Best PlacesNor Este, Albuquerque, NM Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Nor Este, Albuquerque, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Local pay runs high here, and housing takes the biggest bite out of it. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Nor Este, Albuquerque ranks 140th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on what local pay buys by a wide margin, and air quality ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Nor Este, 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.
Nor Este, Albuquerque's strengths and weaknesses
Where Nor Este, Albuquerque ranks high
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 96% of neighborhoods
- Educational attainmentBetter than 94% of neighborhoods
- Crime safetyBetter than 91% of neighborhoods
- Disaster safetyBetter than 91% of neighborhoods
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 91% of neighborhoods
Where Nor Este, Albuquerque ranks low
- Air qualityBetter than only 10% of neighborhoods
- Big-city accessBetter than only 14% of neighborhoods
- Tree shadeBetter than only 20% of neighborhoods
- WalkabilityBetter than only 21% of neighborhoods
- TransitBetter than only 25% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Nor Este, Albuquerque
A household needs to earn about $133,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Nor Este, Albuquerque home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $142,129, 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 Nor Este, Albuquerque's effective rate of 0.98%, 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 10 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Nor Este, Albuquerque
Nor Este, Albuquerque'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 Nor Este, Albuquerque.
Who works in Nor Este, Albuquerque, and how
Work in Nor Este, Albuquerque centers on health care & social and professional & technical. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 82%
- Work from home 15%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in Nor Este, Albuquerque
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Nor Este, Albuquerque.
What the weather is like in Nor Este, Albuquerque, month by month
Nor Este, Albuquerque sees roughly 172 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 Nor Este, Albuquerque
Albuquerque International Sunport sits about 10 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 Nor Este, Albuquerque
Schools across Nor Este, Albuquerque average a B+, better than 85% of neighborhoods.
Top high schools
- La Cueva HighA · 79% proficient
- Nex Gen AcademyA · 75% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Nor Este, Albuquerque school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Nor Este, 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 Nor Este, Albuquerque against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Nor Este, Albuquerque
Is Nor Este, Albuquerque a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Nor Este, Albuquerque ranks 140th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on what local pay buys, an educated workforce, and low crime, and lowest on air quality and distance from a big city. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Nor Este, Albuquerque expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $496,411. The overall cost of living runs about 6% below the national average. Set against a $142,129 median income, cost of living beats 96% of neighborhoods.
Is Nor Este, Albuquerque safe?
Yes, Nor Este, Albuquerque is safer than 91% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $296 per resident a year.
Compare Nor Este, Albuquerque with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Nor Este, Albuquerque. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Nor Este, 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.
Nor Este, Albuquerque detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Nor Este, Albuquerque: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Nor Este, Albuquerque: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Nor Este, Albuquerque: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Nor Este, Albuquerque: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Nor Este, 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.