States · New Mexico · Rio Arriba County

Dulce, New Mexico.

A community in Rio Arriba County, with no city government of its own. Zillow publishes no home prices for it: see Rio Arriba County’s.

Living in Dulce, Rio Arriba County, New Mexico

Dulce, in Rio Arriba County, had 2,788 people in the 2020 census. Half its households earn more than $39,773 a year and half less, against $57,155 across Rio Arriba County. 66% of its homes are lived in by their owners and 34% are rented. Unemployment in Rio Arriba County was 4.8% in August 2026, and the county had 2.6% more jobs in 2025 than the year before. The most residents work in government, then schools and health care.

People 2,788 in the 2020 census; median age 37.7
Household income $39,773 the median, give or take $7,015 · Rio Arriba County: $57,155
Unemployment 4.8% Rio Arriba County, August 2026; 4.0% a year before
Homes 66% lived in by their owners; 34% rented
  • 1,236households
  • 11%of adults have a degree
  • 10 mintypical commute
  • 3%work from home

What residents work in

  • Government39%
  • Schools, hospitals and social care25%
  • Shops (retail)9%
  • Professional and business services6%
  • Restaurants, hotels and entertainment5%
  • Farming, forestry and mining5%

Employed residents by industry, from the Census survey. Rio Arriba County had 9,536 jobs in 2025, 2.6% more than the year before (Bureau of Labor Statistics).

Weather through the year

Average daily high and low for each month: coldest in January, 44° and 10°; warmest in July, 88° and 50° 20° 40° 60° 80° J 44° 10° F M A M J J 88° 50° A S O N D
Average daily high and low for each month: coldest in January, 44° and 10°; warmest in July, 88° and 50° 20° 40° 60° 80° J 44° 10° F M A M J J 88° 50° A S O N D

Coldest in January, with highs near 44° and lows near 10°; warmest in July, with highs near 88° and lows near 50°. About 56 inches of snow and 17 inches of rain and melted snow a year.

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

Largest workplaces in Rio Arriba County

  1. Espanola SchoolsSchool district469FTE
  2. WalmartWarehouse clubs and supercenters327
  3. Espanola HospitalGeneral hospital300FTE
  4. Northern New Mexico CollegeUniversity or college259
  5. Lowe's Companies, INCHomecenter129
  6. Dulce SchoolsSchool district104FTE
  7. Performance MaintenanceJanitorial services102
  8. Tsay Professional ServicesJanitorial services67

Staff on average in 2025, as each workplace reported it to OSHA with its injury records: 8 workplaces with 20 or more staff, 776 people in all across the county; Dulce has two of its own. School districts come from the Common Core of Data (NCES, 2023–24), hospitals from their Medicare cost reports (CMS, 2023) and colleges from IPEDS (NCES, 2023–24); 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. LightningVery high
  2. Inland floodingRelatively high
  3. LandslidesRelatively moderate
  4. WildfireRelatively moderate
  5. Winter weatherRelatively moderate

FEMA’s National Risk Index (December 2025) rates the risk each natural hazard poses to the people, buildings and farms in Dulce’s 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 Rio Arriba County.