Real estate · Small-town market · New Mexico
Real estate businesses in the Ruidoso, NM area
The real estate businesses in the Ruidoso, NM area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other small-town markets.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 21 out of 100: Low
Ranked #534 of 536 scored small-town markets
#13 of 13 scored small-town markets based in New Mexico
- Listings
- 62
- 2 chain locations (3%)
- Official establishments
- 36
- −5.3% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $155.2M
- On rent and homeowner costs · $15,518 a household
- Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)
- 58
- 42% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 62.0
- 61% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 19,844
- −2.3% since 2020
See the real estate businesses around any address in the Ruidoso area
The site report maps the real estate businesses on map listings near the address, by name and distance, and sizes the households and spending around it. Or open the report at the center of the Ruidoso area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardSurvey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure
What this means
For real estate businesses, the Ruidoso area has a Groundwork market score of 21 (low): #534 of 536 scored small-town markets and #13 of 13 scored small-town markets based in New Mexico. That puts it in the bottom quarter of small-town markets.
Households in the Ruidoso area spend about $155.2M a year on rent and homeowner costs, or $15,518 per household, 7% below the U.S. average. Housing spending per office is 42% below the U.S. figure. The spending figure is all rent and homeowner costs, a measure of housing demand, not money real estate businesses take in.
There are 62 real estate businesses on map listings in the Ruidoso area as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 3% of them, against 6% across the U.S. That comes to 62.0 for every 10,000 households, 61% above the U.S. rate of 38.5.
In 2023, official counts showed 36 businesses with payroll in the Ruidoso area classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors, down 5.3% from 2019. That is one for every 278 households, against one for every 414 across the U.S. Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Ruidoso area declined 2.3%, against +3.1% for the U.S.
How the Ruidoso area compares
The same measures for New Mexico and the whole U.S. Housing spending per listing divides all rent and homeowner costs by the listings counted: a measure of housing demand for each business, not money any of them take in, so it is shown against the U.S. (100) only. Households per establishment divides households by the official count.
| Measure | Ruidoso area | New Mexico | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 62.0 | 30.5 | 38.5 |
| Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100) | 58 | 126 | 100 |
| Households per official establishment | 278 | 562 | 414 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | −5.3% | +15.1% | +15.8% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −2.3% | +0.3% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on rent and homeowner costs | $15,518 | $16,591 | $16,661 |
| Median household income | $53,303 | $64,059 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 21 | 58 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 36−5.3% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 145
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $5.7M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 158Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 622 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 36The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 0
- Amount
- $0
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in the Ruidoso area, through June 2026, placed by the borrower’s ZIP code. Official establishments are businesses with payroll; the official counts leave out places with fewer than 3.
Population and households in the Ruidoso area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 19,844−2.3% since 2020
- Households
- 10,000
- Median age
- 50.9
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 77%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.0
- Land area
- 4,831 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 4
- Median household income
- $53,303+15.3% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $73,624
- Median home value
- $233,200
- Jobs located here
- 6,275
- Daytime population
- 19,834Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Ruidoso area?
These figures cover the whole small-town market. A site report draws rings around one address and counts what’s inside them: households, spending, jobs, and the real estate businesses on map listings by name and distance.
Or open the report at the center of the Ruidoso area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardReal estate across New Mexico
Every New Mexico market ranked →The highest-scoring small-town markets in New Mexico for real estate businesses, numbered among those based in New Mexico, with the Ruidoso area marked.
Top small-town markets in New Mexico
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100) | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Española, NM | 76 | 10 | 6.4 | 575 | −1.0% | #22 of 536 |
| 2Gallup, NM | 70 | 15 | 7.0 | 482 | −6.1% | #47 of 536 |
| 3Carlsbad-Artesia, NM | 67 | 48 | 20.3 | 199 | +0.3% | #65 of 536 |
| 4Las Vegas, NM | 65 | 15 | 10.8 | 317 | −3.2% | #83 of 536 |
| 5Deming, NM | 65 | 12 | 13.0 | 246 | −0.2% | #86 of 536 |
| 6Hobbs, NM | 62 | 58 | 23.5 | 166 | +0.2% | #117 of 536 |
| 7Roswell, NM | 60 | 38 | 16.0 | 220 | −2.7% | #127 of 536 |
| 8Alamogordo, NM | 59 | 55 | 22.5 | 162 | +3.7% | #147 of 536 |
| 9Los Alamos, NM | 55 | 33 | 40.0 | 133 | 0.0% | #200 of 536 |
| 10Silver City, NM | 44 | 33 | 29.2 | 118 | −3.4% | #338 of 536 |
| 13Ruidoso, NM | 21 | 62 | 62.0 | 58 | −2.3% | #534 of 536 |
Other business types in the Ruidoso area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
Groceries and convenience
Auto
Beauty and personal care
Fitness and classes
Health care
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many real estate businesses are in the Ruidoso, NM area?
As of September 2026, map listings count 62 real estate businesses in the Ruidoso area. 2 of them (3%) are chain locations. The listings count real estate agents and brokers, property managers, mortgage brokers and lenders, and home inspectors. Official counts show 36 businesses with payroll classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in 2023, down 5.3% from 2019. Official counts also show 158 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Ruidoso, NM area spend on rent and homeowner costs?
About $155.2M a year, or $15,518 per household. That is 7% below the U.S. average (an index of 93, where 100 is the U.S. average). For the 62 real estate businesses on map listings, housing spending per office is 42% below the U.S. figure. That figure is all rent and homeowner costs, used as a measure of housing demand; it is not money real estate businesses take in. It is estimated from the incomes of the 10,000 households in the Ruidoso area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Ruidoso, NM area compare with the U.S. for real estate businesses?
The Ruidoso area has 62.0 real estate businesses per 10,000 households, 61% above the U.S. rate of 38.5. The index of housing spending per office is 58, where 100 is the U.S. At the U.S. ratio of real estate businesses to household spending, the Ruidoso area would have about 36, against 62 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 278 households, against one for every 414 across the U.S. The official count fell 5.3% from 2019 to 2023, against +15.8% for the U.S.
How fast is the Ruidoso, NM area growing?
Population estimates put the Ruidoso area at 19,844 people in 2025, down 2.3% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 10,000 households. Median household income in the Ruidoso area is $53,303, 34% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 15.3%, before inflation.
What is the Groundwork market score?
The Groundwork market score runs from 0 to 100 and compares a market with others of its kind for one business type: states with states, metro areas with metro areas, small-town markets and counties with their own. A small-town market is a town of 10,000 to 50,000 people and the county or counties tied to it by commuting. It weighs household spending per competitor (35%), households per business with payroll (25%), population growth (20%) and spending power (20%), each ranked against those peers. A higher score means that, taken together, the market has more household spending and more households for each business already there, faster population growth and more spending per household than similar markets. It describes a market, not any one site or deal. The Ruidoso area scores 21 for real estate businesses (low), #534 of 536 scored small-town markets.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Ruidoso area. It maps the real estate businesses on map listings near the site and sizes the households and spending within the distance you choose. New accounts get 10 actions over 3 days, no card.
How the score works · Top markets for real estate businesses · All 56 business types in the Ruidoso area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Ruidoso area?
A site report maps the competitors on map listings near an address and sizes the households and spending around it.
The button opens the report at the center of the Ruidoso area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
This product uses the Census Bureau Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.
Figures are estimates for research only. Not investment or real estate advice.