Photo: Jeff Vincent · CC BY 2.0Truth or Consequences’ household incomes are lower than in 98% of U.S. towns
Jobs & income C−: better than 16% of U.S. towns on income, poverty, unemployment and job access · #39 of 72 in New Mexico.
Walkability B+: more walkable than 70% of U.S. towns · #25 of 73 in New Mexico.
Working residents average 12 minutes each way (New Mexico 24, U.S. 26). About half work in Truth or Consequences; the top destination outside it is Las Cruces (7%, 69 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work and commuting in Truth or Consequences, in brief
Commutes from Truth or Consequences are quick
The average trip to work takes 12 minutes, against 24 across New Mexico. That’s about 92 hours a year less on the road than the typical New Mexico worker. Time on the road ↓
Most jobs in Truth or Consequences go to people who live here
Of the 2,180 jobs based in Truth or Consequences, 47% are held by Truth or Consequences residents. In most towns, people from elsewhere hold most of the local jobs. Day and night ↓
Fewer than half of Truth or Consequences workers earn over $40,000 a year
38% of Truth or Consequences’ working residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, wherever they work, and 19% earn $1,250 a month or less. The jobs ↓
A big share show a job far from home
39% 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.
What’s behind Truth or Consequences’ Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Truth or Consequences is better than 16% of U.S. towns, #39 of 72 in New Mexico. Unemployment holds Truth or Consequences’ grade up (1.6%, U.S. 5.2%); household income pulls it down ($33,788, U.S. $80,734).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Truth or Consequences could be anywhere from D to C−.
About 12 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 3.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Truth or Consequences workers work from home, vs 12% across New Mexico. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,841 commuters (the 7% 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.
Who leaves, who stays, who comes in
On a workday 1,112 residents head out to work, 1,024 work right here, and 1,156 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 (1.02 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.
What the 2,180 jobs in Truth or Consequences are
2,180 jobs are based in Truth or Consequences. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Truth or Consequences’s own residents hold wherever they work.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Truth or Consequences, 2013 → 2023: 2,117 → 2,180. 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.
Half of Truth or Consequences commutes less than 3 miles
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
About 39% 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.
7% of working residents work in Las Cruces
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
Where Truth or Consequences clocks in
7% of workers
6% of workers
5% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
Most trips from Truth or Consequences start in a car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Truth or Consequences is more walkable than 70% of U.S. towns, #25 of 73 in New Mexico. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 2.1% 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 1,973 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). 9.9% of Truth or Consequences households have no vehicle (New Mexico 5.6%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Truth or Consequences’ commuters take a bus or train.
Truth or Consequences is 2,923rd 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 Truth or Consequences, 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− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,921 | Arnold PA | 4,619 | $45K | 25.5% | 9.9% | 7% | C− |
| 2,922 | River Rouge MI | 6,814 | $41K | 39.8% | 11.4% | 4% | C− |
| 2,923 | Truth or Consequences NM | 5,949 | $34K | 31.7% | 1.6% | 48% | C− |
| 2,924 | Central SC | 5,298 | $60K | 30.3% | 4.4% | 3% | C− |
| 2,925 | Penitas TX | 6,495 | $49K | 23.8% | 7.4% | 2% | 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.
Truth or Consequences and the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Elephant Butte (5%). Darker towns draw more of Truth or Consequences’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Truth or Consequences workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Truth or Consequences | – | C− | B+ | 12 min | $33,788 |
| Williamsburg | under 1% | — | — | 14 min | — |
| Elephant Butte | 5% | D | C | 12 min | $53,482 |
Same-state neighbors only. Williamsburg: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
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 Truth or Consequences: questions
What is the median household income in Truth or Consequences?
$33,788 (±$8,927) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $64,059 across New Mexico and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Truth or Consequences?
31.7%, against 17.8% across New Mexico and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Truth or Consequences?
12 minutes each way on average, against 24 across New Mexico and 26 nationally. 7% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Truth or Consequences work?
48% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Las Cruces (7%, 69 mi), Albuquerque (6%, 134 mi), Elephant Butte (5%, 5 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Truth or Consequences walkable?
Truth or Consequences is more walkable than 70% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 9.4 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Truth or Consequences without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 10% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Truth or Consequences, from the people who make the trip.
More of Truth or Consequences
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.