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New Mexico soil by county

Across New Mexico's mapped land, shrink-swell clay limits houses without basements on 14% and a shallow water table limits basements on 1%.

Highest clay shares: Colfax County (52%), Mora County (46%), Grant County (38%), Hidalgo County (34%), Cibola County (33%). Highest water-table shares: Rio Arriba County (3%), Valencia County (3%), Cibola County (3%), San Juan County (2%), Otero County (2%).

Data as of September 22, 2026 · 33 counties

Bernalillo County: 9%Catron County: 23%Chaves County: 4%Cibola County: 33%Colfax County: 52%Curry County: 29%De Baca County: 3%Doña Ana County: 1%Eddy County: 2%Grant County: 38%Guadalupe County: 2%Harding County: 15%Hidalgo County: 34%Lea County: 4%Lincoln County: 2%Los Alamos County: 25%Luna County: 28%McKinley County: 22%Mora County: 46%Otero County: 3%Quay County: 15%Rio Arriba County: 14%Roosevelt County: 3%San Juan County: 5%San Miguel County: 23%Sandoval County: 7%Santa Fe County: 6%Sierra County: 13%Socorro County: 4%Taos County: 12%Torrance County: 5%Union County: 28%Valencia County: 4%
Expansive clay: share of mapped land where shrink-swell clay limits houses without basementsunder 10%10-25%25-40%40-60%60%+
Bernalillo County: 0%Catron County: 0%Chaves County: 1%Cibola County: 3%Colfax County: 2%Curry County: 1%De Baca County: 2%Doña Ana County: 1%Eddy County: 0%Grant County: 0%Guadalupe County: 0%Harding County: 1%Hidalgo County: 1%Lea County: 0%Lincoln County: 0%Los Alamos County: 0%Luna County: 0%McKinley County: 0%Mora County: 0%Otero County: 2%Quay County: 1%Rio Arriba County: 3%Roosevelt County: 0%San Juan County: 2%San Miguel County: 1%Sandoval County: 1%Santa Fe County: 0%Sierra County: 1%Socorro County: 1%Taos County: 2%Torrance County: 1%Union County: 1%Valencia County: 3%
High water table: share of mapped land where a shallow water table limits basementsunder 10%10-25%25-40%40-60%60%+

Every county in New Mexico

Select a column heading to sort.
Bernalillo County 9% under 1% 100% 17 1982
Catron County 23% under 1% 100% 0 1986
Chaves County 4% 1% 100% 91 1972
Cibola County 33% 3% 100% 4 1978
Colfax County 52% 2% 100% 0 1977
Curry County 29% 1% 100% 6 1976
De Baca County 3% 2% 100% 0 1977
Doña Ana County 1% 1% 39% 31 1991
Eddy County 2% under 1% 100% 2 1980
Grant County 38% under 1% 100% 1 1978
Guadalupe County 2% under 1% 100% 0 1976
Harding County 15% 1% 100% 0 1960
Hidalgo County 34% 1% 87% 0 1976
Lea County 4% under 1% 100% 23 1979
Lincoln County 2% under 1% 100% 192 1985
Los Alamos County 25% 0% 100% 0 1974
Luna County 28% under 1% 95% 1 1980
McKinley County 22% under 1% 100% 6 1985
Mora County 46% under 1% 100% 64 1983
Otero County 3% 2% 92% 17 1984
Quay County 15% 1% 100% 2 1966
Rio Arriba County 14% 3% 100% 1 1984
Roosevelt County 3% under 1% 100% 13 1977
San Juan County 5% 2% 100% 3 1986
San Miguel County 23% 1% 100% 122 1979
Sandoval County 7% 1% 100% 9 1997
Santa Fe County 6% under 1% 100% 15 1989
Sierra County 13% 1% 100% 1 1983
Socorro County 4% 1% 100% 13 1980
Taos County 12% 2% 100% 2 1985
Torrance County 5% 1% 100% 0 1987
Union County 28% 1% 100% 0 1961
Valencia County 4% 3% 100% 43 1989

How these shares are counted

Shares are of mapped land in USDA's soil survey (SSURGO), weighted by each soil's share of every map unit. Drought is the US Drought Monitor's D1-or-worse share on the September 22, 2026 map. Flood losses are FEMA NFIP records since 2016. Sources and methods.