Best PlacesWhite Lakes, NM Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around White Lakes, 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.
White Lakes ranks 22,095th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on quiet by a wide margin, and long commutes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in White Lakes
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.
White Lakes' strengths and weaknesses
Where White Lakes ranks high
- QuietBetter than 97% of towns
- Nice weatherabout 166 pleasant days a year, better than 96% of towns
- Health outlookBetter than 94% of towns
- Low property taxBetter than 90% of towns
- Low vacancyBetter than 89% of towns
Where White Lakes ranks low
- Short commute49.0 minutes each way, better than only 1% of towns
- BikingBetter than only 3% of towns
- Air qualityBetter than only 4% of towns
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 10% of towns
- Tree shadeBetter than only 13% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in White Lakes
A household needs to earn about $55,000 a year to comfortably buy the median White Lakes home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $72,596, 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 White Lakes' effective rate of 0.38%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Who lives in White Lakes
White Lakes runs older than the country, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for White Lakes.
Who works in White Lakes, and how
Work in White Lakes centers on public administration and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 83%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in White Lakes
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across White Lakes.
What the weather is like in White Lakes, month by month
White Lakes sees roughly 166 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 44, with lows near 18. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 44° | 30° | 18° |
| April | 66° | 49° | 32° |
| July | 87° | 70° | 56° |
| October | 68° | 51° | 37° |
Flying in and out of White Lakes
The nearest airport, Santa Fe Regional, is about 38 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Albuquerque International Sunport, about 47 miles away.
The best schools in and around White Lakes
Schools across White Lakes average a C+, better than 47% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- El Dorado Community SchoolA+ · 75% proficient
Top high schools
- Pecos HighC · 31% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every White Lakes school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
White Lakes 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 White Lakes against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in White Lakes
Is White Lakes a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, White Lakes ranks 22,095th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on quiet, the weather, and population health, and lowest on long commutes and biking. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is White Lakes expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $223,100. The overall cost of living runs about 3% below the national average. Set against a $72,596 median income, cost of living beats 43% of towns.
Is White Lakes safe?
White Lakes is safer than 15% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $619 per resident a year.
Compare White Lakes with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to White Lakes. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in White Lakes 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.
White Lakes detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for White Lakes: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in White Lakes: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of White Lakes: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in White Lakes: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
White Lakes 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.