Best Places87002, NM Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 87002, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
87002 ranks 26,119th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on the weather by a wide margin, and tree cover ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 87002
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
87002's strengths and weaknesses
Where 87002 ranks high
- Nice weatherabout 171 pleasant days a year, better than 94% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than 84% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 75% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than 72% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 64% of zip codes
Where 87002 ranks low
- Tree shadeBetter than only 7% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 14% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than only 15% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 19% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 87002
A household needs to earn about $50,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 87002 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $57,813, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses 87002's effective rate of 0.59%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 7 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 87002
87002's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 87002.
Who works in 87002, and how
Work in 87002 centers on health care & social and construction. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 85%
- Work from home 12%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in 87002
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 87002.
What the weather is like in 87002, month by month
87002 sees roughly 171 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 95 degrees. January highs sit near 51, with lows near 22. The comfortable stretch runs April, May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 51° | 35° | 22° |
| April | 76° | 59° | 41° |
| July | 95° | 80° | 65° |
| October | 74° | 58° | 43° |
Flying in and out of 87002
Albuquerque International Sunport sits about 28 miles away. It is a medium hub and boarded 2.6 million passengers in 2025, with 69 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around 87002
Schools across 87002 average a D+, better than 19% of zip codes.
Top high schools
- Los Lunas HighC+ · 40% proficient
- Belen HighC · 31% proficient
- Mountainair HighD+ · 25% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 87002 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
87002 measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare 87002 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 87002 suits
Common questions about living in 87002
Is 87002 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 87002 ranks 26,119th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on the weather, cell coverage, and transit, and lowest on tree cover and thin health care access. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 87002 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $195,546. The overall cost of living runs about 15% below the national average. Set against a $57,813 median income, cost of living beats 22% of zip codes.
Is 87002 safe?
87002 is safer than 24% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $599 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 87002?
July highs average about 95 degrees, and January highs near 51 with lows near 22. That works out to about 171 pleasant days a year, more than 94% of zip codes.
Is 87002 good for families?
Schools beat 19% of zip codes, crime safety beats 24%, and childcare runs $793 a month.
Compare 87002 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 87002. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 87002 represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
87002 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 87002: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 87002: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 87002: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 87002: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
87002 detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.