A town of 11,968. Nearly 3.8% of it is conserved land.
The 3 things Portales does most differently from other towns.
Be the first to start the conversation.
Nothing on the calendar.
Ordered by what stands out in Portales. Another town gets a different order.
9.7 miles of trails across 5 parks and preserves.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Portales Recreation Complex | 3.2 mi | 172 |
| 2. Rotary Park | — | 10 |
| 3. Lindsey Park | — | 4 |
41% of Portales’s working residents work right in town. The top destinations are Clovis (15%), Albuquerque (6%) and Roswell (3%). Half commute less than 7 miles.
The typical Portales home is worth about $139,000, up 0.7% in a year, 56% below the New Mexico typical home.
Portales beats the New Mexico average on 7 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 4.
| What stands out | Portales | NM |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 5.6% | 7.4% |
| Fewer adults with diabetes | 10.2% | 13.2% |
| More adults in frequent mental distress | 18.5% | 16.1% |
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 92% of U.S. communities.
The public schools Portales’s kids attend, from kindergarten through graduation, trail 65% of New Mexico’s districts on state tests and graduation. Among towns with similar incomes, they sit near the middle.
| School | Grades | Students | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| Valencia Elementary | 3–4 | 366 | B+ |
| James Elementary | 1–2 | 364 | Not graded |
| Brown Early Childhood Center | PK–K | 332 | Not graded |
| Lindsey-Steiner Elementary | 5–6 | 376 | B+ |
| Portales Jr. High | 7–8 | 326 | B |
| Portales High | 9–12 | 754 | B− |
Portales has chilly winters and hot summers, with very little rain. A typical July afternoon reaches 93°, a January night drops to 25°, and about 8 inches of snow falls in a normal winter.
Portales's reported crime rate is close to New Mexico's. Most reported incidents are property crimes. 92 violent crimes were reported in 2024.
12 postcards, papers and photographs from public archives, and 4 places on the National Register.
4 places in Portales on the National Register of Historic Places.
9 notable people were born in Portales.
City in New Mexico, United States
Portales () is a city in and the county seat of Roosevelt County, New Mexico, United States. As of the 2020 census, Portales had a population of 12,137. Portales is located near the larger city of Clovis, and Cannon Air Force Base, a major contributor to the economy of the region. Eastern New Mexico University opened in Portales in 1934 as Eastern New Mexico Junior College, and has since grown to become the third-largest university in the state. The area is one of the largest producers of Valencia peanuts in the United States and is the nation's top producer of certified organic peanut butter. Portales is home to about 40 dairies and a major US dairy solids plant, together producing and exp…
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