{"id":6333,"date":"2023-07-26T17:29:07","date_gmt":"2023-07-26T17:29:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/?p=6333"},"modified":"2026-08-07T10:25:05","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T10:25:05","slug":"sierra-county-new-mexico","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/sierra-county-new-mexico\/","title":{"rendered":"Sierra County, New Mexico"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Sierra County is a county in New Mexico, United States, about 150 miles south of Albuquerque<br \/>\nalong the Rio Grande. It had a population of 11,576 at the 2020 census, an estimated 11,500 by<br \/>\n2024, and covers 4,236 square miles (10,970 km2) centred near 33\u00b008\u2032N 107\u00b011\u2032W.<\/p>\n<p>Truth or Consequences is the county seat and largest city; its postal code is 87901. The<br \/>\ncounty holds 2 cities, 1 village and 14 smaller communities, and it runs on Mountain Time. Its<br \/>\nFIPS code is 35051.<\/p>\n<h2>Towns &amp; Villages in Sierra County<\/h2>\n<p>Sierra County has 17 named places on record: 3 incorporated cities and one village, 7 census<br \/>\ndesignated places (CDPs) with no local government of their own, and 7 unincorporated<br \/>\ncommunities. Several are mining-era settlements that never regained the population they held a<br \/>\ncentury ago.<\/p>\n<div class=\"tv-table-scroll\">\n<table>\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th>Place<\/th>\n<th>Type<\/th>\n<th>Pop.<\/th>\n<th>ZIP<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>Truth or Consequences<\/td>\n<td>City &middot; seat<\/td>\n<td>6,052<\/td>\n<td>87901<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Elephant Butte<\/td>\n<td>City<\/td>\n<td>1,447<\/td>\n<td>87935<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Williamsburg<\/td>\n<td>Village<\/td>\n<td>462<\/td>\n<td>87942<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Arrey<\/td>\n<td>CDP<\/td>\n<td>296<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Las Palomas<\/td>\n<td>CDP<\/td>\n<td>196<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Hillsboro<\/td>\n<td>CDP<\/td>\n<td>140<\/td>\n<td>88042<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Caballo<\/td>\n<td>CDP<\/td>\n<td>77<\/td>\n<td>87931<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Kingston<\/td>\n<td>CDP<\/td>\n<td>50<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Winston<\/td>\n<td>CDP<\/td>\n<td>47<\/td>\n<td>87943<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Oasis<\/td>\n<td>CDP<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Monticello<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>87939<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Derry<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>87933<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Cuchillo<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Chloride<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Engle<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Placitas<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Upham<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<p>Kingston and Hillsboro sit three miles apart in the Black Range and share a single boom-and-bust<br \/>\nhistory &mdash; Hillsboro was the county seat from 1884 to 1936, before the title moved to Hot<br \/>\nSprings, later renamed Truth or Consequences. This Sierra County Placitas, on Alamosa Creek near<br \/>\nMonticello, is unrelated to the larger Placitas near Albuquerque in Sandoval County; the two are<br \/>\noften confused in search results.<\/p>\n<h2>ZIP Codes<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>87901 &mdash; Truth or Consequences (the county&#8217;s largest post office)<\/li>\n<li>87935 &mdash; Elephant Butte<\/li>\n<li>87942 &mdash; Williamsburg (shares Truth or Consequences services as a de facto suburb)<\/li>\n<li>87931 &mdash; Caballo<\/li>\n<li>87933 &mdash; Derry<\/li>\n<li>87939 &mdash; Monticello<\/li>\n<li>87943 &mdash; Winston<\/li>\n<li>88042 &mdash; Hillsboro<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Arrey, Las Palomas, Kingston, Oasis, Cuchillo, Chloride, Engle, Placitas and Upham have no ZIP<br \/>\ncode of their own; mail there is delivered under the nearest larger community&#8217;s code, most often<br \/>\nTruth or Consequences or Hillsboro.