Best PlacesNew Mexico Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in New Mexico, 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.
New Mexico ranks 43rd of 50 U.S. states on the BestNeighborhood index. It ranks low mainly on crime and internet speeds. It does better on the weather, which keeps it off the bottom.
The best neighborhoods in New Mexico
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 New Mexico
The counties of New Mexico, grouped by direction and ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood in each. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the state.
Bernalillo County
Fewer homes sit empty, big-city amenities are closer, and biking is better.
Santa Fe County
Homes cost more and fewer households have young kids.
Lea County, Chaves County & Eddy County
Prices have run up less, though fewer adults hold degrees.
Dona Ana County & Otero County
Local pay stretches less far and incomes run lower.
Grant County, Luna County & Sierra County
Heat risk is higher and health outcomes score lower.
Curry County & Roosevelt County
Commutes are shorter, though disaster risk is higher.
Taos County, San Miguel County & Colfax County
It is quieter, though crime runs higher.
San Juan County & McKinley County
Health care is harder to reach and transit reaches fewer jobs.
Cibola County & Socorro County
Streets are more car-dependent and schools score lower.
New Mexico shows why a single number is not enough. Some neighborhoods score in the bottom 1% of the country and others in the top 1%. Pick the area first, then the home.
New Mexico's strengths and weaknesses
New Mexico ranks near the bottom because several of the basics fall short at once. The weather, cell coverage, and low disaster risk carry most of that.
The weak spots are broad rather than narrow: crime, internet speeds, and thin health care access all drag on the score. Those are area averages, and the map below shows which parts run well above them.
Where New Mexico ranks high
- Nice weatherabout 165 pleasant days a year, better than 93% of states
- Cell coverageBetter than 81% of states
- Disaster safetyBetter than 75% of states
- QuietBetter than 69% of states
- Low property taxBetter than 69% of states
Where New Mexico ranks low
- Crime safetyBetter than only 1% of states
- Internet speedBetter than only 1% of states
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 5% of states
- Tree shadeBetter than only 7% of states
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 11% of states
What it costs to buy a home in New Mexico
A household needs to earn about $69,000 a year to comfortably buy the median New Mexico home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $70,989, 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 New Mexico's effective rate of 0.63%, 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 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in New Mexico
New Mexico's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for New Mexico.
Who works in New Mexico, and how
Work in New Mexico centers on health care & social and education. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 82%
- Work from home 13%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in New Mexico
New Mexico has more restaurants and bars per resident than 85% of states and less parkland per resident than most states. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of New Mexico and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in New Mexico, month by month
New Mexico sees roughly 165 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° |
The best schools in and around New Mexico
Schools across New Mexico average a C+, better than 47% of states.
Top elementary schools
- Carlos Gilbert ElementaryA+ · 75% proficient
- Roy ElementaryA+ · 75% proficient
- El Dorado Community SchoolA+ · 75% proficient
Top middle schools
- Maxwell MiddleB+ · 50% proficient
- San Jon Middle SchoolB+ · 50% proficient
- Dalhart J HB · 46% proficient
Top high schools
- Albuquerque Institute Of Math & ScienceA+ · 95% proficient
- Cottonwood Classical PrepA+ · 81% proficient
- La Cueva HighA · 79% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every New Mexico school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
New Mexico 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 New Mexico against the other 49 states.
Who New Mexico suits
Common questions about living in New Mexico
Is New Mexico a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, New Mexico ranks 43rd of 50 states. It scores highest on the weather, cell coverage, and low disaster risk, and lowest on crime and internet speeds. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is New Mexico expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $268,546. The overall cost of living runs about 11% below the national average. Set against a $70,989 median income, cost of living beats 11% of states.
Is New Mexico safe?
New Mexico is safer than 1% of states. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $703 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in New Mexico?
July highs average about 95 degrees, and January highs near 51 with lows near 24. That works out to about 165 pleasant days a year, more than 93% of states.
What are the best areas in New Mexico?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Bernalillo County, Santa Fe County, and Lea County, Chaves County & Eddy County. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Is New Mexico good for families?
Schools beat 47% of states, crime safety beats 1%, and childcare runs $821 a month.
Is New Mexico good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 11% of states, though advertised internet speeds beat only 1% of states. About 13% of workers already work from home.
Compare New Mexico with other states
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to New Mexico. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in New Mexico 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.
New Mexico detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for New Mexico: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in New Mexico: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of New Mexico: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in New Mexico: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
New Mexico 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.
- 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.