McKinley County, New Mexico Eviction Risk: Low

McKinley County scores 3.6/10 (Low risk) on the EvictionRiskMap scale, placing it among the more landlord-favorable markets in New Mexico eviction laws. Ranked 26th of 34 counties statewide, 25 New Mexico eviction laws counties carry higher eviction risk, while only 8 score lower. For landlords evaluating the county as a whole, that Low designation reflects stable operating conditions, though the spread across 44 cities inside the county demands a sharper look before committing to any individual submarket.

Renter share sits at 39.6% of households, with an average rent of $792 and an average rent burden of 24.5%. A rent burden below 30% generally signals that the typical renter can service rent without chronic strain, which tends to correlate with lower default frequency. The poverty rate of 34.3% is elevated, however, and landlords should weigh that structural vulnerability alongside the favorable aggregate score, particularly when screening tenants in smaller communities.

The cities inside McKinley County

Risk in McKinley County is decidedly hyper-local. The county seat, Gallup, is the largest city at a population of 21,023 and scores 3.8/10, sitting comfortably in the low-risk tier. Zuni Pueblo (population 5,864) matches Gallup's posture with a score of 3.6/10, the county's lowest. These two markets represent the bulk of the county's rental housing stock and anchor its favorable overall average.

At the other end of the range, Crownpoint (population 2,882), Navajo (population 2,181), Black Rock, Williams Acres, Ramah, Purty Rock, and Tse Bonito each score 4/10, the county maximum. Church Rock (population 1,381) is one notch behind at 3.6/10. While none of these scores breach the moderate tier, the gap between a 3.7 in Zuni Pueblo eviction risk and a 4.4 in Crownpoint is meaningful when evaluating smaller, more concentrated rental portfolios where vacancy and collection risk compound faster.

State-level laws that apply here

Every property in McKinley County operates under New Mexico's Uniform Owner-Resident Relations Act, NMSA § 47-8. Notice requirements vary by cause: non-payment of rent triggers a 3-day notice, a lease violation eligible for cure requires 7 days, and a no-cause end-of-term termination requires 30 days. New Mexico eviction laws does not require just cause for eviction and has not enacted statewide rent control, nor does it preempt local rent-control ordinances, though none currently exist in this county. Landlords must provide 24 hours notice before entry.

On cost, the New Mexico eviction laws eviction process runs from $132 to $200 in court filing fees, $50 to $175 for sheriff lockout fees, and $500 to $3,000 in attorney fees depending on complexity. Timeline ranges from 21 to 45 days for an uncontested case and 45 to 120 days if the tenant contests. A full breakdown appears in the New Mexico eviction costs guide. Landlords concerned about deposit liability should also review New Mexico security deposit limits, which are governed by the same statute.

With a poverty rate of 34.3% and a renter share of 39.6%, the underlying economic fragility in McKinley County is real even if the aggregate risk score is low; review the city grid above to identify which specific communities carry the highest 4.4/10 exposure before placing capital.