<\/p>\n<h2>Geography<\/h2>\n<p>Sierra County straddles the Rio Grande valley in south-central New Mexico, running from the<br \/>\nBlack Range in the west to the San Andres Mountains on its eastern edge. Of its 4,236 square<br \/>\nmiles, 4,179 are land and 57 are water &mdash; 1.4 percent, almost all of it Elephant Butte<br \/>\nReservoir, the impoundment behind Elephant Butte Dam on the Rio Grande. The dam, completed in<br \/>\n1916, holds back roughly 2,065,010 acre-feet of water across 36,500 acres when full, mainly for<br \/>\nirrigation but also flood control and a 27.95-megawatt hydroelectric plant. Caballo Lake, a second<br \/>\nRio Grande reservoir south of Truth or Consequences, was formed when Caballo Dam was built in<br \/>\n1938. To the west, the county&#8217;s Jornada del Muerto basin and the Black Range give way to open<br \/>\ndesert bombing and spaceflight ranges.<\/p>\n<p>Catron County lies to the northwest, Socorro County to the north, Lincoln County to the east,<br \/>\nOtero County to the southeast, Do\u00f1a Ana County to the south, Luna County to the southwest, and<br \/>\nGrant County to the west. <a href=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/catron-county\/\">Catron County<\/a>,<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/socorro-county\/\">Socorro County<\/a>,<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/lincoln-county-new-mexico\/\">Lincoln County<\/a>,<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/otero-county-new-mexico\/\">Otero County<\/a>,<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/dona-ana-county\/\">Do\u00f1a Ana County<\/a>,<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/luna-county\/\">Luna County<\/a> and<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/grant-county-new-mexico\/\">Grant County<\/a> all border Sierra<br \/>\ndirectly.<\/p>\n<h2>Demographics<\/h2>\n<p>Sierra County had a population of 11,576 at the 2020 census, and the latest estimate puts the<br \/>\ncounty near 11,500 residents, essentially flat. Truth or Consequences and Elephant Butte are by<br \/>\nfar the two largest communities, together holding well over two-thirds of the county&#8217;s<br \/>\npopulation. Median household income runs $41,600, well below New Mexico&#8217;s statewide figure of<br \/>\n$62,268. Population density works out to roughly 2.8 people per square mile of land, among the<br \/>\nlowest in New Mexico, and the county&#8217;s median age of 57.3 years makes it one of the oldest in the<br \/>\nstate &mdash; both Truth or Consequences and Elephant Butte draw retirees to the area&#8217;s hot<br \/>\nsprings and lake.<\/p>\n<h2>Economy &amp; Local Life<\/h2>\n<p>Health care and social assistance employs the most workers in the county, about 629 people,<br \/>\nfollowed by retail trade at 532 and educational services at 396, out of roughly 3,501 employed<br \/>\nresidents. Truth or Consequences&#8217; geothermal hot springs anchor a small tourism and wellness<br \/>\neconomy; by the late 1930s the town hosted about 40 spa operations, and several still draw on<br \/>\nnatural hot-spring water today. Elephant Butte Lake State Park, New Mexico&#8217;s most-visited state<br \/>\npark, drives boating and fishing tourism through Elephant Butte and Williamsburg each summer.<br \/>\nSpaceport America, the world&#8217;s first purpose-built commercial spaceport, sits in the county&#8217;s<br \/>\nnortheast near Upham; Virgin Galactic flew New Mexico&#8217;s first crewed spaceflight from the site on<br \/>\n22 May 2021. The county&#8217;s biggest annual event is Truth or Consequences&#8217; Fiesta each May, timed<br \/>\nnear the anniversary of the town&#8217;s 1950 name change.<\/p>\n<h2>History<\/h2>\n<p>The New Mexico Territorial Legislature organised Sierra County in 1884, naming it for the<br \/>\nSierra Diablo, the Spanish name for the Black Range that dominates its western half. Hillsboro,<br \/>\nthen a gold and silver boomtown of roughly 1,200 people, served as county seat from 1884 until<br \/>\n1936, when the title moved to Hot Springs on the Rio Grande. Kingston, three miles from Hillsboro,<br \/>\ngrew even faster on silver &mdash; nearly 6,000,000 ounces came out of its 27 mines between 1883<br \/>\nand 1893 &mdash; before the Panic of 1893 collapsed the market and the town shrank from 1,800<br \/>\nresidents toward the 50 it counts today.<\/p>\n<p>Hot Springs took its current name in a March 1950 special election, voting 1,294 to 295 to<br \/>\nrename itself Truth or Consequences after the NBC radio quiz show, whose host Ralph Edwards had<br \/>\noffered to broadcast the show&#8217;s 10th-anniversary episode from the first town willing to adopt its<br \/>\nname. The program aired from the renamed town the following night, and the Fiesta held each May<br \/>\nsince commemorates it.