List of counties in New Mexico - wikipedia List of counties in New Mexico See also : List of United States counties and county - equivalents Counties of New Mexico BER CAT CHA CIB COL CUR DEB DOÑ EDD GRA GUA HAR HID LEA LIN LAL LUN MCK MOR OTE QUA RIO ROO SDV SJU SMI SFE SIE SOC TAO TOR UNI VAL Location State of New Mexico Number 33 Populations 740 ( Harding ) -- 670,968 ( Bernalillo ) Areas 109 square miles ( 280 km ) ( Los Alamos ) -- 6,928 square miles ( 17,940 km ) ( Catron ) Government County government Subdivisions cities, towns, townships, unincorporated communities, indian reservations, Pueblo, census designated place New Mexico This article is part of a series on the politics and government of New Mexico Constitution United States Constitution New Mexico Constitution Executive Governor Susana Martinez ( R ) ( list ) Lieutenant Governor John Sanchez ( R ) Secretary of State Dianna Duran ( R ) Attorney General Gary King ( D ) State Auditor Hector Balderas ( D ) State Treasurer James B. Lewis ( D ) Commissioner of Public Lands Ray Powell ( D ) Public Regulation Commission Jason Marks ( D ) Patrick H. Lyons ( R ) Valerie Espinoza ( D ) Theresa Becenti - Aguilar ( D ) Ben Hall ( R ) Governor 's Cabinet and State Agencies Legislature State Senate President John Sanchez ( R ) President pro tempore Mary Kay Papen ( D ) Majority leader Michael Sanchez ( D ) Minority leader Stuart Ingle ( D ) House of Representatives Speaker Don Tripp ( R ) Majority leader Nate Gentry ( R ) Minority leader Brian Egolf ( D ) Judiciary Supreme Court Court of Appeals New Mexico District Courts Magistrate Court Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court Municipal Court Probate Court See also : U.S. District Court of New Mexico Elections Political parties Qualified New Mexico Parties Democratic Party Republican Party Green Party Libertarian Party National minor parties Inferior Jurisdictions Counties Cities census - designated places School districts Federal Representation U.S. Senators Tom Udall ( D ) Martin Heinrich ( D ) U.S. Representatives 1 : Michelle Lujan Grisham ( D ) 2 : Steve Pearce ( politician ) ( R ) 3 : Ben R. Luján ( D ) Politics of the United States Politics portal New Mexico portal This is a list of the 33 counties in New Mexico. There were originally nine counties formed in 1852. Santa Ana County, New Mexico Territory, one of the nine original counties, was annexed in 1876 to Bernalillo County, New Mexico. The Federal Information Processing Standard ( FIPS ) code, which is used by the United States government to uniquely identify states and counties, is provided with each entry. New Mexico 's code is 35, which when combined with any county code would be written as 35XXX. The FIPS code for each county links to census data for that county. Contents 1 List 2 Former counties 3 See also 4 References 5 External links List For comparison, the population estimate for the state of New Mexico as of July 2011 was 2,082,224, and the area was 7005121589000000000 ♠ 121,589 mi2 ( 315,194 km2 ). County FIPS code County seat Created Formed from Etymology Population Area Map Bernalillo County 001 Albuquerque 1852 One of the nine original counties. The Gonzales - Bernal family, Spanish nobles who settled the territory in the seventeenth century 7005670968000000000 ♠ 670,968 7003116600000000000 ♠ 1,166 mi2 ( 3,020 km2 ) Catron County 003 Reserve 1921 Part of Socorro County. Thomas Benton Catron, a Santa Fe attorney and New Mexico 's first U.S. Senator 7003373300000000000 ♠ 3,733 7003692800000000000 ♠ 6,928 sq mi ( 7004179430000000000 ♠ 17,943 km ) Chaves County 005 Roswell 1889 Part of Lincoln County. Jose Francisco Chaves, a U.S. Army colonel in New Mexico during and after the Civil War 7004658900000000000 ♠ 65,890 