Hobbs was founded in 1907 when James Isaac Hobbs (1852–1923) established a homestead and named the settlement.
Hobbs is the principal city of the Hobbs, New Mexico micropolitan statistical area, which includes all of Lea County. Its population was 40,508 at the 2020 census, increasing from 34,122 in 2010. Hobbs is a city in Lea County, New Mexico, United States.
