Best Places87742, NM Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 87742, 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.
87742 ranks 29,476th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on the weather by a wide margin, and biking ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 87742
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.
87742's strengths and weaknesses
Where 87742 ranks high
- Nice weatherabout 153 pleasant days a year, better than 90% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than 90% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than 89% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than 84% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than 83% of zip codes
Where 87742 ranks low
- BikingBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than only 7% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 87742
A household needs to earn about $96,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 87742 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $53,290, so buying stretches a typical household.
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 87742's effective rate of 0.43%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 87742
87742 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 87742.
Who works in 87742, and how
Work in 87742 centers on retail trade and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 79%
- Work from home 20%
- Transit, walk, or bike 1%
Life in 87742
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 87742.
What the weather is like in 87742, month by month
87742 sees roughly 153 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 49, with lows near 18. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 49° | 32° | 18° |
| April | 67° | 49° | 31° |
| July | 87° | 69° | 54° |
| October | 69° | 52° | 36° |
Flying in and out of 87742
The nearest airport, Santa Fe Regional, is about 42 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Albuquerque International Sunport, about 88 miles away.
The best schools in and around 87742
Schools across 87742 average a C−, better than 22% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Mora ElementaryC+ · 39% proficient
Top middle schools
- Lazaro Larry Garcia MiddleD+ · 26% proficient
Top high schools
- Robertson HighB− · 41% proficient
- Mora HighD− · 16% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 87742 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
87742 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 87742 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 87742
Is 87742 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 87742 ranks 29,476th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on the weather, quiet, and low property taxes, and lowest on biking and internet speeds. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 87742 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $387,304. The overall cost of living runs about 18% below the national average. Set against a $53,290 median income, cost of living beats 19% of zip codes.
Is 87742 safe?
87742 is safer than 8% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $861 per resident a year.
Compare 87742 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 87742. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 87742 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.
87742 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 87742: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 87742: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 87742: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 87742: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
87742 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.