What Are the Warmest Cities in New Mexico?
KEY TAKEAWAYS
The three warmest cities in New Mexico are Carlsbad, Las Cruces, and Roswell.
In this article I’m going to share with you my ranking of the warmest places in New Mexico.
I created my list by researching data provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and other climate data providers.
Below I’m listing the top 10 warmest places in New Mexico that have the highest average yearly temperatures. Later in the article I share a table with 30 most populous cities in New Mexico.
Top 10 Warmest Cities in New Mexico
Here are the top 10 warmest places in New Mexico ranked by their daily mean temperature. Because the Land of Enchantment has a varied climate with varying landscape, even the differences between the top ten warmest cities are noticeable.
1. Carlsbad – daily mean temperature of 64.5 °F
The city of Carlsbad in the southeastern corner of the state is the warmest city in New Mexico. With its hot semi-arid climate, Carlsbad enjoys the mildest winters in the Land of Enchantment and offers by far the best weather during the cooler months. The average high temperature between December and February reaches 59-64 °F while the average low temperature drops to 30-34 °F. The average summer temperature is very high. During the day, temperatures reach on average 95-98 °F while at night they drop to 67-71 °F. Carlsbad gets about 5 days of snow a year and 49 days of precipitation.
2. Las Cruces – daily mean temperature of 63.25 °F
With over 110,000 inhabitants, Las Cruces is the largest city in this ranking. If you’re looking for the biggest city in the state that also has the best weather, that’s your best option. Las Cruces is also located near El Paso, just 46 miles north. Compared to Albuquerque, Las Cruces enjoys on average temperatures that are five degrees Fahrenheit higher. The city has similarly warm winters to Carlsbad, though temperatures at night can be a degree colder. Rio Rancho, the third largest city in New Mexico, is ranked seventh in this list while Santa Fe is one of the coldest cities in the state.
3. Roswell – daily mean temperature of 63.15 °F
Roswell is the fifth most populous city in New Mexico. Like several cities in this ranking, Roswell is situated in the southeastern part of the state. It has warm but slightly cooler winters than the previous two cities. Climate data indicates 3,302 sunshine hours a year, which means plenty of sun year round.
4. Alamogordo – daily mean temperature of 63.15 °F
Alamogordo, a city of 31,000 people, is the closest bigger city to White Sands National Park. It has noticeably cooler weather during the day than the previous three cities. In the winter, it sees highs of 54-60 °F. In the summer, between June and August, while temperatures are still very hot, they’re more moderate at 91-94 °F. While Alamogordo has lower temperatures during the day, it has higher temperatures at night. In the winter, it sees lows of 33-37 °F and in the summer 68-70 °F.
5. Hobbs – daily mean temperature of 61.85 °F
Hobbs is a city of 40,000 people, located on the border with Texas, about 70 miles northeast of Carlsbad. It has a climate more resembling that of the first three cities in this ranking than Alamogordo, with warmer winters and hotter summers, while having colder nights.
6. Truth or Consequences – daily mean temperature of 61.6 °F
Truth or Consequences is a town of 6,000 people, located on the Rio Grande River, just southwest of Elephant Butte Reservoir, the largest man-made lake in New Mexico. It has mild winters with temperatures around 57-63 °F and hot summers with temperatures around 92-95 °F.
7. Rio Rancho – daily mean temperature of 61.5 °F
Rio Rancho is one of just two cities on this list that aren’t located in the southern part of New Mexico. At over 104,000 residents, this suburb city of Albuquerque is the third largest city in New Mexico. Rio Rancho has some of the coolest winters in this ranking, with average highs of 53-59 °F and lows of 30-34 °F.
8. Deming – daily mean temperature of 61 °F
Deming is a city of 15,000 people, located 60 miles west of Las Cruces. Its has some of the hottest daytime temperatures in the winter, reaching 57-63 °F.
9. Artesia – daily mean temperature of 59.1 °F
Artesia, located 36 miles north of Carlsbad, is a city of 13,000 inhabitants. It has cooler weather year round compared to the previous cities, with winter highs of 56-62 °F and summer highs of 92-94 °F. Artesia has cold winter nights with temperatures between 21-25 °F.
10. Tucumcari – daily mean temperature of 59.1 °F
Tucumcari is a town of about 5,000 people in northern New Mexico. It’s located 175 miles east of Albuquerque, about 40 miles from the border with Texas. Due to its more northerly location, it has the coldest winters in this ranking, with average highs of 53-58 °F and lows of 24-28 °F.
