County health data
Lea County, NM
CDC PLACES estimates diabetes at 12.0% of adults in Lea County (New Mexico: 12.5%). This county has 15 HRSA shortage designations (3 area or population, 12 facility), 2 hospitals, and 1 health center site.
License: a US government work, in the public domain (Public Domain Mark 1.0).
For help with food, housing, utilities, or rides in Lea County, call 211 or visit 211.org.
Health measures compared with the state
40 measures for adults in Lea County (about 51,363 adults). 24 have a New Mexico figure from the same survey.
Largest differences from the New Mexico figure: no health insurance, ages 18 to 64 21.6% vs 12.3% (+9.3 points), no leisure-time physical activity 29.8% vs 24.0% (+5.8 points), and routine checkup in the past year 65.0% vs 70.2% (-5.2 points).
Health Outcomes
| Measure | Lea County | New Mexico | US | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arthritis | 21.7% | 26.2% | 26.3% | 2023 |
| High blood pressure | 32.3% | 34.2% | 34.0% | 2023 |
| Cancer, excluding non-melanoma skin cancer | 5.5% | n/a | n/a | 2023 |
| Current asthma | 9.6% | 9.7% | 10.2% | 2023 |
| Coronary heart disease | 6.2% | 4.0% | 4.0% | 2023 |
| COPD | 6.3% | 5.0% | 6.3% | 2023 |
| Depression | 21.7% | 23.0% | 21.8% | 2023 |
| Diagnosed diabetes | 12.0% | 12.5% | 11.8% | 2023 |
| High cholesterol, adults ever screened | 32.7% | 35.4% | 37.2% | 2023 |
| Obesity | 37.0% | 35.3% | 34.4% | 2023 |
| Stroke | 3.4% | 3.7% | 3.3% | 2023 |
| All teeth lost, ages 65 and older | 17.0% | n/a | n/a | 2022 |
Prevention
| Measure | Lea County | New Mexico | US | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No health insurance, ages 18 to 64 | 21.6% | 12.3% | 9.3% | 2023 |
| Taking blood pressure medicine, adults with high blood pressure | 70.3% | n/a | n/a | 2023 |
| Routine checkup in the past year | 65.0% | 70.2% | 78.4% | 2023 |
| Cholesterol screening | 78.8% | n/a | n/a | 2023 |
| Colorectal cancer screening, ages 45 to 75 | 51.5% | n/a | n/a | 2022 |
| Dental visit in the past year | 54.2% | n/a | n/a | 2022 |
| Mammogram, women ages 50 to 74 | 67.9% | n/a | n/a | 2022 |
Health Risk Behaviors
| Measure | Lea County | New Mexico | US | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drinking | 15.9% | 12.5% | 15.1% | 2023 |
| Current smoking | 14.8% | 12.2% | 12.1% | 2023 |
| No leisure-time physical activity | 29.8% | 24.0% | 24.5% | 2023 |
| Short sleep | 32.5% | n/a | n/a | 2022 |
Health Status
| Measure | Lea County | New Mexico | US | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fair or poor health | 26.1% | 23.2% | 18.5% | 2023 |
| Frequent mental distress | 17.6% | 16.0% | 15.4% | 2023 |
| Frequent physical distress | 15.5% | 14.9% | 12.6% | 2023 |
Disability
| Measure | Lea County | New Mexico | US | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cognitive disability | 18.0% | 14.5% | 13.7% | 2023 |
| Any disability | 36.2% | n/a | n/a | 2023 |
| Hearing disability | 7.4% | 8.5% | 7.4% | 2023 |
| Independent living disability | 9.9% | 9.4% | 7.8% | 2023 |
| Mobility disability | 15.6% | 14.2% | 13.4% | 2023 |
| Self-care disability | 5.0% | 4.5% | 3.7% | 2023 |
| Vision disability | 7.9% | 7.4% | 5.0% | 2023 |
Health-Related Social Needs
| Measure | Lea County | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Lack of social and emotional support | 27.1% | 2023 |
| Food insecurity in the past year | 26.4% | 2023 |
| Received food stamps in the past year | 20.8% | 2023 |
| Housing insecurity in the past year | 21.2% | 2023 |
| Lack of reliable transportation in the past year | 13.2% | 2023 |
| Loneliness | 37.2% | 2023 |
| Utility shut-off threat in the past year | 13.5% | 2023 |
Source: CDC PLACES county data, as of December 4, 2025. Publisher page
Source: CDC BRFSS prevalence data, as of September 15, 2026. Publisher page
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Health professional shortage areas
HRSA, the federal Health Resources and Services Administration, designates Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSAs): places, population groups, or facilities with too few primary care, mental health, or dental providers. An area designation covers a geographic area or a population group, such as low-income residents. A facility designation covers one site, such as a health center or clinic. Each has a score from 0 to 25 (0 to 26 for dental); a higher score means greater need.
