
New Mexico · Census place 73540
Socorro, NM population, income and ZIP codes
Quick answer
The population of the city of Socorro, New Mexico (Socorro, NM — Census place “Socorro city”) is 8,540 residents, ranking #29 of 527 places in New Mexico. Median household income is $51,343, the median home is worth $162,400 and median gross rent runs $675 a month. Looking for the Socorro New Mexico ZIP code list? 1 ZIP codes serve Socorro, NM: 87801.
- Population
- 8,540Socorro city residents
- Median household income
- $51,343Past 12 months, inflation adjusted
- Median home value
- $162,400Owner-occupied units
- Median gross rent
- $675Rent plus utilities, monthly
- Median age
- 36.4 yrsAll residents
- Homeownership rate
- 60%Owner-occupied households
Socorro ZIP codes (New Mexico)
Census ZCTAs whose delivery area overlaps Socorro.
The Socorro NM ZIP code list below covers 1 ZIP code. Open any one for its population, income, housing and rent profile.
What the numbers mean in Socorro city
Housing cost measured against local earnings.
A household earning the Socorro city median would spend about 15.8% of gross income on the median rent. The 30% mark is the federal threshold for cost burden, so anything above it signals a stretched rental market. The median home costs 3.2× the median household income; nationally that ratio sits near 4.5×. Poverty affects 24.9% of residents and 60% of households own their home.
Source: US Census Bureau, ACS 2019-2023 5-year estimates · rates as published for 2019-2023 ACS 5-year
Socorro city, NM in context
How this area compares with national benchmarks.
Socorro city is a mid-size town in New Mexico, with 8,540 residents counted in the Census American Community Survey 2019-2023 ACS 5-year estimates, which places it #29 of 527 ranked by population — larger than 94% of them. The median age here is 36.4 years against 39.1 nationally, a slightly younger profile than the country as a whole. Places under 65,000 residents only appear in the five-year release, never the one-year file, so these values pool sixty months of responses and lag the current year by design.
Households in Socorro city earn a median of $51,343 a year, 34.6% below the national figure of $78,538 and 5% below the $54,029 median for the 153 New Mexico cities we cover. The median is the midpoint household, not an average, so a handful of very high earners cannot drag it upward the way they distort a mean. Poverty reaches 24.9% of residents here, well above the 12.4% national rate, which is the single clearest signal in this dataset that median income here is carried by a narrow band of households.
The typical owner-occupied home in Socorro city is valued at $162,400, 46.5% below the national figure and 15% below the $190,000 peer median, while median gross rent runs $675 a month, 52% below the national figure, or roughly $8,100 across a full year. A household on the local median income would put about 15.8% of gross pay toward that rent against the federal 30% cost-burden threshold, so renting here is cheap relative to what people here earn. The home-price-to-income ratio works out to 3.2×, against roughly 3.9× nationally, so buying is easier here than in the average US market. 60% of occupied homes are owner-occupied versus 65% nationally, so the market leans more heavily on renters. Rent is reported gross — contract rent plus tenant-paid utilities — which is why it runs above the advertised price on a listing for the same unit.
Every value on this page is published directly by the Census for this area — nothing is modelled or interpolated. Small-area estimates still carry wider margins of error than state or national figures, so check the linked ACS tables before relying on them for lending, appraisal or legal work.
Compare with nearby places
Places of similar size in New Mexico.
- Shiprock CDP 8,339
- Corrales village 8,557
- Ruidoso village 7,701
- Anthony city 8,701
- Belen city 7,427
- Bernalillo town 9,068
- Bloomfield city 7,391
- Grants city 9,106
Keep going
More New Mexico coverage.
Frequently asked questions
Common questions about this area.
- What is the population of Socorro city?
- Socorro city has 8,540 residents on Census ACS 2019-2023 ACS 5-year estimates, ranking #29 of 527 in New Mexico.
- What is the median household income in Socorro city?
- Median household income in Socorro city is $51,343 a year, 34.6% below the national figure of $78,538.
- How much does it cost to rent or buy in Socorro city?
- Median gross rent is $675 a month and the median home value is $162,400, so rent absorbs about 15.8% of median household income.
- Is Socorro city affordable compared with the rest of the US?
- Homes cost about 3.2× the local median income here versus roughly 3.9× nationally, so Socorro city is more affordable to buy in than the typical US market, and rent takes 15.8% of median income against the 30% cost-burden line.
- How current is this Socorro city data?
- All figures come from the US Census Bureau American Community Survey 2019-2023 ACS 5-year five-year estimates. Places under 65,000 residents only appear in the five-year release, never the one-year file, so these values pool sixty months of responses and lag the current year by design.