Roswell, NM — Momentum Score, Home Values & Best-For

All states·New Mexico·Roswell

Chaves County · Roswell · population 47,176

AffordabilityShrinking
Roswell, NM
Image: Wikipedia · Roswell, New Mexico
OverviewCost of livingMoving guide
View watchlist →
52
Stable
Momentum score · 0–100

Where Roswell stands

Population shrinking 0.6% per year. rents up 5.2% in the last year.

Median home $174,715
1-year -0.8%
5-yr CAGR +1.4%
vs 5-yr peak -3.8%
Population -0.6%/yr

Home value trajectory · last 10 years

Zillow ZHVI · monthly
peak 2022-07$175k$107k$134k$162k$189k201620182020202220242026

Lifestyle scores

🚶
Walkability
32/100
Very car-dependent
Estimated from population density. Higher = denser, more amenities within walking distance.
🚉
Public transit
22/100
Transit limited
Curated list of major US transit systems + population-based estimate. Higher = real subway/rail/bus options.
💻
Remote work fit
68/100
Strong remote-work fit
Composite of city size, housing cost, state tax structure, and region's remote-work track record.

Scores are heuristic estimates from population density, state, and known transit/walkable cities. Not based on a paid Walk Score / Transit Score API — see methodology for the formula.

Rent trajectory · last 5 years

Zillow ZORI · monthly
$1,396/mo$0$740$1,480202220242026

Home value vs rent · indexed to 100

Both rebased at first month of ZORI data (~2015)
Home valueRent9712180100120202220242026

Rent vs buy

Price-to-rent ratio: 10.4
Buy

At a 10.4 price-to-rent ratio, buying generally beats renting in Roswell on a long-enough horizon. The headline math is that one year of mortgage payments approximates 10.4 years of rent — well below the 15+ threshold where ownership starts to dominate.

How the momentum score breaks down

methodology →
Home YoY
46 · w22%
Home 5-yr CAGR
43 · w22%
Distance from peak
67 · w18%
Population growth
35 · w16%
Rent YoY
80 · w12%
Home 10-yr CAGR
56 · w10%
Long thesis

Roswell has held up across the cycle: home values at $174,715 with +1.4% 5-year CAGR. The bull case is structural — population, location, employer base — and holds even if next year's print is soft.

Short thesis

Roswell's population is shrinking 0.6% per year. Housing demand has to come from somewhere — if people are leaving, the buyer pool is shrinking faster than the inventory. That eventually shows up in price.

About Roswell

Roswell is a city in Chaves County, New Mexico, with an estimated population of 47,176. The population has contracted 0.6% per year on average since 2020. The median home value in Roswell is $174,715 as of 2026-04, down 0.8% over the last 12 months. Over the last five years, home values have averaged +1.4% annual growth (-3.8% from the 5-year peak). Rents in Roswell average $1,396 per month, up 5.2% year-over-year. The composite momentum score is 52 of 100 (Stable). Conditions are neither hot nor cold, so the local fit matters more than market timing.

▲ Bull case

●Cheap entry point: $174,715 median home is well below the US median of $355k — room to grow without overpaying.
●Hot rental market: rents up 5.2% YoY — landlords have pricing power, supports new investment math.

▼ Bear case

●Flat or shrinking population: -0.6% per year. Housing demand has to come from somewhere — verify the source.
○Local nuance: city-level data smooths over neighborhood differences. School zones, HOA rules, and street-level character matter — visit before deciding.

About Roswell (Wikipedia)

Roswell is a city in and the county seat of Chaves County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 48,422 at the 2020 census, making it the fifth-most populous city in New Mexico. It is home to the New Mexico Military Institute (NMMI), founded in 1891. The city is also the location of an Eastern New Mexico University campus. Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge is located a few miles northeast of the city on the Pecos River. Bottomless Lakes State Park is located 12 miles (19 km) east of Roswell on US 380. Chaves County forms the entirety of the Roswell micropolitan area.

Source: Wikipedia · this summary is contributed and licensed under CC-BY-SA.

Playbook

Buyer

Lifestyle fit matters more than market timing in a Stable market. Take your time on the home and neighborhood; the macro trend isn't urgent. Negotiate normally.

Seller

Price competitively from day one or risk a 60+ day listing. Staging, photography, and presentation matter more in Stable markets than in Hot ones.

Investor

Stable cap rates, no big appreciation story to lean on. Underwrite this as a pure cash-flow play — the math has to work on rent alone.

Local safety & alerts

No active National Weather Service alerts for Chaves County right now.

NWS active alerts (NM)New Mexico Emergency ManagementHow to prepare (NWS)

Public-safety links are official .gov sources, not curated by us. Chaves County routes NWS alerts; check the state EM portal for non-weather emergencies.

Cities like Roswell

Clovis, NM54 · StablePortales, NM54 · StableGallup, NM53 · StableRuidoso, NM49 · Stable

Run the numbers for Roswell

ToolCan I afford Roswell?Income → city shortlistToolROI on a Roswell rentalCap rate, cash-on-cash, DSCRToolCompare Roswell to anywhereSide-by-side up to 3 citiesToolRoswell cost-of-livingEquivalent income elsewhere

Sources: Zillow ZHVI (home values), Zillow ZORI (rents), US Census ACS + place population. Updated when source agencies publish revisions.

Climate & natural-disaster risk

Winter (Jan)
50° / 25°
avg high / low
Summer (Jul)
87° / 61°
avg high / low
Sunny days/yr
280
~77% of year
Annual precip
14″ rain
12″ snow
Disaster risk (1=very low, 5=very high)
Hurricane
Very low
Tornado
Low
Wildfire
Very high
Earthquake
Low
Flood
Low

State-level averages from NOAA Climate Normals (1991-2020) and FEMA National Risk Index. City-level conditions can vary significantly within a state.

Current weather

Loading current conditions…

7-day forecast on weather.gov →

Find rentals & listings

Open current Roswell listings on the major real-estate sites.

Links open the live search on the destination site — results are always current.

Local news & community

Updated 2026-05-21 from Google News + Reddit RSS. Headlines link to original sources.

Local sports teams

Major professional teams the Roswell area cheers for. Detailed stats, schedules, and player pages on intherafters.com.

Local economy & environment

Humidity
48%
Dry climate
Median household income
$58,700
New Mexico state median
Top industries (state-level)
Government (labs)TourismOil & Gas

Humidity is annual average relative humidity (NOAA). Income is Census ACS 5-year estimate. Industries are largest employment sectors statewide (BLS); the local mix in a given city may vary.

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