30 Biggest Cities in New Mexico Ranked by Daily Mean Temperature
I created the table below by researching data for the most populous municipalities in New Mexico. When I couldn’t find any weather data collected for a given city, I moved on to another. While the list includes 30 cities, some of the bigger cities may be missing because there was no data for them. Please check the closest geographically city then.
| City | Average high temperature (°F) | Average low temperature (°F) | Daily mean temperature (°F) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carlsbad | 79 | 50 | 64.5 |
| Las Cruces | 78.3 | 48.2 | 63.25 |
| Roswell | 77.8 | 48.5 | 63.15 |
| Alamogordo | 75 | 51.3 | 63.15 |
| Hobbs | 76.3 | 47.4 | 61.85 |
| Truth or Consequences | 76.7 | 46.5 | 61.6 |
| Rio Rancho | 75 | 48 | 61.5 |
| Deming | 77.5 | 44.5 | 61 |
| Artesia | 76.3 | 41.9 | 59.1 |
| Tucumcari | 73.9 | 44.3 | 59.1 |
| Portales | 74 | 43.4 | 58.7 |
| Albuquerque | 70.3 | 45.5 | 57.9 |
| Santa Rosa | 73.3 | 42.5 | 57.9 |
| Clovis | 72 | 43 | 57.5 |
| Socorro | 72.9 | 42.1 | 57.5 |
| Belen | 73.8 | 38.9 | 56.35 |
| Los Lunas | 73.9 | 38.4 | 56.15 |
| Corrales | 70.9 | 39 | 54.95 |
| Silver City | 69.4 | 40.1 | 54.75 |
| Bloomfield | 68.8 | 40 | 54.4 |
| Farmington | 65 | 40 | 52.5 |
| Española | 69 | 35 | 52 |
| Grants | 69.2 | 32.4 | 50.8 |
| Ruidoso | 65.2 | 35 | 50.1 |
| Santa Fe | 64.9 | 35.2 | 50.05 |
| Los Alamos | 61.6 | 37.9 | 49.75 |
| Las Vegas | 64.3 | 35.2 | 49.75 |
| Gallup | 67.1 | 31.9 | 49.5 |
| Raton | 66.1 | 32.3 | 49.2 |
| Taos | 63.4 | 30.8 | 47.1 |
Check the Warmest Cities in Neighboring States
If you’re interested in learning about the warmest cities in states neighboring New Mexico, check out the following articles:
- What Are the Warmest Cities in Arizona?
- What Are the Warmest Cities in Colorado?
- What Are the Warmest Cities in Oklahoma?
- What Are the Warmest Cities in Texas?
- What Are the Warmest Cities in Utah?
Also check my article on the warmest cities in the US in every state.
Frequently Asked Questions
The warmest part of New Mexico is southern and southeastern New Mexico, with cities like Carlsbad, Las Cruces, and Roswell. These New Mexico towns have a daily mean temperature between 63-64 °F, with mild winters and very hot summers. When we compare the warmest cities to the coldest cities, the difference in annual daily mean temperature can be a staggering 17 degrees Fahrenheit.
The coldest area of NM is Taos county and more specifically, Taos Ski Valley. Because of its elevation at over 9000 feet, it has the coldest weather in the state (much colder than in Taos). Since it’s a tiny town with less than 100 permanent inhabitants, Taos is “officially” the coldest town of the state.
The warmest winters in New Mexico are in Carlsbad. The average maximum temperature reaches 59-64 °F while at night, temperatures drop to 30-34 °F. This is the best weather you can find in the state in the cooler months. Since sun shines abundantly in this area year round, beautiful weather perfect for enjoying outdoor activities is guaranteed in the cooler months.
Winters in New Mexico can be warm but they aren’t hot. In the warmest regions of New Mexico, daytime winter temperatures can reach 55-65 °F and drop to 30-35 °F at night. In the coldest regions of New Mexico, such as northern New Mexico, winters feature cool weather with temperatures around 40-45 °F during the day and freezing 10-20 °F at night.
New Mexico is much colder than Arizona. The average annual temperature for 50 cities I researched for Arizona is 65 °F. For the 30 cities in New Mexico, that’s 56.2 °F. If your idea of the best weather is the warmest weather possible, then Arizona is the unquestionable winner.
Las Cruces is much hotter than Albuquerque. Las Cruces has an average annual temperature of 63.25 °F, while Albuquerque is over 5 degrees cooler, at 57.9 °F.