County health data
Otero County, NM
CDC PLACES estimates diabetes at 12.7% of adults in Otero County (New Mexico: 12.5%). This county has 6 HRSA shortage designations, 1 hospital, and 6 health center sites.
License. US government work, Public Domain Mark 1.0.
For help with food, housing, utilities, or rides in Otero County, call 211 or visit 211.org.
Health measures compared with the state
40 measures for adults in Otero County (about 54,011 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 15.7% vs 12.3% (+3.4 points), coronary heart disease 7.2% vs 4.0% (+3.2 points), and current smoking 14.9% vs 12.2% (+2.7 points).
Health Outcomes
| Measure | Otero County | New Mexico | US | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arthritis | 24.7% | 26.2% | 26.3% | 2023 |
| High blood pressure | 34.2% | 34.2% | 34.0% | 2023 |
| Cancer, excluding non-melanoma skin cancer | 7.0% | n/a | n/a | 2023 |
| Current asthma | 10.0% | 9.7% | 10.2% | 2023 |
| Coronary heart disease | 7.2% | 4.0% | 4.0% | 2023 |
| COPD | 7.2% | 5.0% | 6.3% | 2023 |
| Depression | 24.0% | 23.0% | 21.8% | 2023 |
| Diagnosed diabetes | 12.7% | 12.5% | 11.8% | 2023 |
| High cholesterol, adults ever screened | 34.8% | 35.4% | 37.2% | 2023 |
| Obesity | 37.1% | 35.3% | 34.4% | 2023 |
| Stroke | 3.9% | 3.7% | 3.3% | 2023 |
| All teeth lost, ages 65 and older | 17.6% | n/a | n/a | 2022 |
Prevention
| Measure | Otero County | New Mexico | US | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No health insurance, ages 18 to 64 | 15.7% | 12.3% | 9.3% | 2023 |
| Taking blood pressure medicine, adults with high blood pressure | 73.3% | n/a | n/a | 2023 |
| Routine checkup in the past year | 69.1% | 70.2% | 78.4% | 2023 |
| Cholesterol screening | 80.8% | n/a | n/a | 2023 |
| Colorectal cancer screening, ages 45 to 75 | 54.6% | n/a | n/a | 2022 |
| Dental visit in the past year | 59.2% | n/a | n/a | 2022 |
| Mammogram, women ages 50 to 74 | 71.2% | n/a | n/a | 2022 |
Health Risk Behaviors
| Measure | Otero County | New Mexico | US | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drinking | 14.9% | 12.5% | 15.1% | 2023 |
| Current smoking | 14.9% | 12.2% | 12.1% | 2023 |
| No leisure-time physical activity | 24.6% | 24.0% | 24.5% | 2023 |
| Short sleep | 34.3% | n/a | n/a | 2022 |
Health Status
| Measure | Otero County | New Mexico | US | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fair or poor health | 24.2% | 23.2% | 18.5% | 2023 |
| Frequent mental distress | 17.1% | 16.0% | 15.4% | 2023 |
| Frequent physical distress | 15.3% | 14.9% | 12.6% | 2023 |
Disability
| Measure | Otero County | New Mexico | US | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cognitive disability | 17.1% | 14.5% | 13.7% | 2023 |
| Any disability | 34.8% | n/a | n/a | 2023 |
| Hearing disability | 8.5% | 8.5% | 7.4% | 2023 |
| Independent living disability | 10.1% | 9.4% | 7.8% | 2023 |
| Mobility disability | 15.5% | 14.2% | 13.4% | 2023 |
| Self-care disability | 4.9% | 4.5% | 3.7% | 2023 |
| Vision disability | 7.3% | 7.4% | 5.0% | 2023 |
Health-Related Social Needs
| Measure | Otero County | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Lack of social and emotional support | 24.5% | 2023 |
| Food insecurity in the past year | 22.3% | 2023 |
| Received food stamps in the past year | 18.9% | 2023 |
| Housing insecurity in the past year | 17.2% | 2023 |
| Lack of reliable transportation in the past year | 11.7% | 2023 |
| Loneliness | 34.7% | 2023 |
| Utility shut-off threat in the past year | 12.2% | 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
Health professional shortage areas
HRSA lists 6 designated shortage rows in Otero County: primary care 2 (highest score 20), mental health 2 (highest score 15), and dental 2 (highest score 22). 3 cover a geographic area or population group; the other 3 are facility designations.
| Discipline | Area or population | Facility | Highest score |
|---|---|---|---|
| primary care | 1 | 1 | 20 |
| mental health | 1 | 1 | 15 |
| dental | 1 | 1 | 22 |
Area and population designations
| Designation | Discipline | Type | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| LI - Otero County | primary care | HPSA Population | 18 |
| LI-Otero County | dental | HPSA Population | 17 |
| Southeastern Catchment Area | mental health | High Needs Geographic HPSA | 13 |
Facility designations (3)
| Designation | Discipline | Type | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| MESCALERO INDIAN HOSPITAL | dental | Indian Health Service, Tribal Health, and Urban Indian Health Organizations | 22 |
| MESCALERO INDIAN HOSPITAL | primary care | Indian Health Service, Tribal Health, and Urban Indian Health Organizations | 20 |
| MESCALERO INDIAN HOSPITAL | mental health | Indian Health Service, Tribal Health, and Urban Indian Health Organizations | 15 |
Source: HRSA Health Professional Shortage Areas, as of October 14, 2026. Publisher page
Hospitals and readmission rates
CMS Care Compare lists 1 acute care or critical access hospital in Otero County. None has a readmission rate CMS rates worse than the national rate.
| Hospital | City | Stars | Heart failure | Pneumonia | COPD | Heart attack | Hip or knee |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CHRISTUS SOUTHERN NEW MEXICO | ALAMOGORDO | 3 | 21.8% | 16.8% | 19.6% | 13.5% | 5.6% |
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
6 active health center sites in Otero County, run by 2 organizations.
| Site ↑ | Health center | Address | City |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ben Archer Health Center- Alamogordo | BEN ARCHER HEALTH CENTER, INC. | 2150 Highway 54 S | Alamogordo 88310 |
| PMS - Alamogordo Behavioral Health Family Health Center | PRESBYTERIAN MEDICAL SERVICES | 2360 Indian Wells Rd | Alamogordo 88310 |
| PMS - Alamogordo Family Health Center | PRESBYTERIAN MEDICAL SERVICES | 1501 10th St | Alamogordo 88310 |
| PMS - Chaparral Family Health Center | PRESBYTERIAN MEDICAL SERVICES | 204 Angelina Blvd | Chaparral 88081 |
| PMS - SACRAMENTO MTN MEDICAL CTR | PRESBYTERIAN MEDICAL SERVICES | 74 James Canyon Hwy | Cloudcroft 88317 |
| PMS - TULAROSA MEDICAL CENTER | PRESBYTERIAN MEDICAL SERVICES | 111 Central Ave | Tularosa 88352 |
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
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Medicare plans in Otero 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