Best Places87031, NM Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 87031, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
87031 ranks 19,628th 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 87031
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.
87031's strengths and weaknesses
Where 87031 ranks high
- Nice weatherabout 168 pleasant days a year, better than 94% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than 90% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 77% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 72% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than 66% of zip codes
Where 87031 ranks low
- Tree shadeBetter than only 7% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 9% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than only 17% of zip codes
- Short commute31.4 minutes each way, better than only 22% of zip codes
- School gradeC−, better than only 24% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 87031
A household needs to earn about $56,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 87031 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $66,354, 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 87031's effective rate of 0.65%, 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 5 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 87031
87031's age mix sits close to the national median, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 87031.
Who works in 87031, and how
Work in 87031 centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 85%
- Work from home 11%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in 87031
87031 has more parkland per resident than 67% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 87031 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 87031, month by month
87031 sees roughly 168 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 87031
Albuquerque International Sunport sits about 18 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 87031
Schools across 87031 average a C−, better than 24% of zip codes.
Top high schools
- Los Lunas HighC+ · 40% proficient
- Belen HighC · 31% proficient
- Valencia HighC− · 26% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 87031 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
87031 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 87031 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 87031 suits
Common questions about living in 87031
Is 87031 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 87031 ranks 19,628th 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 87031 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $217,875. The overall cost of living runs about 12% below the national average. Set against a $66,354 median income, cost of living beats 34% of zip codes.
Is 87031 safe?
87031 is safer than 48% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $440 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 87031?
July highs average about 95 degrees, and January highs near 51 with lows near 22. That works out to about 168 pleasant days a year, more than 94% of zip codes.
Is 87031 good for families?
Schools beat 24% of zip codes, crime safety beats 48%, and childcare runs $793 a month.
Compare 87031 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 87031. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 87031 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.
87031 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 87031: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 87031: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 87031: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 87031: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
87031 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.