Best PlacesMcKinley County, NM Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in McKinley County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The averages are not the whole story, and the strongest areas score well above them. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
McKinley County ranks 2,978th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low disaster risk by a wide margin, and thin health care access ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in McKinley 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.
The best areas in McKinley County
The parts of McKinley County, ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood, highest scoring first. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the county.
Gallup
More adults hold degrees, fewer homes sit empty, and biking is better.
Zuni Pueblo & Vanderwagen
It is quieter, though fewer households have young kids.
Crownpoint
Advertised internet is slower and crime runs higher.
Tohatchi
Incomes run lower and health outcomes score lower.
Thoreau
Big-city amenities are closer, though commutes are longer.
Scores across McKinley County run from about the 1st to the 78th percentile nationally. The map is where that becomes a choice of area.
McKinley County's strengths and weaknesses
Where McKinley County ranks high
- Disaster safetyBetter than 99% of counties
- Low property taxBetter than 99% of counties
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 97% of counties
- Heat safetyBetter than 96% of counties
- Nice weatherabout 157 pleasant days a year, better than 94% of counties
Where McKinley County ranks low
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 1% of counties
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 1% of counties
- Crime safetyBetter than only 2% of counties
- Household income$47,819 median, better than only 6% of counties
- Internet speedBetter than only 6% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in McKinley County
A household needs to earn about $23,000 a year to comfortably buy the median McKinley County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $47,819, 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 County's effective rate of 0.20%, 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 3 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 County
McKinley County runs younger than the country, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for McKinley County.
Who works in McKinley County, and how
Work in McKinley County centers on health care & social and education. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 86%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in McKinley County
McKinley County has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most counties and less parkland per resident than most counties. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of McKinley County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is McKinley County growing, and who is moving in?
McKinley County has lost about 5% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Albuquerque, NM.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving McKinley County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in McKinley County, month by month
McKinley County sees roughly 157 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 92 degrees. January highs sit near 47, with lows near 12. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 47° | 29° | 12° |
| April | 69° | 50° | 28° |
| July | 92° | 74° | 54° |
| October | 72° | 51° | 31° |
Flying in and out of McKinley County
The nearest airport, Show Low Regional, is about 116 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Albuquerque International Sunport, about 119 miles away.
The best schools in and around McKinley County
Schools across McKinley County average a C−, better than 32% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Crownpoint ElementaryB · 50% proficient
- Thoreau ElementaryD+ · 25% proficient
- Tsehootsooi Dine Bi'oltaD+ · 25% proficient
Top middle schools
- Newcomb MiddleD · 21% proficient
- John F. Kennedy MiddleF · 10% proficient
- Tsehootsooi Intermediate Learning CenterF · 5% proficient
Top high schools
- Miyamura High SchoolB · 50% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every McKinley County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
McKinley 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 McKinley County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who McKinley County suits
Common questions about living in McKinley County
Is McKinley County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, McKinley County ranks 2,978th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on low disaster risk, low property taxes, and a stable housing market, and lowest on thin health care access and the cost of living against local pay. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is McKinley County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $95,415. The overall cost of living runs about 3% above the national average. Set against a $47,819 median income, cost of living beats 1% of counties.
Is McKinley County safe?
McKinley County is safer than 2% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $1,079 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in McKinley County?
July highs average about 92 degrees, and January highs near 47 with lows near 12. That works out to about 157 pleasant days a year, more than 94% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in McKinley County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Gallup, Zuni Pueblo & Vanderwagen, and Crownpoint. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Compare McKinley County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to McKinley County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in McKinley 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.
McKinley County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for McKinley County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in McKinley County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of McKinley County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in McKinley County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
McKinley 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.