Grant County, New Mexico

Grant County is a county in New Mexico, United States, in the state’s southwest corner about
150 miles west-northwest of Las Cruces and 15 miles from the Arizona line. It had a population of
28,185 at the 2020 census, an estimated 27,252 by 2025, and covers 3,962 square miles (10,260 km2)
of land centred near 32°44′N 108°23′W.

Silver City is the county seat and largest town; its postal code is 88061. The county holds 1
city, 2 towns, 1 village and 22 census-designated places, plus 7 unincorporated communities, and
it runs on Mountain Time. Its FIPS code is 35017.

Towns & Villages in Grant County

Grant County has 33 named places on record: 1 city, 2 towns, 1 village and 22 census-designated
places (CDPs) with their own population counts, plus 7 unincorporated communities with no
Census Bureau population of their own. Grant County has no civil townships — New Mexico
counties are not subdivided that way.

The old version of this page listed more than 50 names, including Big Mill, Brockman, Fierro,
Minero, Old Hachita, Pothook, Redstone, Silver Acres, Turnerville, Union Hill, Vanadium and
Wimsattville. Those are historic mining camps and company-town sites tied to the district’s
copper and gold booms, not places the Census Bureau currently recognises with a population count
— several sit inside or beside the modern Chino Mine pit and no longer exist as settlements.
They are folded into the History section below rather than the table, so the list here reflects
only places with a current, countable population.

Geography

Grant County sits in New Mexico’s boot heel country, where the southern Rocky Mountains
give way to the Basin and Range desert of the state’s bootheel. The Gila National Forest and
the Mogollon and Pinos Altos mountain ranges cover the county’s northern half, holding the
Gila Wilderness — designated in 1924, the first area in the world set aside as wilderness.
The Gila River runs through the county’s northwest corner past the community of Gila, and
the Mimbres River drains the southeastern mountains past Mimbres and San Lorenzo. Of the
county’s 3,968 square miles, 3,962 are land and 5.9 are water, under 0.2 percent, typical
for the arid Southwest.

Catron County borders Grant to the north, Sierra County to the east, Luna County to the
southeast, Hidalgo County to the south, and Greenlee County, Arizona, to the west. Catron County, Sierra County and Luna County each have their own page on this
site; Hidalgo County and Greenlee County, Arizona, do not.

Demographics

Grant County had a population of 28,185 at the 2020 census, and the latest estimate puts the
county near 27,252 residents, a slow decline typical of New Mexico’s mining counties.
Silver City and Bayard are the two largest communities, together holding roughly 42 percent of
the county’s population. Median household income runs about $44,958 (Data USA, 2024), well
below New Mexico’s statewide figure of $62,268 (2023 ACS). Population density works out to
roughly 7 people per square mile of land, among the lowest in the state outside its true
wilderness counties.

Economy & Local Life

Educational services employ the most workers in the county, about 1,606 people, followed by
health care and social assistance at 1,482 and retail trade at 1,036. Western New Mexico
University, based in Silver City, is the county’s largest single educational employer.
Freeport-McMoRan’s Chino Mine, an open-pit copper operation centred near Santa Rita and
Hurley, remains the backbone of the local economy and the reason Bayard, Hurley and Santa Clara
exist as separate towns rather than Silver City neighborhoods. Gila Regional Medical Center in
Silver City serves as the county’s main hospital. The county’s biggest annual event is
the Tour of the Gila, a UCI-sanctioned multi-day cycling stage race that starts in Silver City
each April or May and draws professional riders from across the Americas.

History

The New Mexico Territorial Legislature organized Grant County on 1 January 1868, naming it for
Ulysses S. Grant, then commanding general of the U.S. Army and future 18th president. Silver ore
discovered at Chloride Flat in 1870 founded Silver City, and the surrounding mountains had already
drawn miners to Pinos Altos after an 1860 gold strike. The Apache Wars shaped the county’s
first decade: the Battle of Pinos Altos was fought there on 27 September 1861 between an Arizona
militia and Apache forces led by Mangas Coloradas and Cochise, and the Army built Fort Bayard in
1866 to garrison the district, staffing it in part with Buffalo Soldier regiments after the Civil
War.

Copper mining, not silver, became the county’s long-term industry. The Santa Rita del
Cobre deposit, worked since Spanish colonial times, grew into the modern Chino Mine, and the
company towns of Hanover, Fierro, Vanadium and Santa Rita itself grew up around successive pits
and smelters through the 20th century — several were later absorbed or erased as the open
pit expanded. Sheriff Harvey Whitehill arrested a young Henry Antrim, later known as Billy the
Kid, in Silver City in 1875, one of the outlaw’s earliest recorded arrests. A flood on 21
July 1895 gouged out Silver City’s Main Street into what locals still call the Big Ditch.

Getting There

US 180 crosses the county through Silver City, Santa Clara, Bayard and Hurley; NM 90, NM 15,
NM 152 and NM 35 branch off it toward the Gila Wilderness, Hanover and Mimbres. No interstate
highway reaches Grant County.

• Las Cruces — about 150 miles east-southeast
• El Paso, Texas — about 170 miles southeast
• Deming — about 50 miles southeast
• Lordsburg — about 45 miles southwest

Grant County Airport, 10 miles southeast of Silver City, is the county’s own commercial
airfield. El Paso International Airport, the nearest major hub, is about 170 miles southeast.
Amtrak does not serve Grant County; the nearest station is on the Sunset Limited line in
Lordsburg, in neighboring Hidalgo County.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Grant County located?
It sits in New Mexico’s southwest corner, about 150 miles west-northwest of Las Cruces,
bordered by Catron, Sierra, Luna and Hidalgo counties and by Greenlee County, Arizona.

What is the population of Grant County?
28,185 at the 2020 census, with an estimate near 27,252 for 2025.

How big is Grant County?
3,968 square miles (10,280 km2) in total, of which 3,962 square miles are land.

What is the county seat of Grant County?
Silver City is the county seat, founded in 1870 after a silver strike at Chloride Flat.

How many towns and villages are in Grant County?
One city (Bayard), two towns (Silver City and Hurley), one village (Santa Clara) and 22
census-designated places, plus 7 unincorporated communities.

What ZIP codes does Grant County use?
88061 for Silver City, 88023 for Bayard, 88026 for Santa Clara, 88043 for Hurley, 88022 for
Arenas Valley, 88053 for Pinos Altos, 88041 for Hanover, 88049 for Mimbres and 88040 for
Hachita, among others.

What is Grant County known for?
The Gila Wilderness, the world’s first designated wilderness area, and a copper and silver
mining district that shaped towns like Bayard, Hurley and Santa Clara around the Chino Mine.

More counties in this state: Towns and villages in New Mexico.