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Place dossier plate
SheetNM-HOBBS-NM · Hobbs, NM 39,887 pop · income 44th pct · 18 tracts
Instrument codes from this place’s ACS population and household income, BEA state COL, FBI safety, national income percentile, photo-finish peer city, home-value band, and matched Census-tract book - not a moving recommendation.
Income neighbourhood around Hobbs
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Hobbs on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Roswell · lowest
50,294
Roswell · lowest
50,294 median HH income
51.0% of the leader · rank #1
Hobbs · this city
65,691
Hobbs · this city
65,691 median HH income
66.6% of the leader · rank #2
Manila · near
65,691
Manila · near
65,691 median HH income
66.6% of the leader · rank #3
Loyalton · near
65,694
Loyalton · near
65,694 median HH income
66.6% of the leader · rank #4
Halaula · near
65,694
Halaula · near
65,694 median HH income
66.6% of the leader · rank #5
Minneapolis · near
65,694
Minneapolis · near
65,694 median HH income
66.6% of the leader · rank #6
Waipahu · highest
98,633
Waipahu · highest
98,633 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #7
What this shows Neighbourhood peers only - not a full nationwide city board. Open a near peer when the gap is small; open the poles when the spread is wide.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by population, income, and FBI crime rate
Out-of-state nearest neighbors for Hobbs on ACS population and median household income
, plus FBI UCR reporting rate when the extract covers this place. Link sets are deduped so each column is a distinct comparison path, not a forecast that peers share a labor market or climate.
Similar population
Nearest out-of-state cities by ACS population. This city: 39,887.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Hobbs - the verdict
Hobbs ranks in the 44th percentile for household income and the 5th percentile for safety nationally, out of every US city with at least 1,000 residents. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
44th
percentile, household income
37th
percentile, home value
39th
percentile, median rent
5th
percentile, safety
📝 How we sourced this
Population, income, and housing-cost figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates (B-series tables). Crime data uses FBI UCR; climate uses NOAA Climate Normals; school counts come from NCES Common Core of Data; permits use the Census Building Permits Survey (BPS). See our methodology page for the full ETL pipeline and OMB / FIPS join keys.
Data Snapshot: Hobbs, NM
Census ACS 2023 estimates count 39,887 residents in Hobbs, a small city within New Mexico. The typical household in Hobbs brings in $65,691 a year, below the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 16.2%. Typical homes in Hobbs are valued around $180,700, and the median resident age is 31.7 years. Educational attainment runs 16.6% of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher. Separately, 58.8% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
In 2024, 172 residential building permits were authorized in Hobbs (Growing), up 5% from five years earlier, per Census BPS data. Hobbs's reported crime rate runs above the national norm: per-100,000 total crime stands at 4541.7 in FBI UCR data, above the national average (a voluntary reporting program, read this as reporting activity, not a definitive danger score). NOAA climate normals record an annual average temperature of 62.2°F with 13.8 inches of precipitation per year and 1.8 inches of snowfall.
Living costs in New Mexico run below the national norm: BEA Regional Price Parities 2024 puts New Mexico at 92.2 on a 100-equals-national-average scale (Below Average). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in this state is $1,129 per month. EIA 2023 residential energy data puts New Mexico's average monthly utility costs around $167 (state average). Natural-hazard exposure scores 58.9 out of 100 on FEMA's National Risk Index (Moderate).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Hobbs's data
How this reading path is ordered
This is not a composite city score. It is a city-specific route through the available public records, ordered for this profile so the page starts with questions the joined data can actually answer. The route here runs from housing and income to schools and households to reported crime to work and mobility to comparison shortlist to climate and hazard context to within-city variation to population change; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Hobbs, city-specific coverage includes FBI reported-crime rates, within-city Census tract profiles, matched public-school count, commute-mode shares, local building permits, annual population history.
All six city-specific enrichment layers used by this profile are present.
Question 1
How far does income reach against housing in Hobbs?
