Living in Los Ranchos de Albuquerque, New Mexico: homes, schools and costs

The book's checklist

Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 4.5% below the U.S. average in the Albuquerque metro area.
More house for the moneyA typical home costs 6.7 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
A safer neighborhoodThe FBI has no 2025 figures for Los Ranchos de Albuquerque itself. Many small towns are patrolled by the county sheriff, so call the sheriff's office and ask what calls they get most.
Schools in town7 public schools: 5 elementary and 2 middle. No public high school in town: the nearest is Los Puentes Charter, about 3 miles away.
A hospital close byLovelace Westside Hospital in Albuquerque, about 4 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
Within reach of a big cityTucson is about 320 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means Los Ranchos de Albuquerque meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

What kind of town

A suburb, not a stand-alone small town

Los Ranchos de Albuquerque runs into the built-up area around Albuquerque (Census Bureau, 2020 urban areas). We include suburbs under 20,000 people because some still feel like small towns, but daily life here is closer to the suburbs than to the towns Frank and Dave's book describes. Weigh it against towns farther out.

The book sorts small towns into six types. These labels come only from the numbers; take the quiz to see which type fits your family.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024: $492,400U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then: Up 17%Bernalillo County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities: $1,061 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income: $72,992U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them: 80%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill: $3,732 a yearNew Mexico: $1,731
Homes built before 1940: 12%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010: 6%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes: 1%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices: 95.5U.S. average = 100 (the Albuquerque metro area)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 17% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Albuquerque metro area, not Los Ranchos de Albuquerque alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2025 estimate: 5,7902020: 5,885
Median age: 46.1 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 23%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 16%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more: 52%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year: 2%U.S.: 6%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work: Schools, health care and social services (27%); professional and business services (20%); other services (12%)
Unemployment rate: 1%U.S.: 5%
Average commute: 23 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home: 22%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line: 9%U.S.: 12%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Lovelace Westside Hospital, Albuquerque, NM, about 4 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 4 of 5 stars.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

7 public schools in Los Ranchos de Albuquerque, run by Albuquerque and North Valley Academy. The nearest public high school is Los Puentes Charter, about 3 miles away.

Colleges in or next to town: Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute (under 1,000 students).

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on New Mexico's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Weather

January average low: 21°F
July average high: 95°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 106 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 125 a year
Rain and melted snow: 9.6 inches a year
Snow: 8 inches a year
Elevation: 4,988 feet

Weather stations: Rio Grande Nature Ctr (3 miles away) and Corrales (7 miles away, rain and snow). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

Lovelace Westside HospitalEmergency room4

Albuquerque, NMCity of 557,0004

Tucson, AZMetro of 1.1 million320

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: Lovelace Westside Hospital, Albuquerque, Tucson.

Bernalillo County is in a metro area of 250,000 to 1 million people (USDA rural-urban code 2, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

Petroglyph National Monument3 miles
Bandelier National Monument41 miles
Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument44 miles
Valles Caldera National Preserve46 miles
Manhattan Project National Historical Park51 miles

Read about Los Ranchos de Albuquerque's history on Wikipedia.

Know Los Ranchos de Albuquerque?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

North Valley, NM10,500 people, 2 miles
Paradise Hills, NM4,600 people, 4 miles
Corrales, NM8,500 people, 5 miles
Sandia Heights, NM3,200 people, 9 miles
Bernalillo, NM9,200 people, 12 miles
Placitas, NM4,200 people, 16 miles

Smaller places

Edith Enclave, NM (unincorporated)185 people, 5 miles
Pueblo of Sandia Village, NM (unincorporated)416 people, 8 miles
Carnuel, NM (unincorporated)877 people, 13 miles
Rio Rancho Estates, NM (unincorporated)1,571 people, 13 miles

Sources

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.