Best Places87114, NM Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 87114, 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.
87114 ranks 3,940th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on few empty homes by a wide margin, and air quality ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 87114
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.
87114's strengths and weaknesses
Where 87114 ranks high
- Low vacancyBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 163 pleasant days a year, better than 92% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than 90% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than 88% of zip codes
Where 87114 ranks low
- Air qualityBetter than only 7% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than only 14% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 24% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 25% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 27% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 87114
A household needs to earn about $95,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 87114 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $90,795; 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 87114's effective rate of 0.85%, 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 87114
87114'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 87114.
Who works in 87114, and how
Work in 87114 centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 80%
- Work from home 17%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in 87114
87114 has more late-night spots per resident than 66% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 87114 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 87114, month by month
87114 sees roughly 163 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 92 degrees. January highs sit near 47, with lows near 20. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 47° | 33° | 20° |
| April | 71° | 54° | 36° |
| July | 92° | 77° | 60° |
| October | 72° | 56° | 39° |
Flying in and out of 87114
Albuquerque International Sunport sits about 12 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 87114
Schools across 87114 average a B−, better than 66% of zip codes.
Top high schools
- Nex Gen AcademyA · 75% proficient
- Volcano Vista HighA− · 60% proficient
- Cibola HighB+ · 53% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 87114 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
87114 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 87114 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 87114 suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 80% of zip codes and 17% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 87114
Is 87114 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 87114 ranks 3,940th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on few empty homes, the weather, and biking, and lowest on air quality and tree cover. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 87114 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $361,349. The overall cost of living runs about 13% below the national average. Set against a $90,795 median income, cost of living beats 80% of zip codes.
Is 87114 safe?
Yes, 87114 is safer than 71% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $360 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 87114?
July highs average about 92 degrees, and January highs near 47 with lows near 20. That works out to about 163 pleasant days a year, more than 92% of zip codes.
Is 87114 good for families?
Schools beat 66% of zip codes, crime safety beats 71%, and childcare runs $853 a month.
Compare 87114 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 87114. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 87114 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.
87114 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 87114: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 87114: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 87114: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 87114: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
87114 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.