RLEDC serves the seven rural counties of the Eastern Plains — Curry, De Baca, Guadalupe, Harding, Quay, Roosevelt, and Union — together with their 22 incorporated municipalities. Population, labor force, income, education, infrastructure, and transportation access for employers, site selectors, and funding partners.
Last reviewed: July 27, 2026 · RLEDC reviews this page when new federal and state data are released.
Everything a site selector, employer, or reviewer needs about the RLEDC service area, in three places. This page carries the community profile; the two links below carry available real estate and incentive information.
Population, labor force, income, education, employment sectors, infrastructure, and transportation access for all seven counties of the Eastern Plains region and their 22 incorporated municipalities.
You are here ↓Commercial, industrial, highway-frontage, and land inventory available for sale or lease, with address, status, and asking price where a verified price is published.
View listings →LEDA, JTIP, industrial revenue bonds, rural job tax credits, gross receipts deductions, and local participation requirements, with the awarding authority and eligibility basis for each.
View incentives →The Eastern Plains region covers 18,029 square miles of eastern New Mexico — a land area larger than Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Connecticut, Delaware, and Rhode Island combined — with a total population of roughly 84,000. Two interstate-served corridors cross the region: Interstate 40 through Quay and Guadalupe counties, and the U.S. 60/70/84 corridors linking Clovis, Portales, Fort Sumner, and Clayton. RLEDC is headquartered in Tucumcari, Quay County.
Population, land area, income, and workforce indicators for each of the seven counties. Population figures are U.S. Census Bureau Vintage 2025 estimates as of July 1, 2025. Income, poverty, and education figures are American Community Survey 2020–2024 five-year estimates. Labor force and unemployment are Bureau of Labor Statistics Local Area Unemployment Statistics for May 2026, not seasonally adjusted.
| County | County Seat | Population | Land Area | Median HH Income | Poverty | Labor Force | Unemployment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Curry | Clovis | 46,655 | 1,406 sq mi | $57,309 | 16.8% | 20,916 | 3.8% |
| Roosevelt | Portales | 18,615 | 2,446 sq mi | $52,685 | 20.1% | 8,239 | 4.2% |
| Quay | Tucumcari | 8,454 | 2,874 sq mi | $41,946 | 20.6% | 3,368 | 4.8% |
| Guadalupe | Santa Rosa | 4,343 | 3,030 sq mi | $42,750 | 22.3% | 1,624 | 4.6% |
| Union | Clayton | 3,844 | 3,825 sq mi | $46,694 | 18.3% | 1,402 | 3.6% |
| De Baca | Fort Sumner | 1,647 | 2,323 sq mi | Not published | 16.9% | 631 | 4.8% |
| Harding | Mosquero | 617 | 2,125 sq mi | $48,553 | 14.4% | 313 | 3.5% |
| Region | — | 84,175 | 18,029 sq mi | — | — | 36,493 | — |
Secondary completion across the region is high, and four post-secondary institutions operate within the seven counties. Employers consistently find a workforce with agricultural, transportation, construction, and public-service experience.
| County | HS Graduate or Higher | Bachelor's or Higher | Covered Employment | Avg. Weekly Wage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Curry | 83.1% | 23.3% | 18,331 | $997 |
| Roosevelt | 86.4% | 21.2% | 5,951 | $929 |
| Quay | 92.1% | 19.6% | 2,580 | $904 |
| Guadalupe | 82.2% | 16.4% | 1,511 | $897 |
| Union | 89.0% | 18.4% | 1,225 | $960 |
| De Baca | 90.0% | 9.3% | 432 | $957 |
| Harding | 92.0% | 33.3% | 188 | $1,008 |
Educational attainment is for the population age 25 and over, U.S. Census Bureau 2020–2024 American Community Survey. Covered employment and average weekly wage are Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages figures for the second quarter of FY2026, published by the New Mexico Economic Development Department in its June 2026 county economic summaries. Regional covered employment across the seven counties totals 30,218.
Four-year public university in Portales, Roosevelt County, established 1934. The largest higher-education institution in the region and a primary source of degreed workforce.
Two-year college in Clovis, Curry County, serving the region's largest population center and Cannon Air Force Base.
Two-year accredited college in Tucumcari, Quay County. Offers bachelor's degrees in Business Administration and Early Childhood Education in partnership with the University of New Mexico.
Satellite campus in Santa Rosa, Guadalupe County, delivering courses from the Las Vegas main campus plus dual-credit programming with Santa Rosa Consolidated Schools.
