Best Places88310, NM Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 88310, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
88310 ranks 16,033rd of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on the weather by a wide margin, and tree cover ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 88310
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.
88310's strengths and weaknesses
Where 88310 ranks high
- Nice weatherabout 179 pleasant days a year, better than 96% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than 92% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than 87% of zip codes
- Short commute19.5 minutes each way, better than 87% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 74% of zip codes
Where 88310 ranks low
- Tree shadeBetter than only 12% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than only 14% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 19% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than only 19% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 23% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 88310
A household needs to earn about $48,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 88310 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $63,492, 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 88310's effective rate of 0.63%, 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 5 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 88310
88310's age mix sits close to the national median, 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 88310.
Who works in 88310, and how
Work in 88310 centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 87%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 88310
88310 has more parkland per resident than 81% of zip codes and more late-night spots per resident than 74% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 88310 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 88310, month by month
88310 sees roughly 179 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 96 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° | 42° | 29° |
| April | 79° | 64° | 47° |
| July | 96° | 82° | 69° |
| October | 78° | 64° | 50° |
Flying in and out of 88310
The nearest airport, El Paso International, is about 79 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Albuquerque International Sunport, about 153 miles away.
The best schools in and around 88310
Schools across 88310 average a C, better than 39% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Cloudcroft ElementaryB+ · 55% proficient
- Tularosa IntermediateC− · 28% proficient
Top middle schools
- Cloudcroft MiddleB− · 40% proficient
- Tularosa MiddleC− · 28% proficient
Top high schools
- Organ Mountain High SchoolB− · 45% proficient
- Alamogordo HighB− · 43% proficient
- Alta Vista Early College High SchoolB− · 41% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 88310 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
88310 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 88310 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 88310 suits
Common questions about living in 88310
Is 88310 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 88310 ranks 16,033rd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on the weather, cell coverage, and low disaster risk, and lowest on tree cover and air quality. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 88310 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $188,593. The overall cost of living runs about 6% below the national average. Set against a $63,492 median income, cost of living beats 23% of zip codes.
Is 88310 safe?
88310 is safer than 49% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $459 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 88310?
July highs average about 96 degrees, and January highs near 56 with lows near 29. That works out to about 179 pleasant days a year, more than 96% of zip codes.
Is 88310 good for families?
Schools beat 39% of zip codes, crime safety beats 49%, and childcare runs $738 a month.
Compare 88310 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 88310. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 88310 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.
88310 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 88310: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 88310: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 88310: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 88310: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
88310 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.