Best Places87068, NM Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 87068, 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.
87068 ranks 13,053rd 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 87068
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.
87068's strengths and weaknesses
Where 87068 ranks high
- Nice weatherabout 168 pleasant days a year, better than 94% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than 93% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than 79% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than 78% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 76% of zip codes
Where 87068 ranks low
- Tree shadeBetter than only 7% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 16% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than only 17% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 25% of zip codes
- Short commute29.6 minutes each way, better than only 30% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 87068
A household needs to earn about $72,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 87068 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $80,537, 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 87068's effective rate of 0.54%, 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 10 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 87068
87068 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 87068.
Who works in 87068, and how
Work in 87068 centers on public administration and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 82%
- Work from home 16%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in 87068
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 87068.
What the weather is like in 87068, month by month
87068 sees roughly 168 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 95 degrees. January highs sit near 51, with lows near 24. The comfortable stretch runs April, May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 51° | 37° | 24° |
| April | 74° | 58° | 42° |
| July | 95° | 80° | 67° |
| October | 75° | 60° | 46° |
Flying in and out of 87068
Albuquerque International Sunport sits about 13 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 87068
Schools across 87068 average a C−, better than 30% of zip codes.
Top high schools
- Nex Gen AcademyA · 75% proficient
- Highland HighB− · 41% proficient
- Los Lunas HighC+ · 40% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 87068 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
87068 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 87068 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 87068
Is 87068 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 87068 ranks 13,053rd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on the weather, cell coverage, and civic engagement, and lowest on tree cover and an overheated housing market. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 87068 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $283,636. The overall cost of living runs about 7% below the national average. Set against a $80,537 median income, cost of living beats 57% of zip codes.
Is 87068 safe?
87068 is safer than 37% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $487 per resident a year.
Compare 87068 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 87068. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 87068 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.
87068 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 87068: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 87068: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 87068: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 87068: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
87068 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.