The home-value-to-income reference sits in a middle range: the ACS median home value is 2.8 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 16.2%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
This is a citywide price-to-income reference, not a mortgage-affordability test; it does not include interest rates, taxes, insurance, household size, or an individual buyer's down payment. Income and home value move within the same broad scale here. The useful next check is not a generic affordability label, but whether similar-size cities offer a materially different income, housing, or commute trade-off.
The NCES join finds 19 public schools within the city match. 16.6% of adults age 25+ hold a bachelor's degree or higher in the ACS estimate. These measures answer different questions: the school count describes local institutions, while adult attainment describes residents and cannot be used as a school-quality rating.
The city has a broader matched school footprint, but count alone does not describe performance, capacity, program availability, or attendance boundaries. This profile deliberately avoids converting it into an unsupported family-friendliness score.
Which cities make useful reference points for Hobbs?
Within New Mexico, the closest population matches are Clovis (38,153 residents, $54,029 income); South Valley (36,605 residents, $51,062 income); Farmington (46,339 residents, $63,745 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Wausau, WI (39,893 residents); Duncanville, TX (39,879 residents); Waipahu, HI (39,871 residents). A third, income-matched reference set of 6 out-of-state cities sits in the income neighbourhood chart near the Place Dossier plate. These are mechanical peer sets, not claims that the places share a labor market, climate, culture, or metro context.
Use the in-state set to hold state policy and broad price conditions more nearly constant. Use the nationwide size set to ask whether cities with a similar resident count produce different housing, income, or commute outcomes. The income set is a third lens, deliberately separate from population matching. The nationwide peer panel below adds a fourth FBI UCR reporting-rate lens, not personal risk.
That layer breaks the citywide income, rent, and home-value medians into smaller Census geographies, which can reveal differences that one municipal median necessarily hides. A tract is a statistical area, not a locally defined neighborhood or a promise about conditions on a particular block. Start with the city profile for the broad comparison, then use the tract layer to test whether the same housing and income pattern is consistent across the city. Large within-city spreads are a reason to avoid treating any citywide median as a universal resident experience.
PlainCities matches 18 Census tracts to this city.
These joined records add useful context, but they do not need another full-size panel. Each remains a separate measure with its own geography and source boundary.
Reported crime
What can the FBI record say about safety in Hobbs?
Treat this as a reporting-rate comparison, not a prediction of personal risk or a neighborhood-level safety grade. Tourism, daytime population, reporting practices, and variation inside the city are not adjusted away. The state rank and same-state peer table are the narrower comparisons available on this page.
The joined FBI UCR record reports 4541.7 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, above the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 99% higher in arithmetic terms, but agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies.
Property rate
3751.4
Violent rate
790.3
Total reported rate
4541.7
FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, incidents per 100,000. Voluntary agency reporting; not a danger score.
Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. No single mode completely explains the work trip here. The mix is more useful than a one-number commute grade, especially when comparing places where transit, walking, and remote work divide the non-driving share differently.
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 78.6%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
Public transit
0.3%
Work from home
2.2%
Drive alone
78.6%
City-level Census ACS commuting estimates covering 17,054 workers age 16+.
NOAA normals put the annual mean temperature at 62.2°F, with 13.8 inches of precipitation and 1.8 inches of annual snowfall. FEMA's state-averaged National Risk Index score for New Mexico is 58.9 out of 100. Climate normals describe long-run weather; the FEMA score on PlainCities is a state average of county NRI inputs and combines hazards, exposure, vulnerability, and resilience.
The two sources should not be blended into one comfort or safety score. Use the climate values for baseline conditions and the risk index as a prompt to inspect specific hazards, insurance, and local emergency guidance for a particular address.
Mean temperature
62.2°F
Annual precipitation
13.8 in
FEMA risk index (state avg)
58.9
NOAA Climate Normals and FEMA National Risk Index (state-averaged on PlainCities). Hazard context is not address-level.
