Best Places87012, NM Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 87012, 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.
87012 ranks 32,483rd of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on quiet by a wide margin, and crime is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 87012
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.
87012's strengths and weaknesses
Where 87012 ranks high
- QuietBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than 92% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than 81% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 78% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 124 pleasant days a year, better than 78% of zip codes
Where 87012 ranks low
- Crime safetyBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- Short commute39.1 minutes each way, better than only 5% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 6% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 87012
A household needs to earn about $65,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 87012 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $46,055, so buying stretches a typical household.
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 87012's effective rate of 0.38%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Who lives in 87012
87012 runs older than the country, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 87012.
Who works in 87012, and how
Work in 87012 centers on health care & social and professional & technical. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 81%
- Work from home 16%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 87012
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 87012.
What the weather is like in 87012, month by month
87012 sees roughly 124 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 76 degrees. January highs sit near 36, with lows near 10. The comfortable stretch runs June through August.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 36° | 23° | 10° |
| April | 56° | 41° | 27° |
| July | 76° | 61° | 46° |
| October | 59° | 44° | 28° |
Flying in and out of 87012
The nearest airport, Santa Fe Regional, is about 48 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Albuquerque International Sunport, about 77 miles away.
87012 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 87012 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 87012
Is 87012 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 87012 ranks 32,483rd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on quiet, low property taxes, and heat safety, and lowest on crime and a weak job market. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 87012 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $265,607. The overall cost of living runs about 6% below the national average. Set against a $46,055 median income, cost of living beats 6% of zip codes.
Is 87012 safe?
87012 is safer than 4% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $1,108 per resident a year.
Compare 87012 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 87012. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 87012 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.
87012 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 87012: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 87012: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 87012: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 87012: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
87012 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.