Best Places87020, NM Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 87020, 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.
87020 ranks 23,010th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on heat safety by a wide margin, and crime is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 87020
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.
87020's strengths and weaknesses
Where 87020 ranks high
- Heat safetyBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 160 pleasant days a year, better than 92% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Short commute19.0 minutes each way, better than 88% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$728 a month, better than 70% of zip codes
Where 87020 ranks low
- Crime safetyBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 16% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 20% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 87020
A household needs to earn about $48,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 87020 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $60,910, 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 87020's effective rate of 0.75%, 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 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 87020
87020'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 87020.
Who works in 87020, and how
Work in 87020 centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 74%
- Work from home 18%
- Transit, walk, or bike 8%
Life in 87020
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 87020.
What the weather is like in 87020, month by month
87020 sees roughly 160 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 degrees. January highs sit near 48, with lows near 14. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 48° | 30° | 14° |
| April | 70° | 50° | 29° |
| July | 90° | 73° | 54° |
| October | 72° | 51° | 32° |
Flying in and out of 87020
Albuquerque International Sunport sits about 70 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 87020
Schools across 87020 average a C, better than 38% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Mount Taylor ElementaryB · 50% proficient
- San Rafael ElementaryB · 50% proficient
- Cubero ElementaryB · 50% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 87020 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
87020 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 87020 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 87020
Is 87020 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 87020 ranks 23,010th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on heat safety, the weather, and low disaster risk, and lowest on crime 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 87020 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $183,334. The overall cost of living runs about 19% below the national average. Set against a $60,910 median income, cost of living beats 35% of zip codes.
Is 87020 safe?
87020 is safer than 6% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $992 per resident a year.
Compare 87020 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 87020. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 87020 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.
87020 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 87020: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 87020: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 87020: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 87020: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
87020 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.