Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Truth or Consequences grades D overall, 62nd among New Mexico's 72 graded towns, mostly because of health and safety. Residents are less healthy than 86% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. It reports more crime per resident than 85% of U.S. towns, including 11 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025. What it does well: it has 46 miles of trail and 30% conserved land. Truth or Consequences’ average trip to work is 12 minutes, below both the New Mexico town median (23 minutes) and the median of U.S. towns (25 minutes). Truth or Consequences has 3 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them US Post Office-Truth or Consequences Main. Only 3 of the 72 New Mexico towns we compare have a lower median household income than Truth or Consequences.
Where Truth or Consequences beats most towns.
Census counts: 455 in 1920, 6,052 in 2020. The archive holds 36 old photos and papers going back to 1927 and a map from 1979 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New Mexico), ordered by how far Truth or Consequences is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Truth or Consequences, 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 Truth or Consequences.
Truth or Consequences has hotter summers than nearly all U.S. towns and has seen reported crime fall by a third or more, but it is a long drive from an emergency room.
46 miles of trail in 5 parks and preserves. The trail density in Truth or Consequences is 1.7 miles per square mile. The biggest park or preserve is Veterans' Memorial Park, at 31 acres.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Veterans' Memorial Park | 0.4 mi | 31 |
| 2. Rotary Park | 0.3 mi | 6 |
| 3. Louis Armijo Sports Complex | — | 29 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the T Or C school district. Two of its 5 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Hot Springs High, with 347 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| T or C ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–3 | Grades PK–3 | 367 | – |
| Hot Springs HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 347 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NM on state tests and graduation
The median property tax bill is $718, against $1,731 across New Mexico, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
The typical Truth or Consequences home is worth about $155,000, up 4.8% in a year, 51% below the New Mexico typical home. Truth or Consequences’ median rent is $714 a month.
| Truth or Consequences | New Mexico towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 58% | 70% | 73% |
| Median rent | $714 a month | $944 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
The nearest emergency room, Socorro General Hospital, is 59.5 miles away in a straight line. Against the 1,052 U.S. towns with household incomes like Truth or Consequences’s, it is healthier than 76%, so its D isn’t only a matter of income.
45% of Truth or Consequences adults have high blood pressure. Among 73 New Mexico towns, just 4 have a higher share of adults who have diabetes than Truth or Consequences. 39% of Truth or Consequences adults have obesity.
| Truth or Consequences | New Mexico towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 17% | 14% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 14% | 12% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 45% | 35% | 35% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 25% | 19% |
| What stands out | Truth or Consequences | NM |
|---|---|---|
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 80.8% | 73.3% |
| More adults getting a yearly checkup | 73.3% | 69% |
| More adults with COPD | 12.8% | 6.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Reported crimes fell from 145 to 97 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Truth or Consequences reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 85% report less. Within New Mexico, it does better than 50% of towns.
| Truth or Consequences | New Mexico towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.9 per 1,000 residents | 4.4 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 14.5 per 1,000 residents | 16.4 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 84% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 7 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Truth or Consequences.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
July afternoons average 94.3°, hotter than in 95% of U.S. towns; January nights average 28.5°.
Truth or Consequences has mild winters and hot summers, with very little rain. Among 73 New Mexico towns, just 7 have a higher January low than Truth or Consequences. Snow is almost unheard of.
| Truth or Consequences | New Mexico towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 94°F | 93°F | 85°F |
| January low | 29°F | 21°F | 22°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The average commute for its 2,136 working residents takes 11.5 minutes, against 23.5 across New Mexico.
32% of residents live below the poverty line in Truth or Consequences. The top destinations are Las Cruces (7%), Albuquerque (6%) and Elephant Butte (5%). 48% of working residents work locally in Truth or Consequences.
| Truth or Consequences | New Mexico towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 32% | 20% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 48% | 13% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
None within 15 miles of Truth or Consequences; the nearest are
About 1 of every 100 Truth or Consequences residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across New Mexico.
3 places in Truth or Consequences on the National Register of Historic Places.
City in New Mexico, United States
Truth or Consequences (commonly T or C; founded as Hot Springs) is a city in the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Sierra County. In 2020, the population was 6,052. The city is historically defined and economically shaped by local geothermal hot springs. It has frequently been noted on lists of unusual place names for having chosen to rename itself in March 1950 after the Truth or Consequences radio show. The name is often hyphenated (Truth-or-Consequences, T-or-C) for clarity, though the formal name contains no punctuation.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with Truth or Consequences.
| Town | NM rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Truth or Consequences | #62 | D | B− | C− | B− | D |
| Williamsburg | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Elephant Butte | — | — | B− | — | B− | B− |
Elephant Butte has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Elephant Butte reports no FBI crime data of its own. Williamsburg isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Truth or Consequences with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Truth or Consequences grades D overall, better than 8% of U.S. towns and #62 of 72 in New Mexico. It grades D for health, C− for safety and B− for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a D.
Within New Mexico, it does better than 50% of towns.
That is 3.7 years of the area's median household income ($41,600 across the county). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B−.
