Taos, Taos County, New Mexico Population and Demographics

In this article, we'll explore the population statistics for Taos, New Mexico, including popular demographics data like median age, number of households, household income, gender, employment and unemployment rates, occupations, religion, and more.

We are using the latest American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year survey data from the US Census Bureau, which is accurate up to 2021.

Table of Contents

Population

There is a lot of data that lets us see how many people live in Taos, New Mexico. The most basic data is the total population, which is the total number of people living in Taos, New Mexico. The estimated population of Taos, New Mexico is 6,524 people, with a median age of 52.6.

We can look at the total population in Taos over the last 5 years to see how much it has changed.

Year Population Change 5-Year Change
2021
6,524
+9.65%
+14.72%
2020
5,950
-0.28% -
2019
5,967
-0.9% -
2018
6,021
+5.87%
-
2017
5,687
- -

Population of Taos, New Mexico by Race and Ethnicity

We can also look at how the population has changed over the last 5 years by each of the race/ethnicity types as defined by the US Census Bureau.

Race 2021 2017 Change
White
45.4%
47.2%
-3.81%
Black/African American
0.3%
0.5%
-40.00%
Native
3.2%
3.9%
-17.95%
Hispanic
48.2%
45.6%
+5.70%
Asian
0.4%
0.6%
-33.33%
Hawaiian/Pacific Islander
0%
0%
0.00%
Two Or More Races
2.2%
1.7%
+29.41%
Other
0.3%
0.6%
-50.00%

This data can be very important for a number of reasons, including social and economic research, planning and development, and marketing to a multi-cultural population.

Note that the Native group includes both Native American and Alaskan Native people.

Population of Taos, New Mexico by Age and Gender

The age and gender of a population is another interesting demographic statistic because it lets us track trends in the population over time. For example, we can see how the population has changed over the last 5 years by median age as a total, and also by male and female.

Year Total Male Female
2021 52.6 -3.31% 49.2 -8.21% 55.4 +1.47%
2020 54.4 +7.09% 53.6 0% 54.6 +9.2%
2019 50.8 +6.72% 53.6 +11.67% 50 +7.07%
2018 47.6 +1.06% 48 +0.42% 46.7 +1.3%
2017 47.1 - 47.8 - 46.1 -

The median age of Taos, New Mexico gives you an idea of the age distribution, with half of the population being older than the median age and half being younger.

This can then be used to infer and compare against birth rates, parent ages, and more metrics to understand the population. For example, an increasing median age indicates an aging population, which can be a sign of a declining population in terms of birth rates and workforce participation.

Age 2021 2017
(Years) Male Female Male Female
0 to 9 174 +24.82% 344 -37.01% 221 207
10 to 19 267 +15.51% 302 +18.85% 305 329
20 to 29 210 +79.76% 345 -51.14% 365 167
30 to 39 329 -43.16% 320 +21.98% 188 378
40 to 49 374 +77.78% 431 -5.03% 624 356
50 to 59 396 -18.3% 437 +19.34% 316 512
60 to 69 361 +51.89% 553 -4.45% 560 525
70+ 360 +81.74% 484 +45.4% 737 734

Median Household Income

The latest median household income of Taos, New Mexico is $37,083.00.

In simple terms, the median income is the middle income of a group of people. Half of the people in the group make more than the median income, and half make less. The median income is a good indicator of the overall income of a group of people, and can be used to compare against other metrics such as the average income, per capita income, and more.

Median Income by Age

We can also look at the median income by age to see how the median income varies by age, and how it compares to the overall median income for Taos.

  • Under 25
    $0.00
  • 25 to 44
    $54,018.00
  • 45 to 64
    $38,478.00
  • 65 and over
    $35,039.00

Average Household Income

Whenever we ask what is the average household income in Taos, we are actually talking about the mean household income.

This is calculated by adding up all the incomes of all the households in Taos, and then dividing that number by the total number of households. This is a good way to get a general idea of the average income of a group of people, but it can be skewed by a very high or very low incomes.

The average household income of Taos, New Mexico is currently $63,435.00.

In terms of accurately summarizing income at a geographic level, the median income is a better metric than the average income because it isn't affected by a small number of very high or very low incomes.

If you had an area where the average income was greater than the median, it can mean that there is significant income inequality, with income being concentrated in a small number of wealthy households.

7.06% of households in Taos are classed as high income households (making $200,000+ per year).

Household Income Tiers

The US Census Bureau divides households into income tiers based on the median income for the area. This is a good way to compare the income of Taos against other areas.

  • Less than $24,999
    41.76%
  • $25,000 to $49,999
    17.98%
  • $50,000 to $74,999
    14.51%
  • $75,000 to $99,999
    4.06%
  • $100,000 to $149,999
    12.18%
  • $150,000 to $199,999
    2.44%
  • $200,000 or more
    7.06%

Per Capita Income

The per capita income in Taos is $32,466.00.

Per capita income is the average income of a person in a given area. It is calculated by dividing the total income of Taos by the total population of Taos.