The regional economy rests on agriculture and food processing, transportation and logistics, defense, public administration and education, healthcare, and energy. Sector composition varies substantially by county.
| Category | Detail |
|---|---|
| Interstate access | Interstate 40 crosses Quay County at Tucumcari and Guadalupe County at Santa Rosa. Tucumcari is the largest city on I-40 between Amarillo and Albuquerque. |
| U.S. highways | U.S. 60, 70, and 84 (Curry); U.S. 70 (Roosevelt); U.S. 54 and 84 (Guadalupe, at Santa Rosa); U.S. 54, 60, and 285 (Vaughn); U.S. 64, 87, and 412 (Union); U.S. 60 and 84 (De Baca). Harding County is served by state highways only. |
| Rail | BNSF Railway serves Curry, Roosevelt, De Baca, and Union counties. The Clovis yard is a division point and classification facility. Union Pacific serves Santa Rosa. Vaughn is a BNSF and Union Pacific junction. De Baca County lies on BNSF's Belen Cutoff / Southern Transcon. |
| Airports | Clovis Municipal (CVN), 7,200 ft, subsidized commercial service to Denver and Dallas–Fort Worth; Tucumcari Municipal (TCC), two runways on 1,160 acres; Clayton Municipal Airpark (CAO), 6,307 ft; Fort Sumner Municipal (FSU), 5,802 ft; Santa Rosa Route 66 (SXU), 5,013 ft; Portales Municipal (PRZ), 5,700 ft. Harding County has no public airport. |
| Water — groundwater | The Ogallala / High Plains Aquifer underlies the eastern counties and is in documented decline. Water availability should be confirmed site by site. |
| Water — surface | Canadian River system: Ute Reservoir and Conchas Lake (Quay County). Pecos River system: Lake Sumner and the Fort Sumner Irrigation District (De Baca), Santa Rosa Lake and the Blue Hole artesian spring (Guadalupe). Quay County has approximately 55,000 acres of canal-irrigated farmland. |
| Regional water project | The Eastern New Mexico Rural Water System (Ute Pipeline) draws up to 16,415 acre-feet per year from Ute Reservoir through roughly 130 miles of pipeline, with a 28 million gallon per day intake and treatment plant in Curry County, serving Clovis, Cannon AFB, Portales, Texico, and Elida. Potable delivery is targeted for 2030. |
| Industrial land | The Fort Sumner Municipal Airport Industrial Park offers approximately 300 developable acres with security fencing, utilities, and two buildings available for lease. Additional commercial and industrial property is listed on the RLEDC available properties page. |
| Aerospace | NASA's Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility conducts two high-altitude balloon launch campaigns each year from Fort Sumner Municipal Airport. |
Twenty-two incorporated municipalities operate across the seven counties. RLEDC works with municipal and county governments throughout the region.
| County | County Seat | Other Incorporated Municipalities |
|---|---|---|
| Curry | Clovis | Grady, Melrose, Texico |
| De Baca | Fort Sumner | None — Fort Sumner is the county's only incorporated municipality |
| Guadalupe | Santa Rosa | Vaughn |
| Harding | Mosquero | Roy |
| Quay | Tucumcari | House, Logan, San Jon |
| Roosevelt | Portales | Causey, Dora, Elida, Floyd |
| Union | Clayton | Des Moines, Folsom, Grenville |
Interstate 40 crosses the region east–west, with BNSF and Union Pacific mainline rail, a division-point classification yard at Clovis, and six public-use airports. Amarillo, Albuquerque, and Lubbock are all within a half-day drive.
Median home values across the region run well below metropolitan New Mexico, and commercial occupancy costs are correspondingly low. Median home value is $70,000 in Harding County, $110,000 in Guadalupe County, and $187,500 in De Baca County.
Secondary completion exceeds 89% in four of the seven counties. A 36,493-person civilian labor force with agricultural, transportation, construction, defense, and public-service experience, backed by four post-secondary institutions.
A single coordinated point of contact across seven counties. RLEDC works with municipal and county governments, the Eastern Plains Council of Governments, community colleges, and employers to move projects without duplicated process.
Commercial, industrial, highway-frontage, and agricultural property across the region, including the 300-acre Fort Sumner Airport Industrial Park. See Available Real Estate Listings.
State and local incentive programs including LEDA, JTIP, industrial revenue bonds, and rural job tax credits. Rural designation improves eligibility and credit values across most of the region. See State & Local Incentives.
Every figure on this page is drawn from a published federal or state source. RLEDC does not estimate, interpolate, or substitute figures where an agency does not publish one.