Truth or Consequences, NM: Local News, Events & Neighbors

Truth or Consequences (commonly T or C; founded as Hot Springs) is a city in the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Sierra County. In 2020, the population was 6,052. The city is historically defined and economically shaped by local geothermal hot springs. It has frequently been noted on lists of unusual place names for having chosen to rename itself in March 1950 after the Truth or Consequences radio show. The name is often hyphenated (Truth-or-Consequences, T-or-C) for clarity, though the formal name contains no punctuation.

Official town website ↗

From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)

How Truth or Consequences ranks

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#4Highest graduation rate in NM #6Shortest commute in NM #5Most conserved land in NM All NM rankings →

Town numbers

ZIP code87901

Area code575

Living in Truth or Consequences

Housing in Truth or Consequences

$158K▲ 4.2% in a year Typical home value · Zillow

The typical Truth or Consequences home is worth about $158,000, up 4.2% in a year, 50% below the New Mexico typical home.

Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data CenterHousing market →

Safety in Truth or Consequences

C⁻

Safety Grade C-

Truth or Consequences reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 85% report less. Within New Mexico, it does better than 45% of towns.

Violent crime per 1,000

Truth or Consequences 1.9

New Mexico 6.5

U.S. 3.3

Property crime per 1,000

Truth or Consequences 14.5

New Mexico 23.5

U.S. 15.5

FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to policeCrime & safety →

Schools in Truth or Consequences

All Truth or Consequences schools →

A⁻

School Grade A-

The public schools Truth or Consequences’s kids attend, from kindergarten through graduation, outperform 82% of New Mexico’s districts on state tests and graduation. Among towns with similar incomes, they rank near the top.

See how Truth or Consequences’s schools compare in NM →

DistrictT OR CSchools5

T or C Elementary D-Elementary · Grades PK–3 · 367 students Sierra Elementary D-Elementary · Grades 4–5 · 184 students Manzano Christian SchoolElementary · Grades K–7 · 11 students T or C Middle D-Middle · Grades 6–8 · 255 students Hot Springs HighHigh · Grades 9–12 · 347 students

School data from the U.S. Department of Education (NCES, EDFacts). The School Grade is our own summary of state test results and graduation rates, graded within NM. Ratings are from neighbors.

Famous people from Truth or ConsequencesWriters, athletes, leaders and more who were born in Truth or Consequences.Meet them →