Best Places88240, NM Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 88240, 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.
88240 ranks 18,743rd of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on cell coverage by a wide margin, and distance from a big city ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 88240
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.
88240's strengths and weaknesses
Where 88240 ranks high
- Cell coverageBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 177 pleasant days a year, better than 95% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 89% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 85% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than 78% of zip codes
Where 88240 ranks low
- Big-city accessBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 12% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 88240
A household needs to earn about $51,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 88240 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $72,003, 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 88240's effective rate of 0.54%, 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 88240
88240 runs younger than the country, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 88240.
Who works in 88240, and how
Work in 88240 centers on mining & oil & gas and education. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 92%
- Work from home 3%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in 88240
88240 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 70% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 81% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 88240 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 88240, month by month
88240 sees roughly 177 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 95 degrees. January highs sit near 56, with lows near 29. The comfortable stretch runs March through May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 56° | 41° | 29° |
| April | 79° | 63° | 47° |
| July | 95° | 82° | 69° |
| October | 78° | 62° | 50° |
Flying in and out of 88240
The nearest airport, Lea County Regional, is about 5 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Albuquerque International Sunport, about 256 miles away.
The best schools in and around 88240
Schools across 88240 average a D+, better than 23% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Mettie Jordan ElementaryC− · 26% proficient
Top middle schools
- Caton MiddleD · 21% proficient
Top high schools
- Lovington HighB− · 45% proficient
- Hobbs HighC+ · 35% proficient
- Tatum HighD− · 16% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 88240 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
88240 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 88240 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 88240 suits
Common questions about living in 88240
Is 88240 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 88240 ranks 18,743rd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on cell coverage, the weather, and walkability, and lowest on distance from a big city and tree cover. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 88240 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $202,267. The overall cost of living runs about 20% below the national average. Set against a $72,003 median income, cost of living beats 59% of zip codes.
Is 88240 safe?
88240 is safer than 14% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $761 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 88240?
July highs average about 95 degrees, and January highs near 56 with lows near 29. That works out to about 177 pleasant days a year, more than 95% of zip codes.
Is 88240 good for families?
Schools beat 23% of zip codes, crime safety beats 14%, and childcare runs $888 a month.
Compare 88240 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 88240. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 88240 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.
88240 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 88240: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 88240: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 88240: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 88240: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
88240 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.