States · New Mexico · Luna County

Columbus, New Mexico.

. Deming, NM metro.

What it costs per month · Columbus $1,658/mo

to buy the typical home at today's mortgage rate — +$916 (+124%) since Jan 2020.

Monthly payment to buy the typical home

Home value × that month's 30-year mortgage rate, 20% down, principal and interest. This is the line households feel: prices and rates compound each other.

$500 $1,000 $1,500 $2,000 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 2022 2026 New Mexico $1,658 United States $1,922
$500 $1,000 $1,500 $2,000 2002 2010 2018 2026
  • New Mexico$1,658
  • United States$1,922

Living in Columbus, Luna County, New Mexico

Columbus is a village of 1,442 people in Luna County. Half its households earn more than $26,090 a year and half less, against $36,419 across Luna County. Unemployment in Luna County was 11.4% in August 2026, and the county had 1.4% more jobs in 2025 than the year before. The most people in Luna County work in schools and health care, then restaurants and hotels.

People 1,442 in the 2020 census
Household income $26,090 the median, give or take $3,600 · Luna County: $36,419
Unemployment 11.4% Luna County, August 2026; 10.0% a year before
Homes Too few homes in Columbus for the Census survey to measure.

Written by AI Claude Sonnet 5.5 wrote this on 23 October 2026 from the figures here, a list of nearby places and what it knows. It can be wrong or out of date.

What it’s like

The place. Columbus is a small village in Luna County, in the dry southern part of New Mexico. Household incomes here run well below the county's, and fewer adults hold a four-year degree than in many places. Winters are mild and almost never snowy, summers are hot, and rain and melted snow are scarce through the year.

Work. Many residents work in schools, hospitals and social care, and in restaurants, hotels and entertainment. Shops and work on the land, from farming to mining, also employ local people. Across Luna County, the largest workplaces include Deming Schools, Olam Chili Peppers and Walmart. Unemployment in the county is higher than it was a year ago, though the county has added a few more jobs.

Things to do. For time outdoors, Rockhound State Park is a protected area a longer drive away. The Cinder Cone Wilderness and the Whitethorn Wilderness are also protected areas that sit a longer drive from the village. With little snow and cool winter days, the colder months are comfortable for getting outside.

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  • 8%of adults have a degree

What people in Luna County work in

  • Schools, hospitals and social care25%
  • Restaurants, hotels and entertainment14%
  • Shops (retail)12%
  • Farming, forestry and mining10%
  • Building trades9%
  • Manufacturing8%

Employed residents by industry, from the Census survey. Luna County had 8,099 jobs in 2025, 1.4% more than the year before (Bureau of Labor Statistics).

Weather through the year

Average daily high and low for each month: coldest in December, 59° and 31°; warmest in June, 98° and 67° 40° 60° 80° 100° J F M A M J 98° 67° J A S O N D 59° 31°
Average daily high and low for each month: coldest in December, 59° and 31°; warmest in June, 98° and 67° 40° 60° 80° 100° J F M A M J 98° 67° J A S O N D 59° 31°

Coldest in December, with highs near 59° and lows near 31°; warmest in June, with highs near 98° and lows near 67°. About 10 inches of rain a year, and little or no snow.

Average daily high and low, 1991–2020, at the Columbus weather station, under a mile away (NOAA).

Largest workplaces in Luna County

  1. Deming SchoolsSchool district709FTE
  2. Olam Chili PeppersVegetables, cut or peeled, fresh, manufacturing350
  3. WalmartWarehouse clubs and supercenters286
  4. Cavco Industries321991170
  5. Mimbres Memorial HospitalCritical access hospital161FTE
  6. GH Dairy - HatchMilking dairy cattle80
  7. New Mexico WineriesBeverages, wines and brandies, manufacturing58
  8. Deming ExcavatingConcrete paving55

Staff on average in 2025, as each workplace reported it to OSHA with its injury records: 11 workplaces with 20 or more staff, 1,178 people in all across the county; Columbus has none of its own. School districts come from the Common Core of Data (NCES, 2023–24) and hospitals from their Medicare cost reports (CMS, 2023); FTE marks full-time equivalent staff. Not listed: many offices and banks, which need not report to OSHA; military bases, whose staff OPM withholds; and, in about half the states, city and county governments.

Natural hazards

  1. DroughtRelatively high
  2. Heat wavesRelatively high
  3. LightningRelatively high
  4. Winter weatherRelatively high
  5. WildfireRelatively moderate
  6. Inland floodingrelatively high in parts of ColumbusRelatively moderate

FEMA’s National Risk Index (December 2025) rates the risk each natural hazard poses to the people, buildings and farms in Columbus’ census tracts, against the rest of the country; all of them together, relatively moderate. It is meant for planning, not a substitute for a local risk assessment or a flood map: FEMA’s index.

From the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2020 census and its American Community Survey (2020–2024 five-year estimates), and the Bureau of Labor Statistics. A survey, so each figure has a margin of error, and figures it is not sure of are left out. More on Luna County and the Deming, NM metro.

Columbus home values

Zillow measures a city over its municipal boundary. Against the state and national figures, mid-tier homes, smoothed and seasonally adjusted.

Not enough data to draw this yet.

Market heat, inside the city limits

Homes for sale

Active for-sale inventory. More supply hands power to buyers.

4 5 6 2026 Columbus 6
4 5 6 2026
  • Columbus6

Zip codes with a Columbus address

A different geography, not a breakdown. The figure above covers the municipality; these zips cover everywhere the Post Office calls Columbus — often including townships beyond the city limits. Both come straight from Zillow, and they are not expected to average out.

Zillow publishes no zip-level series with this city on the address.