HRSA lists 15 designated shortage rows in Lea County: primary care 5 (highest score 17), mental health 5 (highest score 19), and dental 5 (highest score 17). 3 cover a geographic area or population group; the other 12 are facility designations.
| Discipline | Area or population | Facility | Highest score |
|---|---|---|---|
| primary care | 1 | 4 | 17 |
| mental health | 1 | 4 | 19 |
| dental | 1 | 4 | 17 |
Area and population designations
| Designation | Discipline | Type | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| LI - Lea County | dental | HPSA Population | 17 |
| Lea County | primary care | Geographic HPSA | 13 |
| Southeastern Catchment Area | mental health | High Needs Geographic HPSA | 13 |
Facility designations (12)
| Designation | Discipline | Type | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| HOBBS MEDICAL CLINIC | mental health | Rural Health Clinic | 19 |
| LOVINGTON CLINIC | mental health | Rural Health Clinic | 19 |
| TATUM CLINIC | mental health | Rural Health Clinic | 18 |
| FAMILY HEALTH CENTER OF LEA COUNTY | primary care | Rural Health Clinic | 17 |
| HOBBS MEDICAL CLINIC | primary care | Rural Health Clinic | 17 |
| LOVINGTON CLINIC | primary care | Rural Health Clinic | 17 |
| TATUM CLINIC | primary care | Rural Health Clinic | 17 |
| FAMILY HEALTH CENTER OF LEA COUNTY | mental health | Rural Health Clinic | 17 |
| FAMILY HEALTH CENTER OF LEA COUNTY | dental | Rural Health Clinic | 17 |
| HOBBS MEDICAL CLINIC | dental | Rural Health Clinic | 17 |
| LOVINGTON CLINIC | dental | Rural Health Clinic | 17 |
| TATUM CLINIC | dental | Rural Health Clinic | 15 |
In the Type column, a Geographic HPSA covers everyone in the area; a High Needs Geographic HPSA is a geographic designation that also meets HRSA's added tests for high need; and an HPSA Population designation covers one group of people in the area. In HRSA's designation names, LI means low-income residents.
Source: HRSA Health Professional Shortage Areas, as of October 14, 2026. Publisher page
Hospitals and readmission rates
CMS Care Compare lists 2 acute care or critical access hospitals in Lea County, 1 of them critical access. The CMS file in this snapshot does not compare these rates with the national rate, so none is marked better or worse.
| Hospital | City | Stars | Heart failure | Pneumonia | COPD | Heart attack | Hip or knee |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| COVENANT HEALTH HOBBS HOSPITAL | HOBBS | 3 | 21.5% | 16.7% | 19.8% | n/a | n/a |
| NOR-LEA HOSPITAL DISTRICTCritical access | LOVINGTON | n/a | n/a | 16.3% | n/a | n/a | n/a |
Each rate is the share of patients readmitted within 30 days of discharge, July 2023 to June 2025. "n/a" means CMS did not publish a rate for that hospital.
Source: CMS Care Compare hospital general information, as of August 13, 2026. Publisher page
Source: CMS Care Compare unplanned hospital visits, as of September 30, 2026. Publisher page
Health centers
1 active health center site in Lea County, run by 1 organization.
| Site ↑ | Health center | Address | City |
|---|---|---|---|
| PMS - HOBBS FAMILY HEALTH CENTER | PRESBYTERIAN MEDICAL SERVICES | 200 W Lea St | Hobbs 88240 |
Source: HRSA health center service delivery and look-alike sites, as of October 14, 2026. Publisher page
New Mexico rural health plan
Rural Health Transformation Program
Initiatives, as the state's abstract names them (page 47):
- Healthy Horizons: Expanding Access to Care in Rural Communities
- Rooted in New Mexico: Building Tomorrow’s Rural Health Workforce
- Rural Health Innovation Fund: Enabling Community-Designed, Community-Led Change
- Bridge to Resilience: Rural Health Sustainability & Innovation Center
- Rural Health Data Hub: Establishing a Health Analytics Platform
CMS says the abstract budgets are illustrative and are not award amounts, so none are shown.
Source: CMS Rural Health Transformation Program state project abstracts, as of December 2025. Publisher page
Neighboring counties
Medicare plans in Lea County, NM
About this data
County rates are CDC PLACES model-based estimates of adults, built from the CDC BRFSS survey and Census population data. State and US figures are BRFSS survey results for the same year. They are not averages of counties, and small differences may not be meaningful.
Shortage rows are HRSA designations with status Designated. Scores run from 0 to 25 (0 to 26 for dental); a higher score means greater need. Hospitals are acute care and critical access hospitals CMS lists in the county, with 30-day rates of unplanned readmission. Health centers are active HRSA-funded and look-alike sites.
Rural health plan initiatives are copied as the state wrote them. Nothing here is medical advice.
Source: CDC PLACES county data, as of December 4, 2025. Publisher page
Source: CDC BRFSS prevalence data, as of September 15, 2026. Publisher page
Source: HRSA Health Professional Shortage Areas, as of October 14, 2026. Publisher page