Best PlacesCarson, NM Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Carson, 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.
Carson ranks 48,802nd of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on civic engagement by a wide margin, and crime is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Carson
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.
Carson's strengths and weaknesses
Where Carson ranks high
- Voter turnoutBetter than 98% of towns
- Heat safetyBetter than 96% of towns
- Nice weatherabout 164 pleasant days a year, better than 96% of towns
- Low property taxBetter than 93% of towns
- Educational attainmentBetter than 91% of towns
Where Carson ranks low
- Crime safetyBetter than only 1% of towns
- Short commute55.3 minutes each way, better than only 1% of towns
- Local economyBetter than only 1% of towns
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 6% of towns
- Household income$43,842 median, better than only 6% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Carson
A household needs to earn about $41,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Carson home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $43,842, 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 Carson's effective rate of 0.33%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Who lives in Carson
Carson runs older than the country, though fewer residents are over 65 than the national share, 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 Carson.
Who works in Carson, and how
Work in Carson centers on admin & support services and professional & technical. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 38%
- Work from home 60%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in Carson
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Carson.
What the weather is like in Carson, month by month
Carson sees roughly 164 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 88 degrees. January highs sit near 41, with lows near 10. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 41° | 25° | 10° |
| April | 65° | 47° | 27° |
| July | 88° | 70° | 51° |
| October | 68° | 48° | 30° |
Flying in and out of Carson
The nearest airport, Santa Fe Regional, is about 56 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Albuquerque International Sunport, about 104 miles away.
The best schools in and around Carson
Schools across Carson average a C−, better than 26% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Ranchos De Taos ElementaryD+ · 25% proficient
Top high schools
- Taos HighC+ · 35% proficient
- Penasco HighC · 31% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Carson school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Carson 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 Carson against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Carson
Is Carson a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Carson ranks 48,802nd of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on civic engagement, heat safety, and the weather, and lowest on crime and long commutes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Carson expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $166,200. The overall cost of living runs about 1% below the national average. Set against a $43,842 median income, cost of living beats 6% of towns.
Is Carson safe?
Carson is safer than 0% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $1,723 per resident a year.
Compare Carson with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Carson. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Carson 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.
Carson detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Carson: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Carson: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Carson: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Carson: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Carson 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.