The recent population line is broadly flat. That makes the composition of change more important than the headline count: housing turnover, household size, and age structure can shift even when the total barely moves.
Census PEP estimates show the population grew by +209 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +0.5% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 172 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
Period change
+0.5%
2025 estimate
40,863
2020 estimate
40,654
Census Population Estimates Program, 2020–2025; permit context uses Census BPS.
Below median income · poverty 16.2% (High poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
92.2 (US=100)
Affordable · BEA RPP 2024, New Mexico average
F
City profile score · Hobbs, NM
34/100
5 published dimensions · ACS/FBI 2023
Comparative score against U.S. cities with population of 1,000 or more on Census ACS medians
(income, poverty, bachelor's share, cost of living) and FBI UCR violent-crime rates when
published. Higher means a stronger standing on those published figures, not a livability
rating, not a recommendation to move, buy, or pick a "best" city. Missing inputs drop out
and redistribute weight.
How it is calculated.
Cost of living B+
92.2 index
BEA state Regional Price Parities index (100 ≈ national average); lower is stronger on this axis. Same value for every city in the state.
Household income D
$65,691
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Bachelor's+ share F
16.6%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Poverty rate F
16.2%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Violent crime F
790 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Hobbs profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Cost of living: 77/100 (B+) · 92.2 index
Household income: 43/100 (D) · $65,691
Bachelor's+ share: 24/100 (F) · 16.6%
Poverty rate: 20/100 (F) · 16.2%
Violent crime: 2/100 (F) · 790 /100k
Where Hobbs sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Hobbs's median home value and FBI crime rate plotted with similar-size and
same-state peers (padded with large cities when the peer set is thin). The second
read: pricey does not always mean safer, check which quadrant this city lands in.
Census ACS median home value vs FBI UCR crime rate - Hobbs highlighted among 9 peers.Read the chart values
Hobbs, NM (this city): home $180,700, crime 4,542/100k
Wausau, WI : home $155,900, crime 1,304/100k
Duncanville, TX : home $239,200, crime 2,586/100k
Hurst, TX : home $287,600, crime 2,592/100k
Hutchinson, KS : home $122,600, crime 2,597/100k
Farmington, NM : home $225,400, crime 3,411/100k
Roswell, NM : home $139,200, crime 3,357/100k
Carlsbad, NM : home $187,900, crime 3,316/100k
Alamogordo, NM : home $163,600, crime 3,181/100k
How does Hobbs compare to other US cities?
Here's how Hobbs stacks up against the full field of US cities (population 1,000+), computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income44% higher than other cities
Home value37% pricier than other cities
Median rent39% pricier than other cities
Safety5% safer than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
National percentiles can mask local variation. Looking only at New Mexico, Hobbs ranks #36 of 42 New Mexico cities by lowest crime rate - a narrower, more locally useful cut than the national comparison above.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Hobbs against every qualifying US city; each in-state rank narrows that to New Mexico only. Full formula and direction notes: methodology.
New Mexico-relative analysis
Median Gross Rent places Hobbs near the bottom of New Mexico's cities
Among the 409 New Mexico cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Hobbs ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Hobbs only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#119 of 324
63rd percentile in New Mexico
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 409
0th percentile in New Mexico
Median Home Value
#169 of 324
48th percentile in New Mexico
Poverty Rate
#169 of 408
59th percentile in New Mexico
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#208 of 409
49th percentile in New Mexico
How in-state ranks are ordered
Ranked by raw value (highest first); a higher rank is not automatically "better" for every measure, see each metric's own context above. This is a comparison within New Mexico only, not a livability score. See the methodology for the source and calculation.
Gauge source note
44th percentile nationally for median household income · 5th percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Hobbs's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Hobbs's percentile rank on 3 favorable-direction measures (income, affordability, safety) vs. every tracked US city -- higher on every axis is more favorable. Not a composite quality score, just the arithmetic mean of the axes shown.
