States · New Mexico · McKinley County

Thoreau, New Mexico.

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

Living in Thoreau, McKinley County, New Mexico

Thoreau, in McKinley County, had 2,367 people in the 2020 census. Half its households earn more than $45,469 a year and half less, against $47,668 across McKinley County; 28% of its people live below the poverty line. Unemployment in McKinley County was 6.9% in August 2026, and the county had 0.8% fewer jobs in 2025 than the year before. The most residents work in schools and health care, then manufacturing.

People 2,367 in the 2020 census
Household income $45,469 the median, give or take $11,121 · McKinley County: $47,668
Unemployment 6.9% McKinley County, August 2026; 5.7% a year before
Homes Too few homes in Thoreau for the Census survey to measure.
  • 627households
  • 4%of adults have a degree
  • 28%below the poverty line
  • 46 mintypical commute

What residents work in

  • Schools, hospitals and social care28%
  • Manufacturing12%
  • Professional and business services11%
  • Transport, warehouses and utilities10%
  • Restaurants, hotels and entertainment9%
  • Shops (retail)9%

Employed residents by industry, from the Census survey. McKinley County had 19,353 jobs in 2025, 0.8% fewer than the year before (Bureau of Labor Statistics).

Weather through the year

Average daily high and low for each month: coldest in January, 48° and 12°; warmest in July, 89° and 52° 20° 40° 60° 80° J 48° 12° F M A M J J 89° 52° A S O N D
Average daily high and low for each month: coldest in January, 48° and 12°; warmest in July, 89° and 52° 20° 40° 60° 80° J 48° 12° F M A M J J 89° 52° A S O N D

Coldest in January, with highs near 48° and lows near 12°; warmest in July, with highs near 89° and lows near 52°. About 31 inches of snow and 12 inches of rain and melted snow a year.

Average daily high and low, 1991–2020, at the Thoreau Southeast weather station, 9 miles away (NOAA).

Largest workplaces in McKinley County

  1. Gallup SchoolsSchool district1,276FTE
  2. Gallup Indian Medical CenterGeneral hospital1,210FTE
  3. Indian Health ServiceFederal government · Department of Health and Human Services900
  4. WalmartWarehouse clubs and supercenters492
  5. Crownpoint Indian HospitalGeneral hospital431FTE
  6. Navajo Technical UniversityUniversity or college361
  7. Rehoboth Mckinley Christian HospitalCritical access hospital306FTE
  8. Rehoboth Mckinley Christian HospitalGeneral hospital297FTE

Staff on average in 2025, as each workplace reported it to OSHA with its injury records: 16 workplaces with 20 or more staff, 1,359 people in all across the county; Thoreau has none of its own. School districts come from the Common Core of Data (NCES, 2023–24), hospitals from their Medicare cost reports (CMS, 2023), federal offices from OPM's federal workforce data (2026) 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. LightningRelatively high
  2. Winter weatherRelatively high
  3. Cold wavesRelatively high

FEMA’s National Risk Index (December 2025) rates the risk each natural hazard poses to the people, buildings and farms in Thoreau’s census tracts, against the rest of the country; all of them together, relatively low. 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 McKinley County.