7003607100000000000 ♠ 6,071 sq mi ( 7004157240000000000 ♠ 15,724 km ) Cibola County 006 Grants 1981 Parts of Valencia County, Socorro County, McKinley County, and Catron County. The mythical Seven Cities of Cibola 7004276580000000000 ♠ 27,658 7003454000000000000 ♠ 4,540 sq mi ( 7004117590000000000 ♠ 11,759 km ) Colfax County 007 Raton 1869 Part of Mora County. Schuyler Colfax, the seventeenth vice president of the United States 7004136400000000000 ♠ 13,640 7003375700000000000 ♠ 3,757 sq mi ( 7003973100000000000 ♠ 9,731 km ) Curry County 009 Clovis 1909 Parts of Quay County and Roosevelt County. George Curry, a governor of New Mexico Territory from 1907 to 1910 7004496490000000000 ♠ 49,649 7003140600000000000 ♠ 1,406 sq mi ( 7003364200000000000 ♠ 3,642 km ) De Baca County 011 Fort Sumner 1917 Parts of Chaves County and Guadalupe County. Ezequiel Cabeza de Baca, the second state governor of New Mexico 7003194500000000000 ♠ 1,945 7003232500000000000 ♠ 2,325 sq mi ( 7003602200000000000 ♠ 6,022 km ) Doña Ana County 013 Las Cruces 1852 One of the nine original counties. Doña Ana Robledo, a seventeenth - century Spanish woman known for her charitable giving to the native population 7005213598000000000 ♠ 213,598 7003380700000000000 ♠ 3,807 sq mi ( 7003986000000000000 ♠ 9,860 km ) Eddy County 015 Carlsbad 1887 Part of Lincoln County. Charles Eddy, a rancher and developer of the area 7004541520000000000 ♠ 54,152 7003418200000000000 ♠ 4,182 sq mi ( 7004108310000000000 ♠ 10,831 km ) Grant County 017 Silver City 1868 Part of Doña Ana County. Ulysses Simpson Grant, the Civil War general and eighteenth president of the United States 7004293800000000000 ♠ 29,380 7003396600000000000 ♠ 3,966 sq mi ( 7004102720000000000 ♠ 10,272 km ) Guadalupe County 019 Santa Rosa 1891 Part of San Miguel County. Our Lady of Guadalupe, the patron saint of the Americas 7003461900000000000 ♠ 4,619 7003303100000000000 ♠ 3,031 sq mi ( 7003785000000000000 ♠ 7,850 km ) Harding County 021 Mosquero 1921 Parts of Mora County and Union County. Warren Gamaliel Harding, the twenty - ninth president of the United States 7002740000000000000 ♠ 740 7003212600000000000 ♠ 2,126 sq mi ( 7003550600000000000 ♠ 5,506 km ) Hidalgo County 023 Lordsburg 1920 Part of Grant County. Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, the priest who is known as the Father of Mexican Independence 7003486100000000000 ♠ 4,861 7003344600000000000 ♠ 3,446 sq mi ( 7003892500000000000 ♠ 8,925 km ) Lea County 025 Lovington 1917 Parts of Chaves County and Eddy County. Joseph Calloway Lea, a captain in the U.S. Army and the founder of the New Mexico Military Academy 7004654230000000000 ♠ 65,423 7003439300000000000 ♠ 4,393 sq mi ( 7004113780000000000 ♠ 11,378 km ) Lincoln County 027 Carrizozo 1869 Part of Socorro County. Abraham Lincoln, the sixteenth president of the United States 7004204540000000000 ♠ 20,454 7003483100000000000 ♠ 4,831 sq mi ( 7004125120000000000 ♠ 12,512 km ) Los Alamos County 028 Los Alamos 1949 Parts of Sandoval County and Santa Fe County. Named for its county seat of Los Alamos, New Mexico, which itself is the Spanish name for the cottonwood tree 7004182220000000000 ♠ 18,222 7002109000000000000 ♠ 109 sq mi ( 7002282000000000000 ♠ 282 km ) Luna County 029 Deming 1901 Parts of Doña Ana County and Grant County. Solomon Luna, the largest land owner in the county at the time of its creation ; itself Spanish for moon 7004252810000000000 ♠ 25,281 7003296500000000000 ♠ 2,965 sq mi ( 7003767900000000000 ♠ 7,679 km ) McKinley County 031 Gallup 1899 Part of Bernalillo County. William McKinley, the twenty - fifth president of the United States 7004736640000000000 ♠ 73,664 7003544900000000000 ♠ 5,449 sq mi ( 7004141130000000000 ♠ 14,113 km ) Mora County 033 Mora 1859 Part of