Section 8 Housing in New Mexico
10,687 active Housing Choice Vouchers across 4 markets. Rent limits, housing authorities, waitlist status, and voucher rights for every metro in New Mexico.
Can a landlord refuse Section 8 in New Mexico?
In most of the state, yes. New Mexico has no statewide source-of-income protection, so landlords in New Mexico can decline Section 8 applications unless a local ordinance says otherwise.
No statewide source-of-income protection for housing vouchers. PRRAC Appendix B (March 2026).
Informational only, not legal advice. Laws change, so verify current status before acting on a rejection or making a leasing decision.
Local voucher discrimination laws in New Mexico
New Mexico has no statewide law, so protection depends on where the apartment is. These are the local ordinances on file.
- AlbuquerqueAlbuquerque Code of Ordinances Ch. 11 Art. 3 (2022) · in effect since 2022
- Bernalillo CountyBernalillo County Code Ch. 44 (2022) · in effect since 2022
Source: PRRAC, Appendix B: State, Local, and Federal Laws Barring Source of Income Discrimination (updated March 2026), plus the ordinances linked above. Informational only, not legal advice.
Landlord and investor tools for New Mexico
RentalCalcsFree calculators and guides from RentalCalcs, built by the VoucherMatch team, for landlords deciding whether to accept vouchers.
- Section 8 rent analyzerHUD rent benchmarks and modeled comparisons for New Mexico ZIP codes. Confirm adopted amounts with the agency.
- Compare HUD benchmarks with market rent in New MexicoExplore modeled ZIP comparisons; these do not establish an approved rent or agency payment.
- Average rent in New MexicoMarket rent versus HUD fair market rent by city and bedroom count.
- How Section 8 rent is calculatedFair market rent, payment standards and rent reasonableness, step by step.
- Section 8 landlord math for 2026What the payment standard changes mean for cash flow this year.
All Section 8 markets in New Mexico
Sorted by active voucher count. Each metro page has HUD Fair Market Rent by bedroom, the housing authorities that administer vouchers there, and waitlist status.
Section 8 by county in New Mexico
County pages show the local voucher count, housing authorities, and metro rollup. Useful when you are looking at a specific address.
- Bernalillo County7,140 vouchers
- Chaves County2,105 vouchers
- Dona Ana County1,676 vouchers
- Santa Fe County1,484 vouchers
- Grant County916 vouchers
- Socorro County640 vouchers
- Curry County613 vouchers
- Taos County569 vouchers
- San Juan County387 vouchers
- Sierra County193 vouchers
- San Miguel County181 vouchers
- McKinley County64 vouchers
- Rio Arriba County25 vouchers
- Catron County
- Cibola County
- Colfax County
- De Baca County
- Eddy County
- Hidalgo County
- Lea County
- Lincoln County
- Los Alamos County
- Luna County
- Otero County
- Quay County
- Roosevelt County
- Sandoval County
- Torrance County
- Union County
- Valencia County
Section 8 in New Mexico: common questions
- Can a landlord refuse Section 8 in New Mexico?
- In most of the state, yes. New Mexico has no statewide source-of-income protection, so landlords in New Mexico can decline Section 8 applications unless a local ordinance says otherwise.
- Which New Mexico cities and counties have their own voucher discrimination law?
- Albuquerque and Bernalillo County have a local source-of-income ordinance on file. The ordinance and its citation are listed on this page.
- How many Section 8 vouchers are there in New Mexico?
- HUD data shows about 10,687 Housing Choice Vouchers across the 4 New Mexico markets we track, administered by 26 housing authorities statewide.
- How do I apply for Section 8 in New Mexico?
- You apply to a local housing authority, not to the state or to HUD. Each of New Mexico's housing authorities runs its own waitlist and opens it on its own schedule, and applying is always free. Pick your metro or county on this page to see the housing authorities that serve it and their current waitlist status.
Find Section 8 apartments in New Mexico
VoucherMatch connects voucher holders with landlords who accept Section 8, and it is free for renters. The administering housing authority must approve the actual unit, rent and household assistance calculation.