Portales, New Mexico, United States

🇺🇸 Portales is a city in and the county seat of Roosevelt County, New Mexico, United States. Portales is located near the larger city of Clovis, as well as Cannon Air Force Base, a major contributor to the economy of the region.

Eastern New Mexico University opened in Portales in 1934 as Eastern New Mexico Junior College, and has since grown to become the third-largest university in the state. The area is one of the largest producers of Valencia peanuts in the United States and is the nation's top producer of certified organic peanut butter. Portales is home to about 40 dairies and a major US dairy solids plant, together producing and exporting hundreds of millions of dollars of local milk products each year. It is the principal city of the Portales Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is part of the larger Clovis-Portales Combined Statistical Area, including Clovis, 19 miles (31 km) away and Cannon Air Force Base, 13 miles (21 km) away.

Economy The economy of Portales and surrounding communities is strongly supported by the peanut and dairy industries, ENMU, value-added food processing, a growing military presence, and agriculture (including cattle ranching, dairy farming, and crop production). In recent years, the economy of Portales has grown significantly along with the price and volume of agricultural commodities being produced in the region. The area around Portales is also drawing increased attention for its abundance of steady wind power, solar energy, and biofuel feedstock.

Portales continues to be a major U.S. exporter of certified organic peanut products and a major U.S. processor and distributor of sweet Valencia peanuts. DairiConcepts with Dairy Farmers of America processes local milk into milk solids for domestic and export use. The Portales economy is also connected to Cannon Air Force Base located about 13 miles (21 km) to the north. The base operates a leased military-housing area in Portales with 150 single-family dwellings. Major Portales retailers include Walmart, Ace Hardware, Farmer's Country Market, Allsup's, and Stripes Convenience Stores. The town also contains small, privately owned boutique shops, restaurants, professional services, several furniture stores, and a number of discount retailers and auto dealers.

In 2002, the US Census recorded wholesale trade of $53,713,000 and retail trade of $147,174,000 in Roosevelt County. In 2006, data from econometrics firm EMSI predicted that by 2015, Roosevelt County would experience over 50% employment growth in several key economic sectors, including professional and business services, education and health services, and manufacturing. The same report predicted over 100% growth in leisure and hospitality services in the Portales area by 2015.

Unemployment in Roosevelt County in 2007 averaged less than 3%, and the cost of living was around 83% of the US average, based primarily on the historically low but rising cost of housing in the area. By 2009, Portales continued to experience economic growth, with unemployment in the 3.7% range. It remained partially insulated from the national economic downturn of 2008-2010 due in part to a balanced economy based on agribusiness and staple food-product manufacturing (primarily peanut butter and milk), higher education, and a relatively strong local retail services market fuelled by a growing population of ENMU students and Cannon Air Force Base employees.