Best Places88029, NM Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 88029, 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.
88029 ranks 30,587th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on quiet by a wide margin, and education levels rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 88029
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.
88029's strengths and weaknesses
Where 88029 ranks high
- QuietBetter than 93% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 155 pleasant days a year, better than 90% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$602 a month, better than 85% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than 83% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 82% of zip codes
Where 88029 ranks low
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Household income$32,576 median, better than only 3% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than only 3% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 88029
A household needs to earn about $39,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 88029 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $32,576, 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 88029's effective rate of 0.49%, 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 88029
88029 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 88029.
Who works in 88029, and how
Work in 88029 centers on health care & social and construction. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 85%
- Work from home 12%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in 88029
88029 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 94% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 88029 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 88029, month by month
88029 sees roughly 155 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 99 degrees. January highs sit near 60, with lows near 26. The comfortable stretch runs March through May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 60° | 42° | 26° |
| April | 82° | 63° | 42° |
| July | 99° | 83° | 67° |
| October | 82° | 64° | 46° |
Flying in and out of 88029
The nearest airport, Grant County, is about 63 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Albuquerque International Sunport, about 229 miles away.
88029 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 88029 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 88029
Is 88029 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 88029 ranks 30,587th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on quiet, the weather, and affordable childcare, and lowest on education levels and tree cover. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 88029 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $154,464. The overall cost of living runs about 21% below the national average. Set against a $32,576 median income, cost of living beats 3% of zip codes.
Is 88029 safe?
88029 is safer than 10% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $818 per resident a year.
Compare 88029 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 88029. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 88029 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.
88029 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 88029: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 88029: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 88029: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 88029: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
88029 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.