Rio Arriba County, New Mexico: commercial real estate data.

Rio Arriba County

How many people live in Rio Arriba County

• Population, American Community Survey 2020-202440,070
• Households15,647
• Average household size2.56
• Median household income$57,155
• Median age42.0
• Median gross rent$740 per month
• Median owner-occupied home value$243,700
• Home value to household income4.3 times
• Annual rent as a share of median income15.5 percent
• Adults 25 and over with a bachelor degree or higher19.0 percent
• Adults 25 and over with a graduate degree8.6 percent
• Adults 25 and over27,797
• Population under 189,016
• Share under 1822.5 percent
• Population 65 and over8,742
• Share 65 and over21.8 percent
• Working age population, 18 to 6422,312
• Civilian labor force17,007
• Unemployment rate4.9 percent
• Labor force participation, adults 18 and over54.8 percent
• Rank by population among New Mexico counties13th of 33
• Rank by population among US county-equivalents, Puerto Rico included1203rd of 3,222

Rio Arriba County is the 13th largest of 33 New Mexico counties by population. A median home costs 4.3 times median household income, which is seriously unaffordable by national standards. Residents under 18 outnumber those 65 and over, at 22.5 percent against 21.8 percent, a household formation profile rather than a retirement one.

US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, 2020-2024 5-year.

Rio Arriba County

Where are people moving to Rio Arriba County from?

• Tax returns filed by households arriving712
• People arriving, from those returns1,200
• Tax returns filed by households leaving697
• Net household movement15
• Adjusted gross income arriving$40.4 m
• Net adjusted gross income movement$5.9 m
• Average income of an arriving household$56,740
• Average income of a leaving household$49,516
• Largest single originSanta Fe County (218 households)
• Largest single destinationSanta Fe County (207 households)

Households arriving report $7,224 more average income than households leaving, so the migration is raising local spending power rather than just moving it around. The largest single source of arrivals is Santa Fe County, which is the catchment a retail or multifamily study should look at first.

US Internal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income county migration flows, 2021 to 2022 filing years.

Rio Arriba County

Employment by industry in Rio Arriba County

• Covered employment, annual average9,291
• Establishments reporting859
• Average annual pay$48,908
• Average weekly wage$941
• Health care and social assistance, employment1,300
• Health care and social assistance, average annual pay$63,906
• Retail trade, employment1,010
• Retail trade, average annual pay$32,605
• Accommodation and food services, employment897
• Accommodation and food services, average annual pay$26,287
• Other services, except public administration, employment307
• Other services, except public administration, average annual pay$50,625
• Construction, employment298
• Administrative and support and waste management services, employment273

Health care and social assistance is the largest private sector at 1,300 jobs, 14.0 percent of covered employment.

US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, 2024 annual averages.

Rio Arriba County

SBA loans in Rio Arriba County (7(a) and 504)

• 7(a) approvals recorded10
• 7(a) gross approval dollars$4.8 m
• Average 7(a) approval$481,100
• Median 7(a) approval$475,250
• Largest single approval$1,130,000
• Jobs reported supported, 7(a)50
• Jobs per approval5.0
• Distinct 7(a) lenders active7
• Distinct industries receiving approvals9
• Median 7(a) term120 months
• Share of loans on real estate terms, 240 months or longer40.0 percent
• Loans on real estate terms4
• Loans on working capital terms, 120 months or shorter6
• Franchise loans2
• Franchise share of approvals20.0 percent
• Most active lenderCentury Bank (3)
• 504 approvals recorded11
• 504 gross approval dollars$4.5 m
• Average 504 approval$410,091
• Median 504 approval$336,000
• Distinct CDCs active3
• 504 jobs per approval7.9
• 504 jobs per million dollars approved19.3
• Most active CDCEnchantment Land Certified Development Company (7)
• Combined SBA approval dollars, 7(a) FY2020 to FY2026 and 504 FY2010 to FY2026$9.3 m

US Small Business Administration, 7(a) FOIA release, FY2020 to FY2026 year to date, as of 2026-06-30. US Small Business Administration, 504 FOIA release, FY2010 to FY2026 year to date, as of 2026-06-30.

Rio Arriba County

SBA lending by place in Rio Arriba County

• Borrower cities with recorded lending4
• Española, approvals6
• Hernandez, approvals2
• Chimayo, approvals1
• Chama, approvals1

US Small Business Administration, 7(a) FOIA release, FY2020 to FY2026 year to date, as of 2026-06-30.

Rio Arriba County

Flood risk in Rio Arriba County

• Participation of the county's own NFIP community Rio Arriba County, unincorporated areasParticipating, community 350049
• Communities in the county in the NFIP Community Status Book3
• Of those, participating in the NFIP3
• NFIP participation rate100.0 percent
• Communities carrying a CRS class0
• Radon levels in Rio Arriba County, EPA zone predicted average indoor radon screening level greater than 4 pCi/LZone 1

The county's own community in the status book, unincorporated Rio Arriba County (community 350049), participates in the National Flood Insurance Program and carries no Community Rating System class, so no CRS premium discount applies there. The EPA places Rio Arriba County in radon zone 1, a predicted average indoor radon screening level greater than 4 pCi/L. The zone is a screening prediction for the county and does not substitute for a test at an address. 100.0 percent of the county's listed communities participate in the National Flood Insurance Program, per Federal Emergency Management Agency, NFIP Community Status Book (OpenFEMA), as of 2026-09-26.

Federal Emergency Management Agency, NFIP Community Status Book (OpenFEMA), as of 2026-09-26. US EPA, Map of Radon Zones, county spreadsheet, 2024-05 publication, EPA 402/A-16/001.

Feasibility studies

When a Rio Arriba County site needs a document a lender will accept.

The same data layer behind this page is the one the studies are written from. A study for a Rio Arriba County site starts with the figures you are reading, carrying the same source and period into the credit file.

• Population, American Community Survey 2020-202440,070
• Households15,647
• Average household size2.56
• Median household income$57,155
• Median age42.0

How a feasibility study works →

Rio Arriba County

Cities and places in Rio Arriba.

41 Census places lie wholly or partly in Rio Arriba County. 40 carry enough published place level data for a page of their own and are linked. The rest are named here and not linked, because the American Community Survey and the SBA record between them do not carry enough about them to write an honest page. A place existing is itself worth knowing, so nothing in the county is left out.