Best Places88049, NM Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 88049, 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.
88049 ranks 28,738th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on quiet by a wide margin, and disaster risk is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 88049
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.
88049's strengths and weaknesses
Where 88049 ranks high
- QuietBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 174 pleasant days a year, better than 94% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than 93% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than 92% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 85% of zip codes
Where 88049 ranks low
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 7% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than only 7% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than only 8% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 88049
A household needs to earn about $46,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 88049 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $48,593, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
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 88049's effective rate of 0.38%, 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 88049
88049 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 88049.
Who works in 88049, and how
Work in 88049 centers on education and mining & oil & gas. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 91%
- Work from home 6%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in 88049
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 88049.
What the weather is like in 88049, month by month
88049 sees roughly 174 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 93 degrees. January highs sit near 55, with lows near 24. The comfortable stretch runs April, May, and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 55° | 39° | 24° |
| April | 75° | 58° | 37° |
| July | 93° | 77° | 63° |
| October | 77° | 59° | 43° |
Flying in and out of 88049
The nearest airport, Grant County, is about 20 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Albuquerque International Sunport, about 169 miles away.
88049 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 88049 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 88049
Is 88049 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 88049 ranks 28,738th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on quiet, the weather, and low property taxes, and lowest on disaster risk and internet speeds. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 88049 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $186,410. The overall cost of living runs about 7% below the national average. Set against a $48,593 median income, cost of living beats 7% of zip codes.
Is 88049 safe?
88049 is safer than 14% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $692 per resident a year.
Compare 88049 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 88049. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 88049 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.
88049 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 88049: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 88049: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 88049: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 88049: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
88049 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.