This is different from the average or mean income because it includes and accounts for all people in Taos, New Mexico, including people like children, the elderly, unemployed people, retired people, and more.

Education Levels

We can also look at the education levels in Taos to see how many people have a high school degree, a bachelor's degree, or a graduate degree.

Educational attainment is a good indicator of the overall education level of a population, and can be used to compare against other metrics such as the average income, per capita income, and more to see how education levels affect income, unemployment rates, and more.

  • Master's degree or higher
    21.77%
  • Bachelor's degree
    31.84%
  • Some college or associate's degree
    12.33%
  • High school diploma or equivalent
    29.96%
  • Less than high school diploma
    4.10%

Employment

Employment rates are all based around the total population in Taos that are over the age of 16.

The total population of Taos over the age of 16 is 5,850.

Of those people, a total of 50.70% are working or actively looking for work. This is called the labor force participation rate.

The participation rate is a useful market measure because it shows the relative amount of labor resources available to the economy.

The employment to total population rate in Taos is 44.50%.

Employment by Age

We can look at the employment rates by age to see how it compares to the overall employment rate.

Age Population Participation Unemployment Rate
16 to 19 years 388 20.60% 2.50%
20 to 24 years 302 83.80% 52.60%
25 to 29 years 230 83.50% 80.70%
30 to 34 years 160 76.90% 1.60%
35 to 44 years 1,023 74.80% 1.70%
45 to 54 years 685 85.70% 2.90%
55 to 59 years 506 68.40% 9.00%
60 to 64 years 434 53.00% 3.90%
65 to 74 years 1,334 19.00% 0.00%
75 years and over 788 17.30% 0.00%

Employment by Race

Another very interesting employment statistic we can look at is the employment and unemployment rates by race in Taos. The table below shows the rates for each of the ethnicity groups types defined by the US Census Bureau.

Age Population Participation Unemployment Rate
White 4,246 47.80% 14.50%
Black or African American 18 27.80% 0.00%
American Indian and Alaska Native 195 73.30% 31.50%
Asian 23 39.10% 0.00%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 3 0.00% 0.00%
Other 769 64.60% 2.60%
Two or more races 596 47.30% 3.20%
Hispanic or Latino 2,774 48.40% 3.20%
Not Hispanic or Latino 2,744 52.60% 18.40%

Occupations

In this section we can look at the most common occupations in Taos as well as the gender breakdown and earnings of them.

The total population of civilian employees that are 16 years old or older in Taos is 2,604, with median earnings of $26,218.00.

Women in Taos, New Mexico earning approximately 73.50% of the men's earnings.

Population Earnings
Total 2,604 $26,218.00
Male 1,315 $30,208.00
Female 1,289 $22,196.00

Occupations by Category

In the table below, we can break down the population and earnings even further by occupation. The list of occupation categories below will show you how many people are employed in each category and the median earnings of each profession.

Occupation Employed Earnings
Management 233 $60,901.00
Business and Financial 23 $40,694.00
Computer and Mathematical 42 $18,750.00
Architecture and Engineering 13 $93,250.00
Life, Physical, and Social Science 22 $28,929.00
Community and Social Service 178 $31,250.00
Legal 30 $73,594.00
Educational and Library 408 $56,339.00
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media 77 $6,289.00
Healthcare Practitioners 255 $167,730.00
Healthcare Support 185 $13,909.00
Firefighters and Protective Service 24 $33,333.00
Law Enforcement 6 $0.00
Food Preparation and Serving 231 $20,245.00
Building and Grounds Cleaning 104 $6,340.00
Personal Care and Service 13 $24,583.00
Sales 168 $18,068.00
Office and Administrative Support 191 $28,259.00
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry 6 $0.00
Construction and Extraction 280 $16,771.00
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair 80 $19,593.00
Production 31 $19,185.00
Transportation and Material Moving 3 $0.00

Occupations by Gender

The table below shows the same occupations from the list above, but we have split them by male and female to see how many male and females work in each occupation, the median earnings, and the male to female ratio of earnings.

That last metric is important because it can be used to look at the gender pay gap between men and women.

Occupation Male Female
Population Earnings Population Earnings
Management 104 $61,422.00 129 $54,393.00
Business and Financial 6 $0.00 17 $41,528.00
Computer and Mathematical 21 $63,250.00 21 $4,196.00
Architecture and Engineering 8 $0.00 5 $0.00
Life, Physical, and Social Science 20 $29,286.00 2 $0.00
Community and Social Service 137 $32,188.00 41 $21,354.00
Legal 30 $73,594.00 0 $0.00
Educational and Library 13 $4,063.00 395 $56,394.00
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media 18 $16,667.00 59 $5,647.00
Healthcare Practitioners 174 $168,474.00 81 $29,792.00
Healthcare Support 7 $0.00 178 $13,899.00
Firefighters and Protective Service 24 $33,333.00 0 $0.00
Law Enforcement 6 $0.00 0 $0.00
Food Preparation and Serving 151 $21,121.00 80 $10,000.00
Building and Grounds Cleaning 99 $6,316.00 5 $0.00
Personal Care and Service 4 $0.00 9 $22,917.00
Sales 76 $35,789.00 92 $16,136.00
Office and Administrative Support 49 $33,147.00 142 $27,589.00
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry 6 $0.00 0 $0.00
Construction and Extraction 280 $16,771.00 0 $0.00
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair 80 $19,593.00 0 $0.00
Production 2 $0.00 29 $0.00
Transportation and Material Moving 0 $0.00 3 $0.00

