Best Places88001, NM Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 88001, 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.
88001 ranks 24,219th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on cell coverage by a wide margin, and the cost of living against local pay is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 88001
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.
88001's strengths and weaknesses
Where 88001 ranks high
- Cell coverageBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than 95% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 170 pleasant days a year, better than 94% of zip codes
- Short commute16.8 minutes each way, better than 94% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 93% of zip codes
Where 88001 ranks low
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Household income$39,682 median, better than only 3% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than only 7% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 8% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 88001
A household needs to earn about $42,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 88001 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $39,682; 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 88001's effective rate of 0.59%, 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 6 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 88001
88001 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 88001.
Who works in 88001, and how
Work in 88001 centers on education and retail trade. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 83%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 8%
Life in 88001
88001 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 81% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 73% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 88001 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 88001, month by month
88001 sees roughly 170 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 98 degrees. January highs sit near 58, with lows near 31. The comfortable stretch runs March through May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 58° | 43° | 31° |
| April | 81° | 65° | 48° |
| July | 98° | 83° | 70° |
| October | 80° | 64° | 50° |
Flying in and out of 88001
The nearest airport, El Paso International, is about 41 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Albuquerque International Sunport, about 189 miles away.
The best schools in and around 88001
Schools across 88001 average a C, better than 51% of zip codes.
Top high schools
- Centennial High SchoolB+ · 55% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 88001 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
88001 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 88001 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 88001 suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 8% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 88001
Is 88001 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 88001 ranks 24,219th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on cell coverage, low disaster risk, and the weather, and lowest on the cost of living against local pay and low incomes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 88001 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $164,000. The overall cost of living runs about 21% below the national average. Set against a $39,682 median income, cost of living beats 3% of zip codes.
Is 88001 safe?
88001 is safer than 7% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $935 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 88001?
July highs average about 98 degrees, and January highs near 58 with lows near 31. That works out to about 170 pleasant days a year, more than 94% of zip codes.
Is 88001 good for families?
Schools beat 51% of zip codes, crime safety beats 7%, and childcare runs $742 a month.
Compare 88001 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 88001. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 88001 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.
88001 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 88001: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 88001: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 88001: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 88001: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
88001 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.