up and who to call
Salem has no town government of its own, so Doña Ana County runs its elections and most services, and its children attend Hatch Valley Municipal Schools. Power in Salem comes from Sierra Electric Coop, a cooperative utility rather than a private company.
I’m new in town
What to set up in Salem, and who provides it. Tap an answer for the details and where they come from.
Power, water and internet
Who to call to start service at a new address in Salem.
Power comes from Sierra Electric Coop
Sierra Electric Coop (Sierra Electric Coop, Inc), a cooperative utility, serves all of Salem.
Service territory: HIFLD Electric Retail Service Territories (map dated Aug 2023). Prices and customers: EIA-861, 2025.
Water comes from Garfield Mdwca water system
The Garfield Mdwca water system supplies almost all of Salem. It draws ground water and serves 2,504 people in all.
No health-based violations reported to EPA in the five years to October 2026, like 78% of the 7,966 systems serving 1,001–3,300 people.
The latest lead result on file, the 90th percentile of homes sampled in Jan 2023–Dec 2025, was 1.8 ppb, below the 15 ppb action level that applied. That’s higher than 66% of similar systems’ latest results.
The system’s full record: EPA ECHO report
EPA SDWIS via Envirofacts (violations pulled Oct 9, 2026) and ECHO (lead samples, 2026Q3); service area: EPA Community Water System Service Area Boundaries v3.0. Violations are counted by the start of their compliance period. NM3529007.
Which providers serve Salem
This card will list the home internet providers the FCC’s National Broadband Map shows in Salem, the share of addresses that can get 100/20 Mbps and the share with fiber, with the map’s “as of” date.
Source to come: FCC Broadband Data Collection.
We don’t have Salem’s trash rules yet
Pickup rules, the dump and recycling in Salem.
Where your child goes to school
Public school districts and the school path by grade.
Salem is in Hatch Valley Municipal Schools.
Test scores and every school: see Schools →U.S. Department of Education, NCES Common Core of Data, 2024–25. Enrollment rules and registration are the district’s.
No town hall: the county runs things
Salem is unincorporated, so Doña Ana County is the local government.
Election office: FVAP local election office directory, updated Jul 2023; jurisdictions: EAC EAVS 2024. Registration rules and links: vote.gov, updated Aug 27, 2026.
Salem is in ZIP code 87941
ZIP codes where Salem residents live, with the share of the town in each.
| ZIP | Post office name | Share of Salem | ZIP’s residents in Salem |
|---|---|---|---|
| 87941 | Salem, NM | 100% | 83% |
Census 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas, by census block; post office names: GeoNames (CC BY 4.0). ZIPs created since 2020 are missing.
Getting around, the ER and the library
One line each; the subject pages have the rest.
ER: CMS hospital data. Library: IMLS Public Libraries Survey, FY2024.
Questions about living in Salem
Who supplies Salem’s drinking water, and has it had violations?
The Garfield Mdwca water system (EPA ID NM3529007). It reported no health-based violations to EPA in the five years to October 2026; 78% of systems its size had none. Its latest lead 90th percentile was 1.8 ppb (Jan 2023–Dec 2025), against a 15 ppb action level.
Who provides electricity in Salem?
Sierra Electric Coop (Sierra Electric Coop, Inc), a cooperative utility.
What ZIP codes are in Salem?
87941. Census 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas.
What school district is Salem in?
Hatch Valley Municipal Schools.
How do I register to vote in Salem?
In New Mexico you can register online until 28 days before Election Day, in person up to and including Election Day, or by mail (postmarked 28 days before). Elections here are run by the Dona Ana County Bureau of Elections. Check your registration at voterportal.servis.sos.state.nm.us.
Sources & dates
Every answer above names its source. Here they are with their dates.
- Water: EPA SDWIS (Envirofacts, pulled Oct 9, 2026), ECHO SDWA 2026Q3, EPA CWS Service Area Boundaries v3.0.
- Power: HIFLD Electric Retail Service Territories (map Aug 2023); EIA-861 final 2025.
- Trash: OpenStreetMap, Geofabrik extract of Oct 9, 2026. © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).
- ZIP codes: Census 2020 ZCTA relationship files; GeoNames postal codes (CC BY 4.0).
- Schools: NCES Common Core of Data, 2024–25.
- Registration: vote.gov, updated Aug 27, 2026 (read Oct 10, 2026). Official sites and area codes: Wikidata.
- Election office: FVAP local election office directory (fetched Oct 10, 2026; each record dated), EAC EAVS 2024 jurisdictions; registration and lookup links from vote.gov’s state data, checked Oct 10, 2026.
- Internet (FCC): pending.