<\/p>\n<h2>Getting There<\/h2>\n<p>Interstate 25 runs the length of the county north to south, linking Truth or Consequences and<br \/>\nElephant Butte directly to Albuquerque and Las Cruces. NM 51, NM 90, NM 152 and NM 187 branch off<br \/>\nit toward Hillsboro, Kingston, Monticello and the Rio Grande valley communities to the south.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Las Cruces &mdash; about 75 miles south<\/li>\n<li>Albuquerque &mdash; about 150 miles north<\/li>\n<li>Silver City &mdash; about 70 miles west<\/li>\n<li>Alamogordo &mdash; about 90 miles southeast<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Sierra County Municipal Airport, just east of Truth or Consequences, handles general aviation.<br \/>\nLas Cruces International Airport and Albuquerque International Sunport are the nearest commercial<br \/>\nairports. Amtrak has no station in the county; the closest stop is the Southwest Chief line<br \/>\nthrough Lamy, near Santa Fe, over 200 miles north.<\/p>\n<h2>Frequently Asked Questions<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Where is Sierra County located?<\/strong><br \/>\nIt sits in south-central New Mexico along the Rio Grande, about 150 miles south of Albuquerque<br \/>\nand 75 miles north of Las Cruces, bordered by Catron, Socorro, Lincoln, Otero, Do\u00f1a Ana, Luna and<br \/>\nGrant counties.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What is the population of Sierra County?<\/strong><br \/>\n11,576 at the 2020 census, with a 2024 estimate near 11,500.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How big is Sierra County?<\/strong><br \/>\n4,236 square miles (10,970 km2), of which 4,179 square miles are land.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What is the county seat of Sierra County?<\/strong><br \/>\nTruth or Consequences, renamed from Hot Springs in 1950, is the county seat and largest city.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How many towns and villages are in Sierra County?<\/strong><br \/>\nThree incorporated places &mdash; Truth or Consequences, Elephant Butte and the village of<br \/>\nWilliamsburg &mdash; plus 7 census-designated places and 7 unincorporated communities.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What ZIP codes does Sierra County use?<\/strong><br \/>\n87901 for Truth or Consequences, 87935 for Elephant Butte, 87942 for Williamsburg, plus 87931,<br \/>\n87933, 87939, 87943 and 88042 for the smaller communities.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What is Sierra County known for?<\/strong><br \/>\nTruth or Consequences&#8217; hot springs and its 1950 name change, Elephant Butte Lake State Park, and<br \/>\nSpaceport America, site of Virgin Galactic&#8217;s first crewed spaceflight in 2021.<\/p>\n<p>More counties in this state: <a href=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/category\/new-mexico\/\">Towns and villages in New Mexico<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sierra County is a county in New Mexico, United States, about 150 miles south of Albuquerque along the Rio Grande. It had a population of 11,576 at the 2020 census, an estimated 11,500 by 2024, and covers 4,236 square miles (10,970 km2) centred near 33\u00b008\u2032N 107\u00b011\u2032W. Truth or Consequences is the county seat and largest [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_titles_title":"Towns & Villages in Sierra County, New Mexico","_seopress_titles_desc":"All 17 towns and communities in Sierra County, New Mexico - type, population and ZIP code, plus Truth or Consequences and Spaceport America.","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":0,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[6],"class_list":["post-6333","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-new-mexico","tag-towns-and-cities","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6333","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6333"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6333\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9264,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6333\/revisions\/9264"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6333"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6333"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6333"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}