Best Places87116, NM Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 87116, 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.
87116 ranks 3,853rd of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on short commutes by a wide margin, and tree cover ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 87116
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.
87116's strengths and weaknesses
Where 87116 ranks high
- Short commute9.2 minutes each way, better than 99% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than 95% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 173 pleasant days a year, better than 94% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than 92% of zip codes
Where 87116 ranks low
- Tree shadeBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than only 12% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 12% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 14% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 22% of zip codes
Who lives in 87116
87116 runs younger 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 87116.
Who works in 87116, and how
Work in 87116 centers on professional & technical and public administration. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 86%
- Work from home 5%
- Transit, walk, or bike 9%
Life in 87116
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 87116.
What the weather is like in 87116, month by month
87116 sees roughly 173 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 87116
Albuquerque International Sunport sits about 4 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 87116
Schools across 87116 average a C+, better than 57% 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 87116 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
87116 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 87116 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 87116
Is 87116 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 87116 ranks 3,853rd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on short commutes, population health, and cell coverage, and lowest on tree cover and air quality. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 87116 safe?
87116 is safer than 42% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $439 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 87116?
July highs average about 95 degrees, and January highs near 51 with lows near 24. That works out to about 173 pleasant days a year, more than 94% of zip codes.
Compare 87116 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 87116. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 87116 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.
87116 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 87116: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 87116: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 87116: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 87116: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
87116 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.
- 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.