Who is the Lea County District Attorney, 5th Judicial District?

Dianna L. Luce (Republican) is the District Attorney, 5th Judicial District of Lea County, New Mexico.

Who is the Lea County County Assessor?

Ava Benge (Republican) is the County Assessor of Lea County, New Mexico. The seat was on the November 3, 2026 ballot; the count isn't certified yet.

Who is the Lea County County Clerk?

Carrie Sandoval (Republican) is the County Clerk of Lea County, New Mexico.

Who is the Lea County Probate Judge?

Ladonna K. Hardin (Republican) is the Probate Judge of Lea County, New Mexico. The seat was on the November 3, 2026 ballot; the count isn't certified yet.

Who is the Lea County Sheriff?

Corey M. Helton (Republican) is the Sheriff of Lea County, New Mexico. The seat was on the November 3, 2026 ballot; the count isn't certified yet.

Who is the Lea County County Treasurer?

Lajuan Hayes (Republican) is the County Treasurer of Lea County, New Mexico.

Who are the Lea County commissioners?

Dee Ann Kimbro (District 1); Bradley D. Weber (District 2); Gary G. Eidson (District 3); Tyson Pierce (District 4); Pat Sims (District 5).

What is the population of Lea County?

About 73,733 people, with a median age of 32.5; the median household income is $68,015 and 18.7% live below the poverty line (Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-year estimates).

What is the unemployment rate in Lea County?

4.1% in September 2026 (preliminary): 1,443 people unemployed in a labor force of 34,795, against 3.5% a year earlier (Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics, not seasonally adjusted).

How many local governments are there in Lea County?

17 in the Census Bureau's 2022 Census of Governments: 1 county, 5 municipal, 6 school district and 5 special district governments.

Lea County, NM elected officials: county commissioners, sheriff, school board and cities

Who holds every elected county, school board, city and special-district office in Lea County: 11 seats on 7 elected bodies. 5 seats were on the November 3, 2026 ballot; they update once the county certifies its results.

Board of County Commissioners

Lea County Board of County Commissioners

Each member is elected by the voters of their district.

Office	Who holds it now	Next term
County Commissioner, District 1	Dee Ann Kimbro Republican source
County Commissioner, District 2	Bradley D. Weber Republican source	On the Nov 3, 2026 ballot: count not certified yet
County Commissioner, District 3	Gary G. Eidson Republican source	On the Nov 3, 2026 ballot: count not certified yet
County Commissioner, District 4	Tyson Pierce Republican source
County Commissioner, District 5	Pat Sims Republican source

County officers

Office	Who holds it now	Next term
District Attorney, 5th Judicial District	Dianna L. Luce Republican source
County Assessor	Ava Benge Republican source	On the Nov 3, 2026 ballot: count not certified yet
County Clerk	Carrie Sandoval Republican source
Probate Judge	Ladonna K. Hardin Republican source	On the Nov 3, 2026 ballot: count not certified yet
Sheriff	Corey M. Helton Republican source	On the Nov 3, 2026 ballot: count not certified yet
County Treasurer	Lajuan Hayes Republican source

How many local governments Lea County has

The Census Bureau's 2022 Census of Governments counts 17 local governments in Lea County. This page lists the ones whose offices are elected.

Kind of government	Census count (2022)	Listed on this page
County government	1	1
Cities, towns, villages and townships	5	0
School districts (school boards)	6	0
Special districts (elected boards)	5	0

Census Bureau, 2022 Census of Governments: Government Units Listing (census.gov).

About these counts

The Census Bureau counts every independent local government once, in the county it assigns it to: the one it mostly serves or where it's based. A city or district that crosses county lines is counted in only one county, so it may be listed on this page but counted elsewhere, or the other way around. Many special districts, such as housing authorities, have appointed boards, and some places have more than one elected body, so the two columns measure different things. School systems run by a county, city or the state aren't counted as separate governments, though their boards may be listed here; in some states the Bureau counts community or state colleges as school districts. The counts are as of 2022.