Taos County. Named for its county seat of Mora, New Mexico, which is itself named after lo de mora, the Spanish term for blackberry 7003477300000000000 ♠ 4,773 7003193100000000000 ♠ 1,931 sq mi ( 7003500100000000000 ♠ 5,001 km ) Otero County 035 Alamogordo 1899 Parts of Doña Ana County and Lincoln County. Miguel A. Otero, territorial delegate to U.S. Congress 7004657030000000000 ♠ 65,703 7003662700000000000 ♠ 6,627 sq mi ( 7004171640000000000 ♠ 17,164 km ) Quay County 037 Tucumcari 1903 Part of Guadalupe County. Matthew Stanley Quay, a U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania who supported New Mexico 's statehood 7003902600000000000 ♠ 9,026 7003285500000000000 ♠ 2,855 sq mi ( 7003739400000000000 ♠ 7,394 km ) Rio Arriba County 039 Tierra Amarilla 1852 One of the nine original counties. Named for its location on the upper Rio Grande ( Río Arriba means `` upstream '' or `` up the river '' in Spanish ) 7004404460000000000 ♠ 40,446 7003585800000000000 ♠ 5,858 sq mi ( 7004151720000000000 ♠ 15,172 km ) Roosevelt County 041 Portales 1903 Parts of Chaves County and Guadalupe County. Theodore Roosevelt, the twenty - sixth president of the United States 7004204460000000000 ♠ 20,446 7003244900000000000 ♠ 2,449 sq mi ( 7003634300000000000 ♠ 6,343 km ) Sandoval County 043 Bernalillo 1903 Part of Bernalillo County. Named for the Sandoval family, prominent seventeenth - century Spanish landowners 7005134259000000000 ♠ 134,259 7003371000000000000 ♠ 3,710 sq mi ( 7003960900000000000 ♠ 9,609 km ) San Juan County 045 Aztec 1887 Part of Rio Arriba County. San Juan River, itself named after the Catholic saint 7005128200000000000 ♠ 128,200 7003551400000000000 ♠ 5,514 sq mi ( 7004142810000000000 ♠ 14,281 km ) San Miguel County 047 Las Vegas 1852 One of the nine original counties. San Miguel de Bado Catholic Church, the first in the area 7004293010000000000 ♠ 29,301 7003471700000000000 ♠ 4,717 sq mi ( 7004122170000000000 ♠ 12,217 km ) Santa Fe County 049 Santa Fe 1852 One of the nine original counties. Spanish term meaning `` holy faith, '' which refers to the spirituality of the founding missionaries 7005145648000000000 ♠ 145,648 7003190900000000000 ♠ 1,909 sq mi ( 7003494400000000000 ♠ 4,944 km ) Sierra County 051 Truth or Consequences 1884 Parts of Doña Ana County and Socorro County. Possibly named for the Black Range. ( Sierra is mountain range in Spanish. ) 7004119430000000000 ♠ 11,943 7003418000000000000 ♠ 4,180 sq mi ( 7004108260000000000 ♠ 10,826 km ) Socorro County 053 Socorro 1852 One of the nine original counties. Spanish term meaning `` aid, '' which refers to the help Native Americans gave to starving travelers 7004178730000000000 ♠ 17,873 7003664700000000000 ♠ 6,647 sq mi ( 7004172160000000000 ♠ 17,216 km ) Taos County 055 Taos 1852 One of the nine original counties. Named for its county seat of Taos, New Mexico, which in turn was named for the nearby Taos Pueblo, an ancient Native American village. Taos is red willow in the Tiwa language 7004329170000000000 ♠ 32,917 7003220300000000000 ♠ 2,203 sq mi ( 7003570600000000000 ♠ 5,706 km ) Torrance County 057 Estancia 1903 Parts of Bernalillo County, Valencia County, and Socorro County. Francis J. Torrance, the developer of the New Mexico Central Railroad 7004163450000000000 ♠ 16,345 7003334500000000000 ♠ 3,345 sq mi ( 7003866400000000000 ♠ 8,664 km ) Union County 059 Clayton 1893 Parts of Colfax County, Mora County and San Miguel County. Named for the `` union '' of the three counties which donated land to form the new county 7003443300000000000 ♠ 4,433 7003383000000000000 ♠ 3,830 sq mi ( 7003992000000000000 ♠ 9,920 km ) Valencia County 061 Los Lunas 1852 One of the nine original counties. Named for the town of Valencia, New Mexico, which is itself named