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Everyone wants a home that mixes affordability with comfort and New Mexico does this very well. Families love the Land Of Enchantment's beaches, midlands, and mountains as tourists before moving here and calling it home.
But before you decide to relocate, you have to do some research into the exact cost of living around the state -- and that's how we're going to help you.
These are the places in New Mexico that cost a pretty penny -- the most expensive cities in the state.
After we saved up for months and could finally afford it, we landed on this list of the ten most expensive cities in New Mexico for 2023.
So where is the most expensive place to live in New Mexico? That would be Taos.
the 2017-2021 American Community Survey for the 33 places in New Mexico with more than 5,000 people.
Here are the 10 most expensive places to live in New Mexico for 2023:
What's the most expensive place to live in New Mexico? Well, HomeSnacks crunched the numbers and discovered that Taos is the most expensive place to live in New Mexico.
So hopefully Gallup (the cheapest place to live in New Mexico) can show these guys how to live on a budget in the coming years. Read on for how these places had costs rise faster than inflation.
And if you already knew these places were expensive, check out some more reading about New Mexico and the most expensive cities in the country:
The 10 Most Expensive Places To Live In New Mexico For 2023
1. Taos
/10
Population: 6,524
Rank Last Year: 1 (No Change)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 8.2x (most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 42.0x (most expensive)
More on Taos: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Taos comes in at $37,083 and the median home value is $304,900 for 2023.
2. Santa Fe
/10
Population: 86,935
Rank Last Year: 2 (No Change)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 5.0x (3rd most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 51.7x (5th most expensive)
More on Santa Fe: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Santa Fe comes in at $61,990 and the median home value is $312,300 for 2023.
3. Ruidoso
/10
Population: 7,636
Rank Last Year: 4 (Up 1)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 4.2x (7th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 54.8x (11th most expensive)
More on Ruidoso: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Ruidoso comes in at $45,414 and the median home value is $190,600 for 2023.
4. Silver City
/10
Population: 9,694
Rank Last Year: 3 (No Change)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 4.4x (5th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 43.0x (2nd most expensive)
More on Silver City: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Silver City comes in at $31,451 and the median home value is $139,600 for 2023.
5. Sunland Park
/10
Population: 16,488
Rank Last Year: 12 (Up 7)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 4.2x (6th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 52.8x (6th most expensive)
More on Sunland Park: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Sunland Park comes in at $34,639 and the median home value is $145,800 for 2023.
6. Los Ranchos De Albuquerque
/10
Population: 5,904
Rank Last Year: 8 (Up 2)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 6.9x (2nd most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 70.7x (32nd most expensive)
More on Los Ranchos De Albuquerque: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Los Ranchos De Albuquerque comes in at $64,304 and the median home value is $445,300 for 2023.
7. Edgewood
/10
Population: 6,106
Rank Last Year: 19 (Up 12)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 2.9x (22nd most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 53.2x (9th most expensive)
More on Edgewood: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Edgewood comes in at $72,725 and the median home value is $211,800 for 2023.
8. Albuquerque
/10
Population: 562,336
Rank Last Year: 5 (Down 2)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 3.8x (8th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 60.5x (24th most expensive)
More on Albuquerque: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Albuquerque comes in at $56,366 and the median home value is $214,600 for 2023.
9. Las Cruces
/10
Population: 109,934
Rank Last Year: 6 (Down 3)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 3.5x (10th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 57.9x (15th most expensive)
More on Las Cruces: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Las Cruces comes in at $47,722 and the median home value is $167,800 for 2023.
10. Corrales
/10
Population: 8,488
Rank Last Year: 6 (Down 4)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 4.7x (4th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 81.4x (34th most expensive)
More on Corrales: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Corrales comes in at $93,899 and the median home value is $440,100 for 2023.
Methodology: How We Determined The Most Expensive Places To Live In The Land of Enchantment For 2023
The two most important things to think about when it comes to being able to afford if you can live comes down to:
- How much do money do I make?
- How much do I have spend to live there?
You need to understand your costs in the context of how much money you make.
For example, if the median household earns $100,000 and spends $40,000 on housing it's actually cheaper to live there than a place with a median income of $50,000 and housing costs of $21,000. You might spend more on housing, but you have more money overall to play with.
With that example in mind, we derived several statistics from the latest Census American Community Survey 2017-2021 around incomes and costs. They are:
- Median Home Price / Median Income (lower is better)
- Median Income / Median Rent (Higher is better)
- Median Home Price
We added simply median home price because high home prices generally correlate with higher expenses for all costs related to homes (heating, electricity, etc).
You can then compare these metrics in each of the places in New Mexico to figure out which is the most expensive.
What you are left with is a "Cost of Living Index" by taking the average rank of each of these metrics for each city.
So we used that cost of living index in order to rank all of the 33 places in New Mexico that have more than 5,000 people.
The place with the highest cost of living in New Mexico according to the data is Taos. You can download the data here.
Summary: Taking A Chunk Out Of Your Paycheck In New Mexico For 2023
Well there you have it, the places in New Mexico that have the highest cost of living, with Taos ranking as the most expensive city in the Land of Enchantment.
Here's a look at the most affordable cities in New Mexico according to the data:
- Gallup
- Lovington
- Grants
For more New Mexico reading, check out:
- Best Places To Live In New Mexico
- Cheapest Places To Live In New Mexico
- Most Dangerous Cities In New Mexico
- Best Places To Raise A Family In New Mexico
- Safest Places In New Mexico
- Worst Places To Live In New Mexico
Detailed List Of The Most Expensive Cities In New Mexico
| Rank | City | ExpensiveScore |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Taos | 2.0 |
| 2 | Santa Fe | 3.67 |
| 3 | Ruidoso | 8.67 |
| 4 | Silver City | 8.67 |
| 5 | Sunland Park | 10.0 |
| 6 | Los Ranchos De Albuquerque | 11.67 |
| 7 | Edgewood | 12.33 |
| 8 | Albuquerque | 12.33 |
| 9 | Las Cruces | 12.67 |
| 10 | Corrales | 13.33 |
| 11 | Rio Rancho | 15.0 |
| 12 | Anthony | 15.33 |
| 13 | Farmington | 15.33 |
| 14 | Las Vegas | 15.67 |
| 15 | Aztec | 17.33 |
| 16 | Bloomfield | 18.33 |
| 17 | Artesia | 18.33 |
| 18 | Bernalillo | 18.33 |
| 19 | Belen | 19.0 |
| 20 | Truth Or Consequences | 20.0 |
| 21 | Clovis | 20.0 |
| 22 | Raton | 20.33 |
| 23 | Los Lunas | 20.33 |
| 24 | Deming | 21.67 |
| 25 | Portales | 21.67 |
| 26 | Alamogordo | 22.33 |
| 27 | Hobbs | 22.67 |
| 28 | Roswell | 22.67 |
| 29 | Socorro | 24.0 |
| 30 | Carlsbad | 24.33 |
| 31 | Grants | 25.0 |
| 32 | Lovington | 27.67 |
| 33 | Gallup | 29.33 |
