Work & commute · Ruidoso

Work & commute in Ruidoso, NM

46% of Ruidoso’s working residents work right in town. The top destinations are Albuquerque (9%), Ruidoso Downs (6%) and Roswell (4%). Half commute less than 4 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

46%

1,209 of 2,615 working residents

Typical commute

4 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

14 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

13%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 1,406 Ruidoso residents head out of town to work, 1,209 work right here, and 2,431 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Ruidoso.

1,406live here, work elsewhere

1,209live and work here

2,431work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Ruidoso goes to work

Ruidoso (in town)right here

46%1,209

Albuquerque133.5 mi away

9%227

Ruidoso Downs4.3 mi away

6%149

Roswell65.8 mi away

4%108

Santa Fe160.8 mi away

2%43

Clovis160.6 mi away

1%27

Capitan13.7 mi away

1%24

Portales144.7 mi away

1%21

Carrizozo22.6 mi away

1%21

Las Cruces96.1 mi away

1%20

Everywhere elseother towns and states

29%766

Lines run between town centers; a thicker line means more commuters. The top 10 towns each way.

How far

How far Ruidoso commutes

Straight-line distance from home to work, for every working resident. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.

63%

33%

63%Under 10 mi

3%10–24 mi

1%25–50 mi

33%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Ruidoso is balanced between jobs and homes

1.39jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.39 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Ruidoso are

3,640 jobs are based in Ruidoso. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Ruidoso’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Ruidoso

3,640 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)8%

Trade, transport & utilities22%

Services (health, schools, offices…)70%

$1,250 a month or less21%

$1,251–$3,333 a month40%

Over $3,333 a month38%

Jobs Ruidoso residents hold

2,615 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)9%

Trade, transport & utilities20%

Services (health, schools, offices…)71%

$1,250 a month or less18%

$1,251–$3,333 a month38%

Over $3,333 a month44%

+5%

Jobs based in Ruidoso, 2013 → 2023: 3,481 → 3,640. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.

About these numbers

How to read this page

Every worker, home to workThe Census links each worker’s home block to their main job’s block, for jobs covered by unemployment insurance. That’s most jobs, but not the self-employed.

Where the employer saysA job counts where the employer reports it. Some big employers report one address for many sites, which can make a few commutes look longer than they are.

Two surveysFlows, distances and jobs: LEHD 2023. Commute time and working from home: the Census American Community Survey.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs; American Community Survey 5-year estimates.