Best PlacesDowntown, Albuquerque, NM Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Downtown, Albuquerque, 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.
Downtown, Albuquerque ranks 3,705th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on walkability by a wide margin, and crime is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Downtown, Albuquerque
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.
Downtown, Albuquerque's strengths and weaknesses
Where Downtown, Albuquerque ranks high
- WalkabilityBetter than 93% of neighborhoods
- BikingBetter than 91% of neighborhoods
- TransitBetter than 87% of neighborhoods
- Nice weatherabout 170 pleasant days a year, better than 82% of neighborhoods
- Cheap childcare$853 a month, better than 81% of neighborhoods
Where Downtown, Albuquerque ranks low
- Crime safetyBetter than only 2% of neighborhoods
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 4% of neighborhoods
- Tree shadeBetter than only 7% of neighborhoods
- Internet speedBetter than only 13% of neighborhoods
- Household income$47,673 median, better than only 13% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Downtown, Albuquerque
A household needs to earn about $91,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Downtown, Albuquerque home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $47,673, so buying stretches a typical household.
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 Downtown, Albuquerque's effective rate of 0.86%, 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 Downtown, Albuquerque
Downtown, Albuquerque'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 Downtown, Albuquerque.
Who works in Downtown, Albuquerque, and how
Work in Downtown, Albuquerque centers on education and arts & entertainment. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 78%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 11%
Life in Downtown, Albuquerque
Downtown, Albuquerque has more restaurants and bars per resident than 95% of neighborhoods. That concentrates in some parts of Downtown, Albuquerque and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Downtown, Albuquerque, month by month
Downtown, Albuquerque sees roughly 170 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 95 degrees. January highs sit near 51, with lows near 24. The comfortable stretch runs April, May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 51° | 37° | 24° |
| April | 74° | 58° | 42° |
| July | 95° | 80° | 67° |
| October | 75° | 60° | 46° |
Flying in and out of Downtown, Albuquerque
Albuquerque International Sunport sits about 4 miles away. It is a medium hub and boarded 2.6 million passengers in 2025, with 69 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around Downtown, Albuquerque
Schools across Downtown, Albuquerque average a C+, better than 68% of neighborhoods.
Top high schools
- Nex Gen AcademyA · 75% proficient
- Siembra Leadership High SchoolB · 50% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Downtown, Albuquerque school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Downtown, Albuquerque 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 Downtown, Albuquerque against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Downtown, Albuquerque
Is Downtown, Albuquerque a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Downtown, Albuquerque ranks 3,705th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on walkability, biking, and transit, and lowest on crime and an overheated housing market. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Downtown, Albuquerque expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $343,654. The overall cost of living runs about 12% below the national average. Set against a $47,673 median income, cost of living beats 24% of neighborhoods.
Is Downtown, Albuquerque safe?
Downtown, Albuquerque is safer than 2% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $1,952 per resident a year.
Compare Downtown, Albuquerque with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Downtown, Albuquerque. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Downtown, Albuquerque 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.
Downtown, Albuquerque detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Downtown, Albuquerque: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Downtown, Albuquerque: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Downtown, Albuquerque: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Downtown, Albuquerque: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Downtown, Albuquerque 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.