Photo: Wordbuilder · CC BY 3.0Households in Tucumcari earn less than in almost any other U.S. town
Measured by household income, Tucumcari is among the lowest-earning towns in the country. Poverty touches 34.3% of residents; New Mexico has 17.8%. Tucumcari grades D− for jobs and income and A− for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Tucumcari apart on work
Commutes from Tucumcari are quick
The average trip to work takes 8 minutes, against 24 across New Mexico. That’s about 123 hours a year less on the road than the typical New Mexico worker. Time on the road ↓
Tucumcari’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Tucumcari is Albuquerque, 166 miles away as the crow flies. 9% of working residents (172) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
A big share show a job far from home
50% 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 ↓
Most jobs in Tucumcari go to people who live here
Of the 1,622 jobs based in Tucumcari, 49% are held by Tucumcari residents. In most towns, people from elsewhere hold most of the local jobs. Day and night ↓
Fewer than half of Tucumcari workers earn over $40,000 a year
38% of Tucumcari’s working residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, wherever they work, and 20% earn $1,250 a month or less. The jobs ↓
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.
Breaking down the Jobs & income grade for Tucumcari
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Tucumcari is near the bottom of U.S. towns, #71 of 72 in New Mexico. All four inputs sit close together, so no single one decides Tucumcari’s grade.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Tucumcari could be anywhere from D− to D.
The trip to work from Tucumcari: about 8 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 2.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Tucumcari workers work from home, vs 12% across New Mexico. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,062 commuters (the 3% 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.
How far Tucumcari’s workers travel
About 50% 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.
The daily commute in and out of Tucumcari
On a workday 1,157 residents head out to work, 796 work right here, and 826 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 (0.83 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.
The 1,622 jobs based in Tucumcari
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Tucumcari, 2013 → 2023: 1,645 → 1,622. 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 Tucumcari’s own residents hold wherever they work.
9% of working residents work in Albuquerque
Where Tucumcari 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.
Tucumcari is more walkable than most U.S. towns, with limited transit
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Tucumcari is more walkable than 84% of U.S. towns, #7 of 73 in New Mexico. Both inputs place Tucumcari near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 2,124 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). 13.8% of Tucumcari households have no vehicle (New Mexico 5.6%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Tucumcari’s commuters take a bus or train.
U.S. towns of 3,600 to 6,900, and where Tucumcari sits
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 569 | White Rock NM | 5,716 | $157K | 2.5% | 0.2% | 4% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 739 | Placitas NM | 4,223 | $110K | 3.2% | 3.5% | 3% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 807 | Los Ranchos de Albuquerque NM | 5,790 | $73K | 8.8% | 0.8% | 3% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,622 | Whiteriver AZ | 4,545 | $37K | 42.2% | 9.7% | 57% | D− |
| 3,623 | Needles CA | 4,821 | $38K | 29.7% | 12.9% | 30% | D− |
| 3,624 | Tucumcari NM | 5,082 | $32K | 34.3% | 11.2% | 41% | D− |
| 3,625 | Hawaiian Beaches HI | 3,947 | $29K | 40.4% | 8.8% | 4% | D− |
| 3,626 | Medina TX | 4,226 | $22K | 53.8% | 10.1% | 4% | D− |
| 3,627 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | 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 Tucumcari, the top three, the last and three more from New Mexico.
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 Tucumcari: questions
What is the median household income in Tucumcari?
$31,844 (±$10,988) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $64,059 across New Mexico and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Tucumcari?
34.3%, against 17.8% across New Mexico and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Tucumcari?
8 minutes each way on average, against 24 across New Mexico and 26 nationally. 3% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Tucumcari work?
41% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Albuquerque (9%, 166 mi), Clovis (6%, 58 mi), Santa Fe (4%, 133 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Tucumcari walkable?
Tucumcari is more walkable than 84% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 9.5 out of 20, and 5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Tucumcari without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 14% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Tucumcari, from the people who make the trip.
More of Tucumcari
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.