Best PlacesLa Cueva, NM Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around La Cueva, 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.
La Cueva ranks 42,889th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on the weather by a wide margin, and crime is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in La Cueva
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.
La Cueva's strengths and weaknesses
Where La Cueva ranks high
- Nice weatherabout 160 pleasant days a year, better than 95% of towns
- Low property taxBetter than 87% of towns
- Health outlookBetter than 79% of towns
- QuietBetter than 76% of towns
- Heat safetyBetter than 75% of towns
Where La Cueva ranks low
- Crime safetyBetter than only 4% of towns
- Air qualityBetter than only 4% of towns
- BikingBetter than only 8% of towns
- Cell coverageBetter than only 8% of towns
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 13% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in La Cueva
A household needs to earn about $84,000 a year to comfortably buy the median La Cueva home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $62,706, 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 La Cueva's effective rate of 0.41%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Who lives in La Cueva
La Cueva'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 La Cueva.
Who works in La Cueva, and how
Work in La Cueva centers on education and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 86%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in La Cueva
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across La Cueva.
What the weather is like in La Cueva, month by month
La Cueva sees roughly 160 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 92 degrees. January highs sit near 47, with lows near 19. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 47° | 31° | 19° |
| April | 71° | 52° | 33° |
| July | 92° | 75° | 58° |
| October | 71° | 54° | 37° |
Flying in and out of La Cueva
The nearest airport, Santa Fe Regional, is about 32 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Albuquerque International Sunport, about 77 miles away.
The best schools in and around La Cueva
Schools across La Cueva average a D+, better than 18% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- El Dorado Community SchoolA+ · 75% proficient
- Mora ElementaryC+ · 39% proficient
Top middle schools
- Lazaro Larry Garcia MiddleD+ · 26% proficient
Top high schools
- Pecos HighC · 31% proficient
- Mora HighD− · 16% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every La Cueva school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
La Cueva 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 La Cueva against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in La Cueva
Is La Cueva a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, La Cueva ranks 42,889th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on the weather, low property taxes, and population health, and lowest on crime and air quality. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is La Cueva expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $338,222. The overall cost of living runs about 4% above the national average. Set against a $62,706 median income, cost of living beats 13% of towns.
Is La Cueva safe?
La Cueva is safer than 4% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $1,007 per resident a year.
Compare La Cueva with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to La Cueva. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in La Cueva 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.
La Cueva detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for La Cueva: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in La Cueva: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of La Cueva: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in La Cueva: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
La Cueva 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.