# Catron County, New Mexico: Power, Data Centers and the Local Economy Home to Alma and Apache Creek No data center or power plant project is on record in Catron County, but the national build-out still reaches it through its utility bill, its labor market and the projects next door. Catron County is home to Reserve. Employers here counted 690 jobs in 2025, up 9.0% from 2019 (the 5th fastest growth of 33 New Mexico counties). 100 MW of that came online in 2019 or later, mostly wind. Unemployment was 6.1% in August 2026, against 7.0% in 2019. Its power plants have 100 MW of capacity, 100% of it wind. +9.0% total jobs since 2019, now 690 1.3× the U.S. share of jobs in construction 100 MW of operating power plants, mostly wind ## Cities and towns in Catron County Catron County is home to Reserve. Reserve311 residents Unincorporated communities (governed by the county): Alma, Apache Creek, Aragon, Cruzville, Datil, Escudilla Bonita, Glenwood, Homestead, Lower Frisco, Luna, Middle Frisco, Mogollon, Pie Town, Pleasanton, Quemado, Rancho Grande, Rivers. Residents are 2025 Census estimates for the part of each city, town or township inside this county. Census publishes no annual estimate for unincorporated communities. ## What changed in Catron County | Measure | Then | Now | Change | Rank in New Mexico | |---|---|---|---|---| | Population (2020 → 2025) | 3,608 | 3,827 | ▲ 6.1% | 31st of 33 by size | | Total jobs (2019 → 2025) | 633 | 690 | ▲ 9.0% | 5th of 33 by growth | | Average annual pay (2019 → 2025) | $31,031 | $46,280 | ▲ 49.1% | — | | Construction jobs (2019 → 2025) | 15 | 49 | ▲ 226.7% | — | | Unemployment rate (2019 → August 2026) | 7.0% | 6.1% | ▼ 0.9pts | — | | Generating capacity added since 2019 | — | 100 MW | | — | | Generating capacity retired since 2019 | — | 0 MW | | — | Public Service Co of NM is the largest utility serving Catron County, one of 4 with territory here. Its residential customers paid an average 15.57¢/kWh in 2024. 3,827 people live here, up 6.1% since 2020. ## Who powers Catron County ### Utilities with service territory in Catron County | Utility | Ownership | Service | Residential customers (systemwide) | Residential price, 2024 | Commercial share of sales | |---|---|---|---|---|---| | Public Service Co of NM | Investor Owned | Bundled | 492,945 | 15.57¢ | 39% | | Navopache Electric Coop, Inc | Cooperative | Bundled | 1,493 | 14.94¢ | 25% | | Socorro Electric Coop, Inc | — | — | — | — | — | | Sierra Electric Coop, Inc | — | — | — | — | — | Customer counts, prices and sales shares cover each utility's whole system in the state, not only this county. Commercial sales include data centers. ### Operating power plants | Technology | Capacity | Share | |---|---|---| | Wind | 100 MW | 100% | | Largest plants | Owner | Technology | MW | Since | |---|---|---|---|---| | Borderlands Wind, LLC | Borderlands Wind, LLC | Wind | 100 MW | 2021 | ## The Catron County labor market | Industry (2025) | Jobs | Average pay | Concentration vs U.S. | |---|---|---|---| | All industries | 690 | $46,280 | 1.00 | | Construction | 49 | $88,008 | 1.34 | Concentration is the BLS location quotient: 1.0 means the industry holds the same share of local jobs as it does nationally. Industry rows count private employers; cells BLS suppresses are left out. ## Data centers and local rules in Catron County No data center, local measure or delayed project is on record in Catron County. New Mexico has 12 local measures on record statewide, and 3 neighboring counties have one: [Grant County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/new-mexico/grant-county), [Sierra County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/new-mexico/sierra-county), [Socorro County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/new-mexico/socorro-county). ## Catron County and its neighbors Of the 6 counties that border Catron County, Apache County carries the most build-out activity: data centers, planned generation and operating plants combined. [[[[[[ | County | Population | Jobs since 2019 | Operating MW | Planned MW | Data centers | Local measures | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | Catron County | 3,827 | ▲ 9.0% | 100 MW | — | — | — | | Apache County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/arizona/apache-county) AZ | 64,445 | ▼ 5.0% | 2,604 MW | — | — | — | | Cibola County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/new-mexico/cibola-county) | 26,807 | ▼ 4.8% | 114 MW | — | — | — | | Grant County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/new-mexico/grant-county) | 27,252 | ▲ 2.0% | 55 MW | 5 MW | — | 1 | | Greenlee County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/arizona/greenlee-county) AZ | 9,312 | ▲ 9.9% | — | — | — | — | | Sierra County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/new-mexico/sierra-county) | 11,395 | ▲ 8.3% | 31 MW | — | — | 1 | | Socorro County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/new-mexico/socorro-county) | 15,838 | ▼ 5.4% | — | — | — | 2 | ## More of New Mexico [All New Mexico countiesThe state power page and county mapOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/new-mexico)[Grant County27,252 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/new-mexico/grant-county)[Cibola County26,807 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/new-mexico/cibola-county)[Socorro County15,838 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/new-mexico/socorro-county)[Sierra County11,395 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/new-mexico/sierra-county) ## Catron County, answered from the record ### Who provides electricity in Catron County, New Mexico? 4 utilities have service territory in Catron County in the EIA-861 2024 report: Public Service Co of NM, Navopache Electric Coop, Inc, Socorro Electric Coop, Inc, Sierra Electric Coop, Inc. The largest, Public Service Co of NM, charged residential customers 15.57¢/kWh on average in 2024. ### What power plants are in Catron County? 1 operating plant with 100 MW of capacity. The largest is Borderlands Wind, LLC (100 MW, wind). ### Are there data centers in Catron County? The SAVRN Data Center Map has no data center in Catron County. ### Is Catron County adding jobs? Employers counted 690 jobs in 2025 against 633 in 2019 (+9.0%, BLS QCEW). Construction went from 15 to 49. ### Does Catron County have a data center moratorium? No county-level measure is on record for Catron County. New Mexico has 12 local measures statewide, listed on the state page. --- Canonical: https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/new-mexico/catron-county Updated: 2026-10-08. Refreshed weekly by SAVRN from EIA, BLS, BEA, Census and the SAVRN trackers. License: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).