Best PlacesWest Mesa, Albuquerque, NM Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around West Mesa, 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.
West Mesa, Albuquerque ranks 4,731st of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. Thin health care access pulls hardest against it, while it scores best on low disaster risk.
The best neighborhoods in West Mesa, 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.
West Mesa, Albuquerque's strengths and weaknesses
Where West Mesa, Albuquerque ranks high
- Disaster safetyBetter than 87% of neighborhoods
- Low property taxBetter than 84% of neighborhoods
- Nice weatherabout 167 pleasant days a year, better than 82% of neighborhoods
- Low vacancyBetter than 82% of neighborhoods
- Cheap childcare$853 a month, better than 81% of neighborhoods
Where West Mesa, Albuquerque ranks low
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 5% of neighborhoods
- Tree shadeBetter than only 5% of neighborhoods
- Internet speedBetter than only 10% of neighborhoods
- Household income$49,300 median, better than only 15% of neighborhoods
- Health outlookBetter than only 15% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in West Mesa, Albuquerque
A household needs to earn about $58,000 a year to comfortably buy the median West Mesa, Albuquerque home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $49,300, so buying stretches a typical household.
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 West Mesa, Albuquerque's effective rate of 0.60%, 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 7 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in West Mesa, Albuquerque
West Mesa, Albuquerque runs younger than the country, 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 West Mesa, Albuquerque.
Who works in West Mesa, Albuquerque, and how
Work in West Mesa, Albuquerque centers on health care & social and hospitality & food. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 84%
- Work from home 13%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in West Mesa, Albuquerque
West Mesa, Albuquerque has more restaurants and bars per resident than 66% of neighborhoods. That concentrates in some parts of West Mesa, Albuquerque and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in West Mesa, Albuquerque, month by month
West Mesa, Albuquerque sees roughly 167 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 West Mesa, Albuquerque
Albuquerque International Sunport sits about 6 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 West Mesa, Albuquerque
Schools across West Mesa, Albuquerque average a C+, better than 66% 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 West Mesa, Albuquerque school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
West Mesa, 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 West Mesa, Albuquerque against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in West Mesa, Albuquerque
Is West Mesa, Albuquerque a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, West Mesa, Albuquerque ranks 4,731st of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on low disaster risk, low property taxes, and the weather, 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 West Mesa, Albuquerque expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $228,929. The overall cost of living runs about 15% below the national average. Set against a $49,300 median income, cost of living beats 19% of neighborhoods.
Is West Mesa, Albuquerque safe?
West Mesa, Albuquerque is safer than 21% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $967 per resident a year.
Compare West Mesa, Albuquerque with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to West Mesa, Albuquerque. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in West Mesa, 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.
West Mesa, Albuquerque detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for West Mesa, Albuquerque: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in West Mesa, Albuquerque: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of West Mesa, Albuquerque: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in West Mesa, Albuquerque: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
West Mesa, 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.