Best Places88262, NM Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 88262, 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.
88262 ranks 18,524th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on quiet by a wide margin, and biking ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 88262
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.
88262's strengths and weaknesses
Where 88262 ranks high
- QuietBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 178 pleasant days a year, better than 95% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than 92% of zip codes
- Short commute21.0 minutes each way, better than 81% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 80% of zip codes
Where 88262 ranks low
- BikingBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 5% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 88262
A household needs to earn about $60,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 88262 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $82,055, 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 88262's effective rate of 0.54%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Who lives in 88262
88262 runs older than the country, though fewer residents are over 65 than the national share, 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 88262.
Who works in 88262, and how
Work in 88262 centers on wholesale trade and other services. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 96%
- Work from home 2%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in 88262
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 88262.
What the weather is like in 88262, month by month
88262 sees roughly 178 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 88262
The nearest airport, Lea County Regional, is about 31 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Albuquerque International Sunport, about 229 miles away.
The best schools in and around 88262
Schools across 88262 average a C−, better than 30% of zip codes.
Top high schools
- Tatum HighD− · 16% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 88262 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
88262 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 88262 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 88262
Is 88262 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 88262 ranks 18,524th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on quiet, the weather, and an educated workforce, and lowest on biking and tree cover. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 88262 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $238,215. The overall cost of living runs about 20% below the national average. Set against a $82,055 median income, cost of living beats 76% of zip codes.
Is 88262 safe?
88262 is safer than 11% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $776 per resident a year.
Compare 88262 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 88262. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 88262 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.
88262 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 88262: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 88262: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 88262: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 88262: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
88262 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.