Who lives in Lea County

73,733people

32.5median ageU.S.: 38.9

$68,015 household incomeU.S.: $80,734

18.7%below the U.S.: 12.5%

15.5%of adults 25+ with a bachelor's degreeU.S.: 35.7%

$184,000median home valueU.S.: $332,700

6.9%unemployed (of the labor force)U.S.: 5.2%

18.3%born outside the U.S.U.S.: 14.1%

3.4%of adults are veteransU.S.: 6.2%

14.9%U.S.: 8.4%

48.4%of renting households pay of income on rentU.S.: 51.1%

26.4%of homeowners with a mortgage pay of income on housing costsU.S.: 28.1%

Race and Hispanic origin: Hispanic or Latino 62.7% · White 31% · Black 3.1% · Asian 0.7% · Other or more than one race 2.5% (Hispanic or Latino people can be of any race; the other groups are non-Hispanic.)

Census Bureau, 2020–2024 5-year estimates (data.census.gov).

About these figures

The American Community Survey asks about 3.5 million households a year about who lives there, their work, income, schooling and housing. The 5-year estimates pool 2020–2024 answers so that every county and district has enough of them. They're estimates with a (larger for smaller places), and they're different from the once-a-decade census count. "Median" means half are above and half below. Household income is before taxes and includes everyone in the household. The unemployment share here is the survey's five-year average, so it differs from the monthly rate in the BLS jobs report. Race and Hispanic origin are as people describe themselves.

Health insurance means any coverage, private or public (such as Medicaid or Medicare), when people answered; the share is of everyone except people on active military duty and people living in institutions such as prisons and nursing homes. The housing shares are of renting households, and of homeowners with a mortgage, for whom the Census Bureau can compute them (households with no income, or renters who pay no cash rent, are left out). Rent here is gross rent, rent plus utilities; owner costs include the mortgage, property taxes, insurance, utilities and fees.

Jobs in Lea County

4.1%September 2026, preliminary. A year earlier: 3.5%. New Mexico: 4.8%.

1,443people unemployedSeptember 2026, preliminary.

33,352people employedSeptember 2026, preliminary. Counted where they live, not where they work.

34,795in the September 2026, preliminary.

Yearly average unemployment rate, 2016–2025.

Every month, last two years

Month	Rate	Unemployed	Employed	Labor force
September 2026 (preliminary)	4.1%	1,443	33,352	34,795
August 2026	4.2%	1,475	33,255	34,730
July 2026	4.9%	1,715	33,576	35,291
June 2026	4.5%	1,572	33,508	35,080
May 2026	4.1%	1,430	33,504	34,934
April 2026	4.0%	1,401	33,462	34,863
March 2026	3.7%	1,312	33,793	35,105
February 2026	4.4%	1,554	33,599	35,153
January 2026	4.5%	1,570	33,564	35,134
December 2025	3.7%	1,306	33,936	35,242
November 2025	4.2%	1,484	33,911	35,395
October 2025	not collected (2025 federal shutdown)
September 2025	3.5%	1,220	33,853	35,073
August 2025	3.6%	1,257	33,683	34,940
July 2025	4.3%	1,531	34,279	35,810
June 2025	3.9%	1,382	34,416	35,798
May 2025	3.2%	1,148	34,257	35,405
April 2025	2.8%	1,009	34,546	35,555
March 2025	2.8%	989	34,108	35,097
February 2025	3.4%	1,183	34,091	35,274
January 2025	3.5%	1,234	34,052	35,286
December 2024	3.0%	1,075	34,364	35,439
November 2024	3.5%	1,234	34,173	35,407
October 2024	3.4%	1,207	34,066	35,273

Yearly averages

Year	Rate	Unemployed	Employed	Labor force
2025 (11 months)	3.5%	1,249	34,103	35,352
2024	3.5%	1,230	33,903	35,133
2023	3.2%	1,061	32,594	33,655
2022	4.1%	1,315	30,798	32,113
2021	9.1%	2,769	27,813	30,582
2020	9.6%	3,039	28,688	31,727
2019	3.8%	1,309	33,344	34,653
2018	3.8%	1,274	32,086	33,360
2017	6.0%	1,860	29,142	31,002
2016	8.6%	2,647	28,182	30,829

Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics, : BLS publishes county figures only that way, so they rise and fall with the seasons; compare a month with the same month a year earlier rather than with the month before. New Mexico's figure above is on the same basis; seasonally adjusted, as in BLS's monthly state release, it was 4.7% in September 2026. The latest month is preliminary and is revised the next month, and BLS revises earlier years each spring. People are counted where they live. October 2025 wasn't collected during the 2025 federal government shutdown, so 2025's yearly average covers 11 months.

