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County · code 35053

Socorro CountyNew Mexico

Socorro County is in New Mexico, with its seat in Socorro. It was created on January 9, 1852, by New Mexico Territory from non-county area.

  • Founded1852
  • County seatSocorro
  • Land area6,646 sq mi + 1.9 sq mi water
  • Population16,595 2020 Census
  • Parcels mapped45,675 checked 16 October 2026
Open the free map Click any parcel in Socorro County: acreage, parcel id, address and who publishes the map. No sign-in.

Updated

ValenciaSierraTorranceCibolaCatronLincoln Socorro Census outline · seat marked

Where it is

Socorro on the map of New Mexico

New Mexico has 33 counties and county equivalents, each with its own records office. Shapes with a page are links.

Bernalillo CountyCatron CountyChaves CountyCibola CountyColfax CountyCurry CountyDe Baca CountyDoña Ana CountyEddy CountyGrant CountyGuadalupe CountyHarding CountyHidalgo CountyLea CountyLincoln CountyLos Alamos CountyLuna CountyMcKinley CountyMora CountyOtero CountyQuay CountyRio Arriba CountyRoosevelt CountySandoval CountySan Juan CountySan Miguel CountySanta Fe CountySierra CountyTaos CountyTorrance CountyUnion CountyValencia CountySocorro County Socorro
Counties of New Mexico · Socorro highlighted

History

Formed in 1852 from Do County and Ana County

An old deed may name a county that no longer exists, or a boundary that has since moved.

Socorro County was established on January 9, 1852, from unorganized territory by New Mexico Territory, initially covering land in both present-day New Mexico and Arizona. When Arizona Territory was created from the western portion of New Mexico Territory on February 24, 1863, Socorro County lost territory to the new territory. Over the following decades, Socorro County's boundaries shifted through multiple transfers with neighboring counties, including gains and losses involving Doña Ana County, and losses that led to the creation of Grant County in 1868, San Miguel and Lincoln Counties in 1869, and Sierra County in 1884.

Boundary changes from the Newberry Library, Atlas of Historical County Boundaries; the 5 that matter most are shown first.

