Quay County, New Mexico: Power, Data Centers and the Local Economy
Home to Tucumcari
Quay County is not a build-out site today. It feels the boom through the grid it shares, the utilities that serve it and the work nearby. Quay County is home to Tucumcari and Logan. Next door, Deaf Smith County, Texas, has 1,686 MW of planned generation. Owners plan to retire 27 MW more by 2035, led by Quay County in 2034. Its power plants have 409 MW of capacity, 87% of it wind. Southwestern Public Service Co is the largest utility serving Quay County, one of 3 with territory here. Its residential customers paid an average 11.98¢/kWh in 2024, below the 15.46¢ median for New Mexico utilities.
Cities and towns in Quay County
Quay County is home to Tucumcari and Logan.
Unincorporated communities (governed by the county): Nara Visa.
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 Quay County
1st = the most. Ranks cover counties with a value on record.
| Measure | Then | Now | Change | Rank in New Mexico |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population (2020 → 2025) | 8,714 | 8,454 | ▼ 3.0% | 26th of 33 by size |
| Total jobs (2019 → 2025) | 2,574 | 2,545 | ▼ 1.1% | 22nd of 33 by growth |
| Average annual pay (2019 → 2025) | $34,289 | $45,015 | ▲ 31.3% | — |
| Construction jobs (2019 → 2025) | 136 | 97 | ▼ 28.7% | — |
| Electric utility jobs (2019 → 2025) | 54 | 95 | ▲ 75.9% | — |
| Unemployment rate (2019 → August 2026) | 4.8% | 4.9% | ▲ 0.1pts | — |
| Generating capacity added since 2019 | — | 0 MW | — | |
| Generating capacity retired since 2019 | — | 0 MW | — |
Employers here counted 2,545 jobs in 2025, down 1.1% from 2019. Unemployment was 4.9% in August 2026, against 4.8% in 2019. 8,454 people live here, down 3.0% since 2020.
Who powers Quay County
Utilities with service territory in Quay County
| Utility | Ownership | Service | Residential customers (systemwide) | Residential price, 2024 | Commercial share of sales |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southwestern Public Service Co | Investor Owned | Bundled | 100,540 | 11.98¢ | 24% |
| Farmers Electric Coop, Inc - (NM) | Cooperative | Bundled | 10,258 | 12.87¢ | 27% |
| Southwestern Electric Coop Inc - (NM) | Cooperative | Bundled | 1,434 | 24.09¢ | 3% |
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 6
| Technology | Capacity | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Wind | 356 MW | 87% |
| Petroleum | 27 MW | 7% |
| Solar | 25 MW | 6% |
| Battery storage | 1 MW | 0% |
| Largest plants | Owner | Technology | MW | Since |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Mexico Wind Energy Center | FPL Energy New Mexico Wind LLC | Wind | 204 MW | 2003 |
| Caprock Wind Farm | Leeward Asset Management, LLC | Wind | 100 MW | 2004 |
| Casa Mesa Wind Energy Center Hybrid | Casa Mesa Wind, LLC | Wind | 52 MW | 2018 |
| Quay County | Southwestern Public Service Co | Petroleum | 27 MW | 2013 |
| Caprock Solar 1 LLC | Deriva Energy | Solar | 25 MW | 2016 |
| Mesalands Comm College Wind Turbine | Mesalands Community College | Wind | 2 MW | 2008 |
Scheduled to retire
| Plant | Technology | MW | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quay County | Petroleum | 27 MW | 2034 |
The Quay County labor market
| Industry (2025) | Jobs | Average pay | Concentration vs U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| All industries | 2,545 | $45,015 | 1.00 |
| Construction | 97 | $45,384 | 0.72 |
| Electric utilities | 95 | $90,154 | 13.79 |
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 Quay County
No data center, local measure or delayed project is on record in Quay County. New Mexico has 12 local measures on record statewide.
Quay County and its neighbors
Of the 10 counties that border Quay County, Deaf Smith 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quay County | 8,454 | ▼ 1.1% | 409 MW | — | — | — |
| Curry County | 46,655 | ▲ 7.1% | 573 MW | — | — | — |
| De Baca County | 1,647 | ▲ 3.7% | — | 158 MW | — | — |
| Deaf Smith County TX | 18,626 | ▲ 6.4% | 710 MW | 1,686 MW | — | — |
| Guadalupe County | 4,343 | ▲ 3.3% | 235 MW | — | — | — |
| Harding County | 617 | ▲ 7.7% | — | — | — | — |
| Hartley County TX | 4,904 | ▲ 11.1% | — | — | — | — |
| Oldham County TX | 1,783 | ▼ 11.0% | 755 MW | — | — | — |
| Roosevelt County | 18,615 | ▼ 0.4% | 942 MW | 200 MW | — | — |
| San Miguel County | 26,260 | ▼ 2.4% | 32 MW | — | — | — |
| Union County | 3,844 | ▼ 8.9% | — | 190 MW | — | — |
More of New Mexico
Quay County, answered from the record
Who provides electricity in Quay County, New Mexico?
3 utilities have service territory in Quay County in the EIA-861 2024 report: Southwestern Public Service Co, Farmers Electric Coop, Inc - (NM), Southwestern Electric Coop Inc - (NM). The largest, Southwestern Public Service Co, charged residential customers 11.98¢/kWh on average in 2024.
What power plants are in Quay County?
6 operating plants with 409 MW of capacity. The largest is New Mexico Wind Energy Center (204 MW, wind).
Are there data centers in Quay County?
The SAVRN Data Center Map has no data center in Quay County. The nearest activity on record is next door in Deaf Smith County.
Is Quay County adding jobs?
Employers counted 2,545 jobs in 2025 against 2,574 in 2019 (-1.1%, BLS QCEW). Construction went from 136 to 97.
Does Quay County have a data center moratorium?
No county-level measure is on record for Quay County. New Mexico has 12 local measures statewide, listed on the state page.