New Mexico climate

New Mexico Plant Hardiness Zones

New Mexico’s towns run from zone 5a to zone 8b: the average coldest winter night is 17.4°F at Anthony and -18.4°F at Angel Fire.

Hardiness zones in New Mexico

In USDA’s colors, neighboring states washed out. Zones follow elevation, coasts and cities down to half a mile. Drawn by WeatherOverTime from the USDA-ARS and Oregon State University PRISM Climate Group 2023 GIS data; this is not the official USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map.

Map of the 2023 plant hardiness zones across New Mexico, from zone 5a to zone 8b, with the state’s border drawn.
  • 5a
  • 5b
  • 6a
  • 6b
  • 7a
  • 7b
  • 8a
  • 8b

Open the live map with plant hardiness zones

Towns by zone

Each town’s 1991-2020 average annual extreme minimum at its center, read from the map’s 800 m grid. Warmest zone first.

8b Zone 8b, 15 to 20°F 20 towns

8a Zone 8a, 10 to 15°F 21 towns

7b Zone 7b, 5 to 10°F 42 towns

7a Zone 7a, 0 to 5°F 81 towns

6b Zone 6b, -5 to 0°F 22 towns

6a Zone 6a, -10 to -5°F 22 towns

5b Zone 5b, -15 to -10°F 9 towns

5a Zone 5a, -20 to -15°F 2 towns

Counties

At the county’s center; a county with hills or a coast spans several zones.

CountyZone at the centerAverage coldest night
Bernalillo County7b6.8°F
Catron County6a-9.6°F
Chaves County7b6.6°F
Cibola County6a-8.6°F
Colfax County6a-9.6°F
Curry County7a3.9°F
De Baca County7a3.2°F
Doña Ana County8b16.3°F
Eddy County8a12.2°F
Grant County7b6.6°F
Guadalupe County7a2.5°F
Harding County7a1.1°F
Hidalgo County8a14.3°F
Lea County8a10.6°F
Lincoln County7a3.7°F
Los Alamos County7a3°F
Luna County8a12.9°F
McKinley County6b-4.1°F
Mora County6b-3.9°F
Otero County7b7.2°F
Quay County7a3.8°F
Rio Arriba County6a-9.7°F
Roosevelt County7b5.6°F
San Juan County7a0.7°F
San Miguel County6b-2.4°F
Sandoval County6b-1.8°F
Santa Fe County7a1.4°F
Sierra County8b15.3°F
Socorro County7b6.9°F
Taos County5b-10.5°F
Torrance County6a-6.4°F
Union County6b-3.6°F
Valencia County7b5.4°F

The zones

A plant hardiness zone is set by the average of each winter’s single coldest temperature, 1991 to 2020: zones are 10°F apart and each half zone, a and b, 5°F. It says how cold a winter night usually gets, not the coldest it has ever been, and nothing about summer heat, rain or soil. Plant labels give the coldest zone a perennial survives in.

ZoneAverage coldest nightIn Celsius
5a-20 to -15°F-28.9 to -26.1°C
5b-15 to -10°F-26.1 to -23.3°C
6a-10 to -5°F-23.3 to -20.6°C
6b-5 to 0°F-20.6 to -17.8°C
7a0 to 5°F-17.8 to -15.0°C
7b5 to 10°F-15.0 to -12.2°C
8a10 to 15°F-12.2 to -9.4°C
8b15 to 20°F-9.4 to -6.7°C

Sources

Hardiness zones: USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map, 2023, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, from the GIS data of the PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University, which may be freely reproduced and redistributed. Drawn by WeatherOverTime from the USDA-ARS and Oregon State University PRISM Climate Group 2023 GIS data; this is not the official USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map.