  1. 1852
    Socorro County created Socorro created by New Mexico Territory from Non-County Area 1; included parts of present Arizona and New Mexico. Socorro first mentioned in a 10 July 1851 establishing judicial districts, and on 06 January 1852 legislature authorized creation of DoÑA Ana from Socorro, however, no complete boundary definition is given for either county until 09 January 1852.
    from Dofrom Ana
    · N.M. Terr. Laws 1851, 1st assy., 1st sess./p. 119; N.M. Terr. Laws 1851, 1st assy., 2d sess. /pp. 266, 292
  2. 1863
    Lost territory Socorro lost to creation of Arizona Territory. · U.S. Stat., vol. 12, pp. 664-665; Van Zandt, 165
  3. 1867
    Gained territory Socorro gained from DoÑA Ana.
    from Dofrom Ana.
    · N.M. Terr. Laws 1866-1867, 16th assy. /p. 104
  4. 1868
    Lost territory Socorro lost to creation of Grant.
    to Grant
    · N.M. Terr. Laws 1867-1868, 17th assy., ch. 20/p. 88
  5. 1869
    Lost territory By 15 January 1869 Socorro had lost to San Miguel. Though no law has been found authorizing this change, the definition for the creation of Lincoln on 16 January 1869 depends on the San Miguel boundary having been extended southward as mapped.
    to San Miguelto Lincoln
    · Coan, 259
Show all 21 changes (16 more)
  1. 1852
    Socorro County created Socorro created by New Mexico Territory from Non-County Area 1; included parts of present Arizona and New Mexico. Socorro first mentioned in a 10 July 1851 establishing judicial districts, and on 06 January 1852 legislature authorized creation of DoÑA Ana from Socorro, however, no complete boundary definition is given for either county until 09 January 1852.
    from Dofrom Ana
    · N.M. Terr. Laws 1851, 1st assy., 1st sess./p. 119; N.M. Terr. Laws 1851, 1st assy., 2d sess. /pp. 266, 292
  2. 1863
    Lost territory Socorro lost to creation of Arizona Territory. · U.S. Stat., vol. 12, pp. 664-665; Van Zandt, 165
  3. 1867
    Gained territory Socorro gained from DoÑA Ana.
    from Dofrom Ana.
    · N.M. Terr. Laws 1866-1867, 16th assy. /p. 104
  4. 1868
    Lost territory Socorro lost to creation of Grant.
    to Grant
    · N.M. Terr. Laws 1867-1868, 17th assy., ch. 20/p. 88
  5. 1869
    Lost territory By 15 January 1869 Socorro had lost to San Miguel. Though no law has been found authorizing this change, the definition for the creation of Lincoln on 16 January 1869 depends on the San Miguel boundary having been extended southward as mapped.
    to San Miguelto Lincoln
    · Coan, 259
  6. 1869
    Lost territory Socorro lost to creation of Lincoln.
    to Lincoln
    · N.M. Terr. Laws 1868-1869, 18th assy., ch. 8/pp. 28-31
  7. 1870
    Lost territory Socorro lost to DoÑA Ana.
    to Doto Ana.
    · N.M. Terr. Laws 1869-1870, 19th assy., ch. 11/p. 36
  8. 1871
    Gained territory Socorro gained from DoÑA Ana.
    from Dofrom Ana.
    · N.M. Terr. Laws 1871-1872, 20th assy., ch. 2/pp. 4-5
  9. 1880
    Gained territory Socorro gained from DoÑA Ana.
    from Dofrom Ana.
    · N.M. Terr. Laws 1880, 24th assy., ch. 42/pp. 98-99
  10. 1884
    Lost territory Socorro lost to creation of Sierra. Creation left a small portion of Socorro to the south of Sierra, which remained until 24 February 1887 when it became part of DoÑA Ana.
    to Sierrato Doto Ana.
    · N.M. Terr. Laws 1884, 26th assy., ch. 109/pp. 223-225
  11. 1887
    Lost territory Socorro lost to DoÑA Ana; eliminated separate part of Socorro.
    to Doto Ana
    · N.M. Terr. Laws 1887, 27th assy., ch. 14/p. 39
  12. 1893
    Boundary clarified Socorro boundary with Lincoln redefined to run along the public land survey line between ranges 8E and 9E (no change).
    with Lincolnno change
    · N.M. Terr. Laws 1893, 30th assy., ch. 20/pp. 36-37
  13. 1899
    Lost territory Socorro lost to creation of Otero.
    to Otero
    · N.M. Terr. Laws 1899, 33d assy., ch. 3/pp. 21-30
  14. 1905
    Lost territory Socorro lost to creation of Torrance. Act passed 16 March 1903; took effect 1 January 1905.
    to Torrance
    · N.M. Terr. Laws 1903, 35th assy., ch. 70/pp. 132-134
  15. 1905
    Lost territory Socorro lost to Torrance.
    to Torrance
    · N.M. Terr. Laws 1905, 36th assy., ch. 2/pp. 2-3
  16. 1909
    Changed Territorial Legislature authorized Socorro to lose to Sierra in "An Act to abolish the county of Sierra.... And creating a new county with different boundaries with the name of Sierra." Change was not approved by the U.S. Congress, as required by The Organic Act for the Territory of New Mexico (1850) (no change).
    SierraU.s.
    · N.M. Terr. Laws 1909, 38th assy., ch. 61/pp. 160-166; U.S. Stat., vol. 9, ch. 49[1850], sec.7/p. 449; Coan, p. 19
  17. 1909
    Exchanged territory Socorro exchanged with Lincoln.
    with Lincoln
    · N.M. Terr. Laws 1909, 38th assy., ch. 112/pp. 326-327
  18. 1917
    Boundary clarified Boundary between Socorro and Grant redefined to run on the line between Township 12S and Township 13S (no change).
    with Grantno change
    · N.M. Laws 1917, 3rd reg. sess., ch. 57/pp. 178-179
  19. 1921
    Lost territory Socorro lost to creation of Catron.
    to Catron
    · N.M. Laws 1921, 5th reg. sess., ch. 28/pp. 37-45
  20. 1927
    Changed Legislature authorized the elimination of Socorro by the creation of Rio Grande (proposed), and authorized changing the name of Rio Grande to Socorro. These acts attempted to circumvent the constitutional prohibition against changing county boundaries by special or local law and the attorney general filed action to prevent implementation of the statutes. Both proposals failed on 3 April 1928 when the New Mexico Supreme Court ruled the acts unconstitutional (no change).
    Rio Grande
    · N.M. Laws 1927, 8th reg. sess., chs. 185-186/pp. 457-464; N.M. Constitution 1910, art. IV, sec. 2, in Swindler, 7:102-103; "State ex rel. Dow v. Graham," in N.M. Reports, 33:504-519; N.M. Stat. 1978, ch. 4, pamphlet 11, 4-28-1 "Socorro County Laws" 1927, ch. 185; Coan reprint, 20
  21. 1950
    Lost territory Socorro lost to Sierra by a special election.
    to Sierra
    · N.M. Compiled Stat. 1999, ch. 4, article 28, sec. 1/p. 44; election certificate filed with the Sierra County Clerk on 13 September 1951

Land and parcels

What the maps cover in Socorro

Who publishes each layer, how good it is, and when we last checked.

Official
from the office that keeps the record
Good enough
a reliable statewide or national copy
Fallback
a guide only; check the official record
Missing
nothing public found yet

People and land

Socorro by the Census

Population
16,595 2020 Census count
Housing units
7,573 2020 Census count
Land area
6,646 square miles
Water area
1.9 square miles
People per sq mi
2 population ÷ land area

Source: US Census Bureau, 2020 Census; US Census Bureau, 2020 Gazetteer Files. Not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.

Rules and offices

Who to ask before you build, dig or sell

Official county pages only. We link to them; we do not copy them, because they change.

Inside a city or town, permits usually come from that city rather than the county.

Records

Zoning and code

County government

See your own lot on these maps

Open Socorro County on Parcel Chart's free map and click your parcel. Save it with a free account; the full record of your place (site map, projects, documents) is Pro, in early access.

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Questions

Common questions about Socorro County

When was Socorro County founded?
Socorro County was founded in 1852, formed from Do County and Ana County.
What is the county seat of Socorro County?
The county seat of Socorro County is Socorro.
Is there an online parcel map for Socorro County?
Yes. Socorro County publishes a parcel map of 45,675 parcels, rated good enough here. You can click any parcel on it in Parcel Chart's free map, no sign-in needed.
Has Socorro County's boundary or name changed?
Socorro County was created in 1852 from Do County and Ana County. Since then the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries records 16 later changes, chiefly involving Do County, Ana. County and Lincoln County.
Is my lot in a flood zone?
We do not have flood maps for Socorro County yet. Look up the address on FEMA's Flood Map Service Center, which shows the effective flood map for any lot.

Nearby

Counties next door