for Valencia, Spain 7004770700000000000 ♠ 77,070 7003106800000000000 ♠ 1,068 sq mi ( 7003276600000000000 ♠ 2,766 km ) Former counties Mesilla County, appears on 1860s - era territorial map encompassing area in present - day Dona Aña, Grant, Hidalgo, Luna, Sierra west of the Rio Grande. Santa Ana County ( 1844 -- 1876 ) absorbed by Bernalillo County ; portions are in present - day McKinley County Santa Fe County, Texas ( 1848 - 1850 ), never organized, included the portion of New Mexico east of the Rio Grande except for southeastern New Mexico east of the Pecos River and south of the Prairie Dog Town Fork Red River as well as the Trans - Pecos and most of the Panhandle regions of Texas, the Oklahoma Panhandle, and portions of Colorado, Kansas, and Wyoming. Before Texas ceded its western lands to the federal government after the Compromise of 1850, the following counties were briefly created from Santa Fe County earlier that year in south - central New Mexico between the Rio Grande and the Pecos : El Paso County, Texas Worth County, Texas See also New Mexico portal References Jump up ^ `` FIPS Publish 6 - 4 ''. National Institute of Standards and Technology. Retrieved 2007 - 08 - 06. Jump up ^ `` EPA County FIPS Code Listing ''. US Environmental Protection Agency. Retrieved 2007 - 08 - 06. ^ Jump up to : `` NACo - Find a county ''. National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on 2007 - 09 - 30. Retrieved 2007 - 08 - 07. Jump up ^ `` NMGenWeb Counties ''. Rootsweb.com. Archived from the original on 2007 - 07 - 02. Retrieved 2007 - 08 - 06. Jump up ^ Viva New Mexico County Names Jump up ^ http://www.census.gov/popest/data/counties/totals/2011/CO-EST2011-01.html Jump up ^ `` New Mexico QuickFacts ''. U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2007 - 08 - 07. ( 2000 Census ) External links Text description of counties Maps of historic New Mexico counties List of United States counties and county equivalents States Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming Federal district Washington, D.C. State of New Mexico Santa Fe ( capital ) Topics Index Delegations Geography Government History World War II Landmarks Military Nuevomexicanos New Mexicans Paleontology Municipalities Census - designated places Symbols Transportation Tribes Tourist attractions New Mexican cuisine Seal of New Mexico Society Crime Culture Demographics Economy Education Politics Regions Central New Mexico Colorado Plateau Eastern New Mexico Llano Estacado Northern New Mexico Permian Basin San Luis Valley Sangre de Cristo Mountains Southwestern New Mexico Cities Alamogordo Albuquerque Artesia Carlsbad Clovis Corrales Deming Española Farmington Gallup Grants Hobbs Las Cruces Las Vegas Los Alamos Los Lunas Lovington Portales Raton Rio Rancho Roswell Ruidoso Santa Fe Silver City Socorro Sunland Park Taos Tucumcari Counties See : List of counties in New Mexico Bernalillo Catron Chaves Cibola Colfax Curry De Baca Doña Ana Eddy Grant Guadalupe Harding Hidalgo Lea Lincoln Los Alamos Luna McKinley Mora Otero Quay Rio Arriba Roosevelt San Juan San Miguel Sandoval Santa Fe Sierra Socorro Taos Torrance Union Valencia Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_counties_in_New_Mexico&oldid=797502948 '' Categories : Lists of counties of the United States by state New Mexico counties New Mexico geography - related lists Talk Contents About Wikipedia Boarisch Deutsch Español فارسی Français Gaeilge Italiano עברית Magyar Nederlands 日本 語 Norsk Polski Português Română Русский Shqip Simple English Slovenščina Svenska Українська 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 27 August 2017, at 13 : 04. 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Question: what is the biggest county in new mexico
Answer: Catron