Best PlacesChama, CO Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Chama, 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.
Chama ranks 44,009th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on clean air by a wide margin, and the schools rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Chama
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.
Chama's strengths and weaknesses
Where Chama ranks high
- Air qualityBetter than 99% of towns
- Nice weatherabout 186 pleasant days a year, better than 99% of towns
- Heat safetyBetter than 99% of towns
- Low property taxBetter than 96% of towns
- Local economyBetter than 94% of towns
Where Chama ranks low
- School gradeD−, better than only 2% of towns
- Crime safetyBetter than only 3% of towns
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 3% of towns
- Household income$37,503 median, better than only 3% of towns
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 7% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Chama
A household needs to earn about $40,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Chama home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $37,503; 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 Chama'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, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 7 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Chama
Chama 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 Chama.
Who works in Chama, and how
Work in Chama centers on health care & social and education. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 76%
- Work from home 13%
- Transit, walk, or bike 12%
Life in Chama
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Chama.
What the weather is like in Chama, month by month
Chama sees roughly 186 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 70 degrees. January highs sit near 28, with lows near 14. The comfortable stretch runs July and August.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 28° | 20° | 14° |
| April | 45° | 34° | 27° |
| July | 70° | 57° | 49° |
| October | 51° | 40° | 32° |
Flying in and out of Chama
The nearest airport, San Luis Valley Regional/Bergman Field, is about 34 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Albuquerque International Sunport, about 163 miles away.
The best schools in and around Chama
Schools across Chama average a D−, better than 2% of towns.
Top high schools
- Centennial SchoolD− · 12% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Chama school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Chama 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 Chama against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Chama
Is Chama a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Chama ranks 44,009th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on clean air, the weather, and heat safety, and lowest on the schools and crime. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Chama expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $164,649. The overall cost of living runs about 14% below the national average. Set against a $37,503 median income, cost of living beats 3% of towns.
Is Chama safe?
Chama is safer than 3% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $1,127 per resident a year.
Compare Chama with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Chama. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Chama 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.
Chama detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Chama: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Chama: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Chama: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Chama: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Chama 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.