Best PlacesDe Baca County, NM Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in De Baca 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.
De Baca County ranks 2,477th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on short commutes by a wide margin, and tree cover ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in De Baca 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.
De Baca County's strengths and weaknesses
Where De Baca County ranks high
- Short commute11.4 minutes each way, better than 99% of counties
- Air qualityBetter than 97% of counties
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 88% of counties
- School gradeB, better than 83% of counties
- Cheap childcare$562 a month, better than 82% of counties
Where De Baca County ranks low
- Tree shadeBetter than only 1% of counties
- Crime safetyBetter than only 1% of counties
- Local economyBetter than only 4% of counties
- Big-city accessBetter than only 4% of counties
- Low vacancyBetter than only 6% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in De Baca County
A household needs to earn about $58,000 a year to comfortably buy the median De Baca County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $62,401, 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 De Baca County's effective rate of 0.55%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Who lives in De Baca County
De Baca County runs younger than the country, though it still carries a larger-than-average share of residents over 65, 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 De Baca County.
Who works in De Baca County, and how
Work in De Baca County centers on agriculture & forestry and utilities. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 90%
- Work from home 4%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in De Baca County
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across De Baca County.
Is De Baca County growing, and who is moving in?
De Baca County has lost about 11% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Curry County, NM.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving De Baca County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in De Baca County, month by month
De Baca County sees roughly 82 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 95 degrees. January highs sit near 55, with lows near 25. The comfortable stretch runs April, May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 55° | 38° | 25° |
| April | 77° | 59° | 43° |
| July | 95° | 80° | 66° |
| October | 75° | 59° | 45° |
Flying in and out of De Baca County
The nearest airport, Clovis Regional, is about 67 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Albuquerque International Sunport, about 140 miles away.
The best schools in and around De Baca County
Schools across De Baca County average a B, better than 83% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Fort Sumner ElementaryB− · 40% proficient
Top middle schools
- Fort Sumner MiddleB− · 43% proficient
Top high schools
- Fort Sumner HighA · 75% proficient
- Elida HighD+ · 25% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every De Baca County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
De Baca 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 De Baca County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in De Baca County
Is De Baca County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, De Baca County ranks 2,477th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on short commutes, clean air, and a stable housing market, and lowest on tree cover and crime. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is De Baca County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $229,086. The overall cost of living runs about 14% below the national average. Set against a $62,401 median income, cost of living beats 32% of counties.
Is De Baca County safe?
De Baca County is safer than 1% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $1,353 per resident a year.
Compare De Baca County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to De Baca County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in De Baca 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.
De Baca County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for De Baca County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in De Baca County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of De Baca County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in De Baca County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
De Baca 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.