In the past Socorro was the home to the Piro Indians. When the first Spaniards came to New Mexico they were given food and water by them so the Spaniards renamed their pueblo of Teypana "Socorro", which means "help" or "aid." The settlement was abandoned after the Pueblo Revolt in 1680 and was not resettled until about 1815.

Today the town is the location of the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology. It provides a place to stay if you want to spend more time at Very Large Array (National Radio Astronomy Observatory) or Bosque del Apache.

The Socorro Magma Body lies beneath the town. It is a mass of molten rock (magma) with a temperature of approximately 2,000° F that lies about 12 miles below Socorro. The magma body lies within the central Rio Grande rift, a massive geologic feature that splits New Mexico from south to north.