Best PlacesSouth Valley, NM Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around South Valley, 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.
South Valley ranks 1,632nd of 2,098 U.S. cities on the BestNeighborhood index. Tree cover pulls hardest against it, while it scores best on the weather.
The best neighborhoods in South Valley
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 South Valley
The parts of South Valley, ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood, highest scoring first.
Valley Gardens
Copes Orchard
Vecinos del Bosque & South Atrisco
Mountain View
Scores across South Valley run from about the 14th to the 74th percentile nationally. The map is where that becomes a choice of area.
South Valley's strengths and weaknesses
Where South Valley ranks high
- Nice weatherabout 169 pleasant days a year, better than 87% of cities
- BikingBetter than 79% of cities
- Cell coverageBetter than 77% of cities
- TransitBetter than 76% of cities
- Cheap childcare$853 a month, better than 73% of cities
Where South Valley ranks low
- Tree shadeBetter than only 4% of cities
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 4% of cities
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 6% of cities
- Internet speedBetter than only 8% of cities
- Household income$64,343 median, better than only 14% of cities
What it costs to buy a home in South Valley
A household needs to earn about $61,000 a year to comfortably buy the median South Valley home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $64,343, 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 Valley's effective rate of 0.74%, 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 9 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 Valley
South Valley'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 South Valley.
Who works in South Valley, and how
Work in South Valley centers on construction and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 89%
- Work from home 9%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in South Valley
South Valley has more restaurants and bars per resident than 65% of cities and more parkland per resident than 78% of cities. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of South Valley and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in South Valley, month by month
South Valley sees roughly 169 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 Valley
Albuquerque International Sunport sits about 4 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 Valley
Schools across South Valley average a C+, better than 57% of cities.
Top high schools
- Nex Gen AcademyA · 75% proficient
- New America SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
- South Valley AcademyD− · 16% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every South Valley school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
South Valley 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 Valley against the other 2,097 cities.
Who South Valley suits
Common questions about living in South Valley
Is South Valley a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, South Valley ranks 1,632nd of 2,098 cities. It scores highest on the weather, biking, and cell coverage, and lowest on tree cover and thin health care access. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is South Valley expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $234,916. The overall cost of living runs about 14% below the national average. Set against a $64,343 median income, cost of living beats 18% of cities.
Is South Valley safe?
South Valley is safer than 15% of cities. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $597 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in South Valley?
July highs average about 95 degrees, and January highs near 51 with lows near 24. That works out to about 169 pleasant days a year, more than 87% of cities.
What are the best neighborhoods in South Valley?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Valley Gardens, Copes Orchard, and Vecinos del Bosque & South Atrisco. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Compare South Valley with other cities
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to South Valley. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in South Valley 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 Valley detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for South Valley: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in South Valley: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of South Valley: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in South Valley: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
South Valley 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.