Best Places87531, NM Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 87531, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
87531 ranks 29,280th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low property taxes by a wide margin, and long commutes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 87531
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.
87531's strengths and weaknesses
Where 87531 ranks high
- Low property taxBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 166 pleasant days a year, better than 93% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than 93% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than 90% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 76% of zip codes
Where 87531 ranks low
- Short commute48.3 minutes each way, better than only 1% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than only 9% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 12% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 87531
A household needs to earn about $74,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 87531 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $68,765; 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 87531's effective rate of 0.34%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Who lives in 87531
87531 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 87531.
Who works in 87531, and how
Work in 87531 centers on construction and professional & technical. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 74%
- Work from home 18%
- Transit, walk, or bike 9%
Life in 87531
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 87531.
What the weather is like in 87531, month by month
87531 sees roughly 166 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 88 degrees. January highs sit near 41, with lows near 10. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 41° | 25° | 10° |
| April | 65° | 47° | 27° |
| July | 88° | 70° | 51° |
| October | 68° | 48° | 30° |
Flying in and out of 87531
The nearest airport, Santa Fe Regional, is about 43 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Albuquerque International Sunport, about 91 miles away.
The best schools in and around 87531
Schools across 87531 average a D+, better than 21% of zip codes.
Top high schools
- Penasco HighC · 31% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 87531 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
87531 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 87531 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 87531
Is 87531 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 87531 ranks 29,280th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on low property taxes, the weather, and heat safety, and lowest on long commutes and air quality. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 87531 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $303,187. The overall cost of living runs about 4% below the national average. Set against a $68,765 median income, cost of living beats 29% of zip codes.
Is 87531 safe?
87531 is safer than 10% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $822 per resident a year.
Compare 87531 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 87531. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 87531 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.
87531 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 87531: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 87531: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 87531: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 87531: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
87531 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.