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Meadow Lake, New Mexico

Meadow Lake is an unincorporated community of about 4,300 people in Valencia County, New Mexico, about 5,300 feet above sea level. It has no city government of its own: local services come from the county, or in some states from the town or township. A typical home costs about 1.8 years of the typical household's income, compared with 4.1 across the U.S. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, Tucson, is about 308 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
4,259
Census survey, 2020-24
Typical home, 2020-24
$77,900
Valencia County prices up 23% since 2022
Household income
$43,649
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Albuquerque area
95.5
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
20 miles
Albuquerque, NM
To Tucson
308 mi
straight line

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 1.8 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhoodThe FBI doesn't publish crime figures for unincorporated communities. Call the county sheriff's office (or the town or township police, where there is one) and ask what calls they get most.
  • Schools in townNo public schools inside the town. The nearest high school is Valencia High, about 6 miles away.
  • A hospital close byPresbyterian Hospital in Albuquerque, about 20 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityTucson is about 308 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 Meadow Lake 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.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
$77,900U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 23%Valencia County, 2022 to 2025
Typical household income
$43,649U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
83%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$570 a yearNew Mexico: $1,731
Homes built before 1940
2%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
3%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
2%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 23% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Albuquerque metro area, not Meadow Lake 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, 2020-2024 Census survey
4,259The Census Bureau makes yearly estimates only for incorporated towns
Median age
39.4 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
11%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
30%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
13%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
2%U.S.: 6%
College students
8%share of all residents

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 (23%); arts, recreation, lodging and restaurants (16%); construction (15%)
Unemployment rate
5%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
41 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
11%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
21%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Presbyterian Hospital, Albuquerque, NM, about 20 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 2 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

There are no public schools inside Meadow Lake itself. The nearest public high school is Valencia High, about 6 miles away.

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.

Internet

Homes with cable, fiber or DSL internet
57%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
75%U.S.: 91%

Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.

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

Weather

January average low
19°F
July average high
93°F
Days 90°F or hotter
92 a year
Nights at or below freezing
152 a year
Rain and melted snow
9.2 inches a year
Snow
5 inches a year
Elevation
5,306 feet

Weather station: Los Lunas 3 SSW (11 miles away). 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

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: Presbyterian Hospital, Albuquerque, Tucson.

Valencia 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:

  • Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument21 miles
  • Petroglyph National Monument23 miles

Read about Meadow Lake's history on Wikipedia.

Know Meadow Lake?

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

Smaller places

  • Monterey Park, NM (unincorporated)667 people, 6 miles
  • Valencia, NM (unincorporated)2,406 people, 7 miles
  • Chical, NM (unincorporated)141 people, 7 miles
  • Las Maravillas, NM (unincorporated)1,594 people, 7 miles
  • Tome, NM (unincorporated)1,723 people, 10 miles
  • Isleta, NM (unincorporated)1,043 people, 10 miles
  • Adelino, NM (unincorporated)686 people, 11 miles
  • Sausal, NM (unincorporated)602 people, 14 miles

Sources

  1. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
  2. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates
  3. Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions)
  4. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
  6. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
  7. National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal)
  8. National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024
  9. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
  10. U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
  11. National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
  12. National Park Service, park unit boundaries
  13. USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
  14. U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Gazetteer files and 2020 urban areas

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.