Best PlacesCatron County, NM Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Catron County, 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.
Catron County ranks 2,816th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on quiet by a wide margin, and biking ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Catron County
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.
Catron County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Catron County ranks high
- QuietBetter than 99% of counties
- Low property taxBetter than 97% of counties
- Nice weatherabout 169 pleasant days a year, better than 97% of counties
- Educational attainmentBetter than 87% of counties
- Air qualityBetter than 87% of counties
Where Catron County ranks low
- BikingBetter than only 1% of counties
- Internet speedBetter than only 1% of counties
- Cell coverageBetter than only 1% of counties
- WalkabilityBetter than only 3% of counties
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 4% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Catron County
A household needs to earn about $55,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Catron County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $51,835; the gap is small, which keeps homes within reach of local pay.
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 Catron County's effective rate of 0.28%, 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 Catron County
Catron County 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 Catron County.
Who works in Catron County, and how
Work in Catron County centers on hospitality & food and construction. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 63%
- Work from home 26%
- Transit, walk, or bike 12%
Life in Catron County
Catron County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 66% of counties. That concentrates in some parts of Catron County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Catron County growing, and who is moving in?
Catron County has grown about 7% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from El Paso, TX.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Catron County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Catron County, month by month
Catron County sees roughly 169 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 93 degrees. January highs sit near 52, with lows near 17. The comfortable stretch runs April through June and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 52° | 34° | 17° |
| April | 73° | 55° | 35° |
| July | 93° | 77° | 60° |
| October | 75° | 56° | 36° |
Flying in and out of Catron County
The nearest airport, Show Low Regional, is about 87 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Albuquerque International Sunport, about 132 miles away.
The best schools in and around Catron County
Schools across Catron County average a C+, better than 46% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Alpine Elementary SchoolB+ · 55% proficient
- Metcalf Elementary SchoolB+ · 55% proficient
- Round Valley Elementary SchoolC+ · 36% proficient
Top middle schools
- Fairbanks Middle SchoolC · 35% proficient
Top high schools
- Cliff HighB · 50% proficient
- Quemado HighB · 50% proficient
- Morenci High SchoolC · 33% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Catron County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Catron County 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 Catron County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Catron County
Is Catron County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Catron County ranks 2,816th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on quiet, low property taxes, and the weather, and lowest on biking and internet speeds. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Catron County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $227,765. The overall cost of living runs about 5% below the national average. Set against a $51,835 median income, cost of living beats 4% of counties.
Is Catron County safe?
Catron County is safer than 6% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $903 per resident a year.
Compare Catron County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Catron County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Catron County 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.
Catron County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Catron County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Catron County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Catron County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Catron County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Catron County 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.
- U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program: population growth and net migration behind the population-change section.
- 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.