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You've seen these lists before: Best places to live in New Mexico, Most Beautiful Downtowns, etc., etc. But all of them focus on major cities and towns in the Land of Enchantment and no one pays attention to the little guy.
Well, that's all about to change as we put together a list of the best small towns in New Mexico based on numbers--not opinions or hearsay.
We'll dive right into our methodology in the next section; but first, we thought you might just want to know which places in New Mexico ranked the based--you know, based on science.
Before we get to the top 15, here's a look at the 10 Best Small Towns To Live in New Mexico for 2022.
The 10 Best Small Towns To Live In New Mexico For 2022
- Sandia Heights
- La Huerta
- Talpa
- Carnuel
- San Ysidro
- Sandia Knolls
- Mesilla
- Tome
- Bosque Farms
- High Rolls
What's the best small town in New Mexico? Sandia Heights is the best small town in New Mexico based on the most recent Census data. If you live in one of these small towns like Sandia Heights, chances are, you're not surprised. After all, you know how great you have it.
But for the rest of you--keep reading and we'll get to just why these small towns made our list.
For more reading on the Land of Enchantment check out:
- Best Places To Live In New Mexico
- Cheapest Places To Live In New Mexico
- Most Dangerous Cities In New Mexico
The 15 Best Small Towns In New Mexico For 2022
/10
Population: 3,111
Median Income: $114,464 (2nd Best)
Median Home Value: $490,500 (2nd Best)
More on Sandia Heights: Data | Homes For Sale
/10
Population: 1,489
Median Income: $100,519 (3rd Best)
Median Home Value: $308,500 (4th Best)
More on La Huerta: Data | Homes For Sale
3. Talpa
Population: 1,245
Median Income: $49,161 (38th Best)
Median Home Value: $302,000 (5th Best)
More on Talpa: | Homes For Sale
/10
Population: 1,037
Median Income: $63,462 (15th Best)
Median Home Value: $251,000 (10th Best)
More on Carnuel: Data | Homes For Sale
/10
Population: 2,527
Median Income: $115,016 (1st Best)
Median Home Value: $292,400 (6th Best)
More on San Ysidro: Data | Homes For Sale
/10
Population: 1,516
Median Income: $86,058 (6th Best)
Median Home Value: $253,200 (9th Best)
More on Sandia Knolls: Data | Homes For Sale
/10
Population: 2,274
Median Income: $51,167 (34th Best)
Median Home Value: $231,400 (12th Best)
More on Mesilla: Photos | Data | Homes For Sale
/10
Population: 1,585
Median Income: $66,597 (10th Best)
Median Home Value: $279,800 (7th Best)
More on Tome: Data | Homes For Sale
/10
Population: 3,833
Median Income: $59,250 (18th Best)
Median Home Value: $223,500 (13th Best)
More on Bosque Farms: Photos | Data | Homes For Sale
10. High Rolls
Population: 1,370
Median Income: $57,407 (19th Best)
Median Home Value: $219,900 (15th Best)
More on High Rolls: | Homes For Sale
/10
Population: 1,552
Median Income: $48,750 (39th Best)
Median Home Value: $142,900 (35th Best)
More on Elephant Butte: Data | Homes For Sale
/10
Population: 4,918
Median Income: $52,618 (30th Best)
Median Home Value: $197,400 (19th Best)
More on Paradise Hills: Data | Homes For Sale
/10
Population: 4,965
Median Income: $68,971 (8th Best)
Median Home Value: $165,400 (27th Best)
More on Los Chaves: Data | Homes For Sale
/10
Population: 2,415
Median Income: $52,798 (28th Best)
Median Home Value: $88,800 (56th Best)
More on Bayard: Data | Homes For Sale
/10
Population: 1,960
Median Income: $49,911 (37th Best)
Median Home Value: $140,200 (36th Best)
More on Las Maravillas: Data | Homes For Sale
Methodology: How We Determined The Coolest Towns In New Mexico
We threw a lot of criteria at this one in order to get the best, most complete results possible. Using the most recent data from the Census's 2016-2020 American Community Survey and the Bureau of Labor Statistics, this is the criteria we used:
- Population Density (Higher is better)
- Lowest Unemployment Rates
- Housing costs (Higher is better. More demand.)
- Adjusted Median Income (Higher is better)
- Highly Educated Adults (Higher is better)
- Insurance Rates (Higher is better)
- Commute Times (Lower is better)
We looked at places with populations lower than 5,000 people and greater than 1,000, of which, there were a lot - 82 to be exact.
We then ranked each place in each category with scores from 1 to 82, averaged them out, and the lowest scores went to our Best Small Towns in New Mexico. Top of that list -- Sandia Heights. You can download the data here.
Keep reading to find out more about our top 15 best small towns in New Mexico.
Summary: Science Can Tackle Any Issue, Even Small Ones
We said it once and we'll say it again -- this list: it's just science. We did the research, we crunched the numbers, and it turns out, these 15 small towns in New Mexico are the best, in which to live.
And who can argue with that?
If you're curious, here are the worst small towns in New Mexico:
- Thoreau
- Twin Lakes
- Monterey Park
For more New Mexico reading, check out:
- Best Places To Raise A Family In New Mexico
- Safest Places In New Mexico
- Worst Places To Live In New Mexico