How Hobbs's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$180,700Among the most affordablemore affordable than 63% of 15,600 US cities
Show national distribution
Each bar is a $25K-wide band; taller bars hold more US cities. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2023
Hobbs's home-value-to-income ratio: 2.8×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
affordable
< 3.0×
National rank
#5,313 of 15,516
More affordable than 66% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#604 of 3,317
Small cities (10,000–49,999)
At 2.8×, Hobbs sits in the affordable band:
national rank #5,313 of 15,516 and #604 of 3,317small cities (10,000–49,999).
The multiple is comparatively compact among tracked cities, but a low ratio can still coexist with slow demand or household-level hardship.
How this ratio is calculated
Ratio = Census ACS 2023 median home value ÷ median household income for cities with both fields and population ≥ 1,000.
Rank 1 = lowest ratio (most compact). Bands match the fleet affordability thresholds used on guides (<3.0 / 3.0–5.0 / >5.0).
This is not a mortgage payment estimate and does not include rates, taxes, insurance, or down payment.
Income distribution context
$65,691Hobbs, NM median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Hobbs, NM median household income (Census ACS 5-year) with U.S. national quintile shares for context. Diagonal = equality; the curve is national, not computed for Hobbs, NM.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)16.6%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)16.2%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)58.8%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
39,887
Median Income
$65,691
Median Home Value
$180,700
Median Age
31.7
Poverty Rate
16.2%
Labor force participation
58.8%
Bachelor's Degree+
16.6%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
4541.7
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
790.3
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
3751.4
per 100,000 residents
Crime reporting caveat
Reflects incidents reported to the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting program — agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies by jurisdiction and year, so this reflects reporting activity, not a definitive danger score. Not adjusted for tourism, commuter, or daytime population.
Climate
Avg Temperature
62.2°F
Annual Precipitation
13.8"
Annual Snowfall
1.8"
Schools
Total Schools
19
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Hobbs's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
40,654 residents
2021
39,803 residents
2022
39,559 residents
2023
40,004 residents
2024
40,685 residents
2025
40,863 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
🏗️ Growing
Total Permits (2024)
172
housing units authorized
Single-Family
172
detached homes
Multifamily
0
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
4.3
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
164
164
0
$35.9M
2020
147
147
0
$38.5M
2021
211
211
0
$53.0M
2022
129
129
0
$36.8M
2023
186
186
0
$52.3M
2024
172
172
0
$51.9M
Permit volume increased 5% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
78.6%
Carpool
16.9%
Public Transit
0.3%
Walk
1.4%
Work from Home
2.2%
Other
0.6%
Based on 17,054 workers 16 and over.
Monthly Utility Costs
New Mexico statewide monthly utility average (EIA 2023): $167
EIA 2023 residential energy data puts average monthly utilities across New Mexico at $167 (electricity about $85 , water and sewer about $42 ).
These are New Mexico statewide averages, not a meter reading for Hobbs. Actual bills vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.
Living Costs & Risk
New Mexico's BEA cost-of-living index is 92.2 (Below Average; US average = 100, RPP 2024). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in the county around Hobbs is $1,129/mo. FEMA's National Risk Index, averaged to New Mexico statewide on PlainCities, rates natural-hazard exposure at 58.9 / 100 (Moderate).
Cost/risk geography note
Cost of living is a New Mexico statewide BEA average; rent is a county-level HUD Fair Market Rent for the county Hobbs sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Hobbs compares to similar-size New Mexico cities
Same-state peer method
Closest same-state population matches, not geographic neighbors. Population + median household income come from Census Bureau ACS 5-year B01001 and B19013.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year 2023, FBI UCR, NOAA Climate Normals, NCES CCD, Census BPS 2024, Census ACS B08301/B08136, U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023, BEA Regional Price Parities 2024, HUD Fair Market Rents 2026, FEMA National Risk Index.