Best Places87111, NM Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 87111, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Local pay runs high here, and housing takes the biggest bite out of it. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
87111 ranks 1,966th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low disaster risk by a wide margin, and air quality ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 87111
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.
87111's strengths and weaknesses
Where 87111 ranks high
- Disaster safetyBetter than 96% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 176 pleasant days a year, better than 95% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than 94% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 90% of zip codes
Where 87111 ranks low
- Air qualityBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 19% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than only 30% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than only 32% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than only 34% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 87111
A household needs to earn about $108,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 87111 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $100,873; the gap is small, which keeps homes within reach of local pay.
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 87111's effective rate of 0.89%, 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 87111
87111 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 87111.
Who works in 87111, and how
Work in 87111 centers on professional & technical and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 79%
- Work from home 17%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 87111
87111 has more parkland per resident than 77% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 87111 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 87111, month by month
87111 sees roughly 176 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 87111
Albuquerque International Sunport sits about 8 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 87111
Schools across 87111 average a B, better than 70% of zip codes.
Top high schools
- Nex Gen AcademyA · 75% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 87111 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
87111 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 87111 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 87111 suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 89% of zip codes, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 17% already work from home.
Retirees
The weather beats 95% of zip codes and health care access beats 65%.
Common questions about living in 87111
Is 87111 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 87111 ranks 1,966th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on low disaster risk, biking, and the weather, and lowest on air quality and noise. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 87111 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $408,412. The overall cost of living runs about 11% below the national average. Set against a $100,873 median income, cost of living beats 89% of zip codes.
Is 87111 safe?
87111 is safer than 37% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $476 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 87111?
July highs average about 95 degrees, and January highs near 51 with lows near 24. That works out to about 176 pleasant days a year, more than 95% of zip codes.
Is 87111 good for families?
Schools beat 70% of zip codes, crime safety beats 37%, and childcare runs $853 a month.
Compare 87111 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 87111. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 87111 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.
87111 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 87111: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 87111: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 87111: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 87111: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
87111 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.