Crime reported in Lea County

458.8 per 100,0002019. New Mexico: 824.0.

3,096.2 per 100,0002019. New Mexico: 3,178.8.

15murders2019, 322 violent crimes in all.

2019 is the latest year with complete reporting here: at least one of the county's police agencies didn't send the FBI a full year of figures since, so later totals would be undercounts.

Earlier years

Year	Violent	Rate	Property	Rate
2019	322	458.8	2,173	3,096.2
2017	306	432.3	2,373	3,352.7

By police agency (5)

Agency	Year	Violent	Property	People served
Hobbs Police Department	2025	292	1,249	41,168
Lea County Sheriff's Office	2025	93	407	16,169
Lovington Police Department	2025	38	119	11,699
Eunice Police Department	2025	7	31	3,069
Jal Police Department	2019	14	34	2,097

Crimes to the county's city and county police agencies (FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, Return A), per 100,000 people they serve. Years with incomplete reporting are left out. Crime in New Mexico · the U.S.

Police staffing

2.56 per 1,000 residents2022, 6 agencies serving 71,422 people.

183sworn officers2022, full-time, as of October 31.

77civilian staff2022, full-time.

2022 is the latest year every agency here sent the FBI its staff count.

Agencies counted (6), 2022

Agency	Officers	Civilians	People served
Hobbs Police Department	70	49	38,912
Lea County Sheriff's Office	69	11	15,618
Lovington Police Department	21	5	11,179
Jal Police Department	8	8	2,099
Eunice Police Department	10	2	2,931
Tatum Police Department	5	2	683

Full-time employees of the county's city police departments and sheriff's office, as each reported them to the FBI (Uniform Crime Reporting, Law Enforcement Employees), per 1,000 people in the areas those agencies serve (the FBI's population figures). A year is shown only when every one of these agencies sent a count; a count under half or over double the agency's own counts in nearby years is treated as not sent. Towns policed under contract by another agency are counted through that agency. State police, campus and other agencies aren't included. Sheriffs' offices often also run the county jail and courthouse security, so their staff counts include those jobs.

Quick answers

Who is the Lea County District Attorney, 5th Judicial District?: Dianna L. Luce (Republican) is the District Attorney, 5th Judicial District of Lea County, New Mexico.
Who is the Lea County County Assessor?: Ava Benge (Republican) is the County Assessor of Lea County, New Mexico. The seat was on the November 3, 2026 ballot; the count isn't certified yet.
Who is the Lea County County Clerk?: Carrie Sandoval (Republican) is the County Clerk of Lea County, New Mexico.
Who is the Lea County Probate Judge?: Ladonna K. Hardin (Republican) is the Probate Judge of Lea County, New Mexico. The seat was on the November 3, 2026 ballot; the count isn't certified yet.
Who is the Lea County Sheriff?: Corey M. Helton (Republican) is the Sheriff of Lea County, New Mexico. The seat was on the November 3, 2026 ballot; the count isn't certified yet.
Who is the Lea County County Treasurer?: Lajuan Hayes (Republican) is the County Treasurer of Lea County, New Mexico.
Who are the Lea County commissioners?: Dee Ann Kimbro (District 1); Bradley D. Weber (District 2); Gary G. Eidson (District 3); Tyson Pierce (District 4); Pat Sims (District 5).
What is the population of Lea County?: About 73,733 people, with a median age of 32.5; the median household income is $68,015 and 18.7% live below the poverty line (Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-year estimates).
What is the unemployment rate in Lea County?: 4.1% in September 2026 (preliminary): 1,443 people unemployed in a labor force of 34,795, against 3.5% a year earlier (Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics, not seasonally adjusted).
How many local governments are there in Lea County?: 17 in the Census Bureau's 2022 Census of Governments: 1 county, 5 municipal, 6 school district and 5 special district governments.

Officeholders as of November 6, 2026, from the Secretary of State's official results of each seat's last general election (November 2022 or November 2024, electionresults.sos.nm.gov and the certified canvass in the elections database at electionstats.sos.nm.gov); officials appointed since then may differ; each name links to its source. Officials change between elections (appointments, resignations), and the body's own website is the authority. Party is shown only for offices elected on a partisan ballot.

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