Best PlacesSouth Los Altos, Albuquerque, NM Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around South Los Altos, 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.
South Los Altos, Albuquerque ranks 3,873rd of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a strong job market by a wide margin, and internet speeds rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in South Los Altos, 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.
South Los Altos, Albuquerque's strengths and weaknesses
Where South Los Altos, Albuquerque ranks high
- Local economyBetter than 96% of neighborhoods
- Cell coverageBetter than 92% of neighborhoods
- Disaster safetyBetter than 83% of neighborhoods
- Nice weatherabout 173 pleasant days a year, better than 83% of neighborhoods
- Cheap childcare$853 a month, better than 81% of neighborhoods
Where South Los Altos, Albuquerque ranks low
- Internet speedBetter than only 6% of neighborhoods
- Tree shadeBetter than only 8% of neighborhoods
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 13% of neighborhoods
- Big-city accessBetter than only 15% of neighborhoods
- Air qualityBetter than only 18% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in South Los Altos, Albuquerque
A household needs to earn about $56,000 a year to comfortably buy the median South Los Altos, Albuquerque home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $56,572, 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 South Los Altos, Albuquerque's effective rate of 0.85%, 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 6 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in South Los Altos, Albuquerque
South Los Altos, Albuquerque runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for South Los Altos, Albuquerque.
Who works in South Los Altos, Albuquerque, and how
Work in South Los Altos, Albuquerque centers on education and wholesale trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 70%
- Work from home 15%
- Transit, walk, or bike 15%
Life in South Los Altos, Albuquerque
South Los Altos, Albuquerque has more restaurants and bars per resident than 71% of neighborhoods. That concentrates in some parts of South Los Altos, Albuquerque and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in South Los Altos, Albuquerque, month by month
South Los Altos, Albuquerque sees roughly 173 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 South Los Altos, Albuquerque
Albuquerque International Sunport sits about 5 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 South Los Altos, Albuquerque
Schools across South Los Altos, Albuquerque average a C+, better than 68% 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 South Los Altos, Albuquerque school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
South Los Altos, 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 South Los Altos, Albuquerque against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in South Los Altos, Albuquerque
Is South Los Altos, Albuquerque a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, South Los Altos, Albuquerque ranks 3,873rd of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on a strong job market, cell coverage, and low disaster risk, and lowest on internet speeds and tree cover. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is South Los Altos, Albuquerque expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $212,182. The overall cost of living runs about 16% below the national average. Set against a $56,572 median income, cost of living beats 30% of neighborhoods.
Is South Los Altos, Albuquerque safe?
South Los Altos, Albuquerque is safer than 20% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $888 per resident a year.
Compare South Los Altos, Albuquerque with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to South Los Altos, Albuquerque. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in South Los Altos, 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.
South Los Altos, Albuquerque detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for South Los Altos, Albuquerque: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in South Los Altos, Albuquerque: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of South Los Altos, Albuquerque: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in South Los Altos, Albuquerque: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
South Los Altos, 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.