Households and Family Size

A household defined bu the US Census Bureau is a group of people who occupy a housing unit. A housing unit is a house, apartment, mobile home, group of rooms, or single room occupied as separate living quarters.

There are currently 2,536 households in Taos, with an average household size of 2.49 people.

A family is defined as a group of two or more people related by birth, marriage, or adoption who live together in the same household.

There are 1,054 families in Taos with an average family size of 4.23 people.

Households by Marital Status

The four categories of household by marital status are:

  • Married-couple family
  • Male householder with no spouse present
  • Female household with no spouse present
  • Nonfamily household

The table below shows the total number of households and families, with the average sizes of each.

Married Male Female Nonfamily
Total Households 627 102 325 1,482
Average Household Size 3.2 9.82 4.56 1.22
Total Families 627 102 325 0
Average Household Size 3.19 9.68 4.53 0

Poverty

Of the 1,054 families in Taos, 16.70% are considered to be below the poverty threshold.

The table below shows the latest poverty thresholds in Taos:

Household Size Poverty Threshold
1 Person $14,580.00
2 People $19,720.00
3 People $24,860.00
4 People $30,000.00
5 People $35,140.00
6 People $40,280.00
7 People $45,420.00
8 People $50,560.00

Housing

There are 3,706 housing units in Taos, New Mexico.

The table below shows the split between occupied and vacant units:

Total Percentage
Occupied 2,536 68.43%
Vacant 1,170 31.57%

22.50% of the total 3,706 housing units in Taos are rental units. This is approximately 834 properties.

For owner-occupied housing units, a total of 1,598 are occupied by the owner - or 43.12% of the total.

Rental Rates

The median rent for a property in Taos is $882.00.

In the chart below, we can look at the number of rental properties in Taos that fall into a particular rent range. These can then be used to compare with other areas, or to see how they have changed over time.

  • No rent paid
    104
  • Less than $500
    132
  • $500 to $999
    384
  • $1,000 to $1,499
    235
  • $1,500 to $1,999
    25
  • $2,000 to $2,499
    50
  • $2,500 to $2,999
    0
  • $3,000 or more
    8

Property Value

The median value of a property in Taos is $304,900.00.

Just like with rental rates, we can look at the number of properties in Taos that fall into a particular value range.

  • Less than $50,000
    81
  • $50,000 to $99,999
    45
  • $100,000 to $149,999
    40
  • $150,000 to $199,999
    123
  • $200,000 to $299,999
    495
  • $300,000 to $499,999
    417
  • $500,000 to $999,999
    394
  • $1,000,000 or more
    3

Property Age

We can also look at the age of properties in Taos. The chart below shows the number of properties in Taos that fall into a particular age range.

  • 1939 or earlier
    406
  • 1940 to 1949
    131
  • 1950 to 1959
    254
  • 1960 to 1969
    245
  • 1970 to 1979
    725
  • 1980 to 1989
    728
  • 1990 to 1999
    673
  • 2000 to 2009
    461
  • 2010 to 2013
    83
  • 2014 or later
    0

Vehicles per Household

The number of vehicles available per household can be a good indicator of the level of affluence in an area. The chart below shows the number of households in Taos that have a particular number of vehicles available.

  • No vehicles available
    160
  • 1 vehicle available
    1,046
  • 2 vehicles available
    953
  • 3 or more vehicles available
    377

Commuting to Work

In this section, we can also look at how people in Taos get to work. The chart below shows the number of people in Taos that commute to work in a particular way.

20.5 minutes is the average travel time to work for people in Taos.

These commute times can be compared to other date like income and educational levels to see how they relate to each other and if there are any trends in the data that might suggest a correlation.

  • Less than 5 minutes
    114
  • 5 to 9 minutes
    452
  • 10 to 14 minutes
    461
  • 15 to 19 minutes
    226
  • 20 to 24 minutes
    398
  • 25 to 29 minutes
    60
  • 30 to 34 minutes
    262
  • 35 to 39 minutes
    28
  • 40 to 44 minutes
    10
  • 45 to 59 minutes
    208
  • 60 to 89 minutes
    14
  • 90 or more minutes
    43

Summary

We've covered a LOT of demographic and population data for Taos, New Mexico in this article! Hopefully you have found it very useful in your research of the area.

If you use any of the data found on this page, please consider linking back to USPopulation.org as the source and if you have any feedback or data requests, click here to contact us.