Best PlacesSan Juan County, NM Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in San Juan 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.
San Juan County ranks 1,813th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It ranks low mainly on thin health care access and tree cover. It does better on low disaster risk, which keeps it off the bottom.
The best neighborhoods in San Juan 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 San Juan County
The parts of San Juan 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.
Aztec
Schools score higher, health care is easier to reach, and crime runs lower.
Farmington & DeSmet
More households have young kids and fewer homes sit empty.
Bloomfield
Incomes run lower and biking is worse.
Kirtland & Fruitland
It is quieter, though commutes are longer.
Shiprock
Homes cost less and the air is cleaner.
San Juan County shows why a single number is not enough. Some neighborhoods score in the bottom 1% of the country and others in the top 3%. Pick the area first, then the home.
San Juan County's strengths and weaknesses
San Juan County lands in the middle because its strengths and weaknesses roughly balance. Low disaster risk is the standout, in the top 1% of counties. The weather and low property taxes follow.
The one real hole is thin health care access, near the bottom of the country. Tree cover and the cost of living against local pay also cost it ground. The detail is below, and the map is where it turns into a choice of neighborhood rather than just a place.
Where San Juan County ranks high
- Disaster safetyBetter than 99% of counties
- Nice weatherabout 161 pleasant days a year, better than 95% of counties
- Low property taxBetter than 83% of counties
- TransitBetter than 82% of counties
- Cell coverageBetter than 76% of counties
Where San Juan County ranks low
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 4% of counties
- Tree shadeBetter than only 12% of counties
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 12% of counties
- Big-city accessBetter than only 16% of counties
- Crime safetyBetter than only 19% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in San Juan County
A household needs to earn about $46,000 a year to comfortably buy the median San Juan County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $63,236, 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 San Juan County's effective rate of 0.48%, 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 San Juan County
San Juan County's age mix sits close to the national median, 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 San Juan County.
Who works in San Juan County, and how
Work in San Juan County centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 88%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in San Juan County
San Juan County has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most counties and more late-night spots per resident than 78% of counties. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of San Juan County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is San Juan County growing, and who is moving in?
San Juan County has lost about 6% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Phoenix, AZ.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving San Juan County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in San Juan County, month by month
San Juan County sees roughly 161 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 96 degrees. January highs sit near 46, with lows near 18. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, and September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 46° | 31° | 18° |
| April | 71° | 53° | 34° |
| July | 96° | 79° | 61° |
| October | 73° | 54° | 37° |
Flying in and out of San Juan County
The nearest airport, Durango-La Plata County, is about 39 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Albuquerque International Sunport, about 147 miles away.
The best schools in and around San Juan County
Schools across San Juan County average a C, better than 36% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Lydia Rippey ElementaryA · 63% proficient
- Mccoy Avenue ElementaryB · 50% proficient
- Park Avenue ElementaryB · 47% proficient
Top middle schools
- C.v. Koogler MiddleC · 32% proficient
- Newcomb MiddleD · 21% proficient
- Tse Bit Ai MiddleD− · 14% proficient
Top high schools
- San Juan College High SchoolA · 75% proficient
- Farmington HighA− · 65% proficient
- Navajo Preparatory SchoolB · 50% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every San Juan County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
San Juan 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 San Juan County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who San Juan County suits
Common questions about living in San Juan County
Is San Juan County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, San Juan County ranks 1,813th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on low disaster risk, the weather, and low property taxes, and lowest on thin health care access and tree cover. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is San Juan County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $182,191. The overall cost of living runs about 4% below the national average. Set against a $63,236 median income, cost of living beats 12% of counties.
Is San Juan County safe?
San Juan County is safer than 19% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $635 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in San Juan County?
July highs average about 96 degrees, and January highs near 46 with lows near 18. That works out to about 161 pleasant days a year, more than 95% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in San Juan County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Aztec, Farmington & DeSmet, and Bloomfield. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Is San Juan County good for families?
Schools beat 36% of counties, crime safety beats 19%, and childcare runs $737 a month.
Is San Juan County good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 12% of counties, though advertised internet speeds beat only 20% of counties. About 8% of workers already work from home.
Compare San Juan County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to San Juan County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in San Juan 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.
San Juan County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for San Juan County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in San Juan County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of San Juan County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in San Juan County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
San Juan 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.