Jury Pool Profile
Lea County, New Mexico
- County seat
- Lovington
- Judicial district
- 5th Judicial District Court
- Population (July 2025 estimate)
- 74,749
- Census PEP. The five-year ACS survey average is 73,733.
At a glance
Lea County is a 74,749-person venue. The county population is 43% White (Census race-alone categories). 63% identify as Hispanic or Latino of any race. Those figures overlap rather than adding up; counted separately, non-Hispanic White residents are 31.0%, which is the basis the chart below uses. Median household income is $73,147, $5,309 above the NM state median of $67,838; 15.5% of residents 25 and over hold a bachelor's degree or higher. 44.6% of residents 5 and older speak a language other than English at home, most commonly Spanish. The largest employment sector is Natural resources & mining, at 24.1% of covered employment, average pay $103,027/year. Trailing-12-month unemployment is 4.1%, below the 4.57% state average. The county carried the Republican presidential candidate in 2016, 2020, and 2024, taking 71% to 80% of the vote across the three.
- Population
- 73,733
- Median household income
- $68,015
- Unemployment
- 4.1%
Who sits on a jury?
<50% in any single race-alone group. White here: 43%; Black: 3%.
Lea County has a population of 73,733, with a median age of 32.5. By Census race-alone categories, White residents make up 42.9%; Black residents 3.4%. Independently, 62.7% of residents identify as Hispanic or Latino of any race.
The median household earns $73,147; 15.5% of residents 25 and over hold a bachelor's degree or higher; 15.7% live below the federal poverty line.
Economic context
Largest sector in BLS QCEW: Natural resources & mining, 8,206 jobs; Trade, transportation & utilities, 7,317, is within 20% of it. Oil and gas (private NAICS 211, 213111, 213112) is about 22.7% of all jobs, at or above the 5% bar.
Natural resources & mining is the largest employment sector at 24.1% of covered employment, followed by Trade, transportation & utilities at 21.5%. Trailing-12-month unemployment is 4.1%, below the New Mexico state average.
Political composition
Republican candidate carried this county in 2016, 2020, and 2024 (avg winning share: 77%). 'Strongly' threshold: ≥60% avg.
Lea County was carried by the Republican candidate in the 2016, 2020, and 2024 cycles, with 80.1% in 2024, 79.0% in 2020, 70.9% in 2016.
Languages, households, faith & health
Family households are 68% of all households (thresholds: ≥70% = 'family-dominant'; 50–70% = 'family-majority'; <50% = 'singles/nonfamily-majority'). 44.6% of residents 5 and older speak a language other than English at home (threshold for 'linguistically diverse' is ≥10%).
44.6% of residents 5 years and older speak a language other than English at home. The most common are Spanish, German or other West Germanic, Tagalog. Veterans account for 3.4% of the adult civilian population (1,749 individuals).