Best PlacesMcKinley, Albuquerque, NM Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around McKinley, 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.
McKinley, Albuquerque ranks 3,441st of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on short commutes by a wide margin, and tree cover ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in McKinley, 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.
McKinley, Albuquerque's strengths and weaknesses
Where McKinley, Albuquerque ranks high
- Short commute16.7 minutes each way, better than 94% of neighborhoods
- Nice weatherabout 170 pleasant days a year, better than 83% of neighborhoods
- Disaster safetyBetter than 82% of neighborhoods
- Cheap childcare$853 a month, better than 81% of neighborhoods
- Local economyBetter than 77% of neighborhoods
Where McKinley, Albuquerque ranks low
- Tree shadeBetter than only 9% of neighborhoods
- Air qualityBetter than only 12% of neighborhoods
- Internet speedBetter than only 14% of neighborhoods
- Crime safetyBetter than only 16% of neighborhoods
- Big-city accessBetter than only 17% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in McKinley, Albuquerque
A household needs to earn about $50,000 a year to comfortably buy the median McKinley, Albuquerque home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $60,486, 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 McKinley, Albuquerque's effective rate of 0.81%, 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 5 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in McKinley, Albuquerque
McKinley, Albuquerque runs younger 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 McKinley, Albuquerque.
Who works in McKinley, Albuquerque, and how
Work in McKinley, Albuquerque centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 77%
- Work from home 14%
- Transit, walk, or bike 9%
Life in McKinley, Albuquerque
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across McKinley, Albuquerque.
What the weather is like in McKinley, Albuquerque, month by month
McKinley, 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 McKinley, Albuquerque
Albuquerque International Sunport sits about 6 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 McKinley, Albuquerque
Schools across McKinley, Albuquerque average a C+, better than 65% of neighborhoods.
Top high schools
- Nex Gen AcademyA · 75% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every McKinley, Albuquerque school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
McKinley, 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 McKinley, Albuquerque against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in McKinley, Albuquerque
Is McKinley, Albuquerque a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, McKinley, Albuquerque ranks 3,441st of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on short commutes, the weather, and low disaster risk, and lowest on tree cover and air quality. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is McKinley, Albuquerque expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $192,447. The overall cost of living runs about 15% below the national average. Set against a $60,486 median income, cost of living beats 42% of neighborhoods.
Is McKinley, Albuquerque safe?
McKinley, Albuquerque is safer than 16% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $955 per resident a year.
Compare McKinley, Albuquerque with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to McKinley, Albuquerque. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in McKinley, 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.
McKinley, Albuquerque detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for McKinley, Albuquerque: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in McKinley, Albuquerque: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of McKinley, Albuquerque: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in McKinley, Albuquerque: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
McKinley, 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.