Otero County is a county in New Mexico, United States, in the south-central part of the state along the Texas line. It had a population of 67,839 at the 2020 census and covers 6,628 square miles (17,167 km2) centred near 32°37′N 105°44′W.<\/p>\n
Alamogordo is the county seat, and its postal code is 88310. The county has one city, two villages, roughly a dozen census-designated places and around thirty smaller unincorporated communities, all on Mountain Time. Otero County’s FIPS code is 35035.<\/p>\n
Otero County’s population is concentrated in Alamogordo and along US-54\/US-70; the rest of the county is desert basin, national forest and missile-range land dotted with small mountain villages and historic ranch or mining sites. In the table below, CDP means census-designated place (an unincorporated community the Census Bureau tracks separately) and Unincorp. means an unincorporated place with no current census tally.<\/p>\n
| Place<\/th>\n | Type<\/th>\n | Pop.<\/th>\n | ZIP<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alamogordo<\/td>\n | City · seat<\/td>\n | 31,384<\/td>\n | 88310<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Tularosa<\/td>\n | Village<\/td>\n | 2,724<\/td>\n | 88352<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Cloudcroft<\/td>\n | Village<\/td>\n | 674<\/td>\n | 88317<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Chaparral<\/td>\n | CDP<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | 88081<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| La Luz<\/td>\n | CDP<\/td>\n | 1,762<\/td>\n | 88337<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Mescalero<\/td>\n | CDP<\/td>\n | 1,281<\/td>\n | 88340<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| High Rolls<\/td>\n | CDP<\/td>\n | 293<\/td>\n | 88325<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Holloman AFB<\/td>\n | CDP<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | 88330<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Mayhill<\/td>\n | CDP<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | 88339<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Orogrande<\/td>\n | CDP<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | 88358<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Pinon<\/td>\n | CDP<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | 88344<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Sacramento<\/td>\n | CDP<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Timberon<\/td>\n | CDP<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | 88350<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Weed<\/td>\n | CDP<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | 88354<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Mountain Park<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Hortonville<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Newman<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Sunspot<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | 88349<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Three Rivers<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Boles Acres<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | 88312<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Alamorosa<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Alvarado<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Apache<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Avis<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Bent<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Benton Well<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Blazers Mill<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Carrizo<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Chippeway Park<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Corner Well<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Crisp<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Dog Canyon Estates<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Dunes<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Elwood<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Kearney<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Marcia<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Martin Well<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Maxon<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Omlee<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Point of Sands<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Salinas<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Silver Springs<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Turquoise<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Twin Forks<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Valmont<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Whitetail<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Wimsatt<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n Chaparral is a large unincorporated community that straddles the Otero–Doña Ana county line; its population and ZIP code cover both counties, so no Otero-only figure is listed here. High Rolls is often written jointly with neighboring Mountain Park as “High Rolls-Mountain Park,” which is why the two appear separately in the table above with Mountain Park’s own figures unverified.<\/p>\n ZIP Codes<\/h2>\nMost of the smaller ranching and historic sites listed above have no post office of their own and are served by mail routes out of Alamogordo, Cloudcroft or Tularosa.<\/p>\n Geography<\/h2>\nOtero County spans the Tularosa Basin and the Sacramento Mountains, ranging from the gypsum dune fields of White Sands National Park on the valley floor to forested peaks above 9,000 feet around Cloudcroft. Much of the western county lies within the White Sands Missile Range, and the Lincoln National Forest covers a large share of the mountain country. The county borders Lincoln County<\/a> to the north, Chaves County<\/a> to the northeast, Eddy County<\/a> to the east, El Paso County and Hudspeth County, Texas, to the south, Doña Ana County<\/a> to the west, and Sierra County<\/a> to the northwest.<\/p>\n The county’s 2020 population of 67,839 gives a density of about 10.3 people per square mile of land area, with the population overwhelmingly concentrated in and around Alamogordo, the largest community, followed by Tularosa. Median household income in the county has historically run below the New Mexico median of $62,268, reflecting a local economy weighted toward lower-wage service and retail work outside the military base and tribal casino sector.<\/p>\n Holloman Air Force Base, home to F-16 training squadrons, is the county’s largest single employer, alongside county and school district government and the Gerald Champion Regional Medical Center in Alamogordo. Tourism built around White Sands National Park and the ski and hiking trade around Cloudcroft supports a second tier of local jobs. The Mescalero Apache Tribe operates the Inn of the Mountain Gods resort and casino near Mescalero, one of the largest employers on that side of the county. Pistachio and pecan orchards around Alamogordo and La Luz are a locally notable piece of agriculture, and the annual Alamogordo Pistachio Festival draws visitors each fall.<\/p>\n Otero County was organized on January 30, 1899, from parts of Lincoln and Doña Ana counties and named for Miguel Antonio Otero II, then the territorial governor of New Mexico. The Mescalero Apache Reservation, established in 1873, predates the county and remains a federally recognized tribal land within its borders. Alamogordo Army Air Field, opened in 1942 and renamed Holloman Air Force Base in 1948, became a center for early rocket-sled and jet research, including Colonel John Stapp’s high-speed deceleration tests in the 1950s.<\/p>\n US Highways 54, 70 and 82 are the county’s main roads, with New Mexico State Roads 24, 130, 244, 506 and 545 serving the smaller mountain and valley communities.<\/p>\n Alamogordo-White Sands Regional Airport handles general aviation; the nearest commercial airport is El Paso International Airport.<\/p>\n Where is Otero County, New Mexico?<\/strong> What is the population of Otero County?<\/strong> How big is Otero County?<\/strong> What is the county seat of Otero County?<\/strong> How many towns and communities are in Otero County?<\/strong> What ZIP codes are in Otero County?<\/strong> |