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Towns / New Mexico

Milan, New Mexico

Milan is a small town of about 2,500 people in Cibola County, New Mexico, about 6,500 feet above sea level. Its population has held about steady since 2020. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, Phoenix, is about 264 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
2,468
up 0.7% since 2020
Prices, rural New Mexico
85.9
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
4 miles
Grants, NM
To Phoenix
264 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 14.1% below the U.S. average in the parts of New Mexico outside metro areas.
  • More house for the moneyThe Census survey didn't reach enough homes in Milan to say.
  • A safer neighborhood8 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 3.2 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 8.9 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town1 public school. No public high school in town: the nearest is Gccs Early College High School, about 3 miles away.
  • A hospital close byCibola General Hospital in Grants, about 4 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityPhoenix is about 264 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 Milan 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

Home prices since then
Up 34%Cibola County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$851 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical property tax bill
$552 a yearNew Mexico: $1,731
Homes built before 1940
1%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
1%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
0%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
85.9U.S. average = 100 (the parts of New Mexico outside metro areas)

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 34% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of New Mexico outside metro areas, not Milan 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
2,4682020: 2,452
Median age
42.1 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
18%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
21%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
8%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 (16%)
Unemployment rate
4%U.S.: 5%
Work from home
3%U.S.: 15%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Cibola General Hospital, Grants, NM, about 4 miles away. It's a critical access hospital (a small rural hospital with 25 or fewer beds). Medicare hasn't given it a star rating.

Nearest general hospital: Crownpoint Healthcare Facility, Crownpoint, NM, about 40 miles away. Medicare hasn't given it a star rating.

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

1 public school in Milan, run by Grants. The nearest public high school is Gccs Early College High School, about 3 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
46%U.S.: 76%

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
15°F
July average high
88°F
Days 90°F or hotter
31 a year
Nights at or below freezing
192 a year
Rain and melted snow
9.7 inches a year
Snow
8 inches a year
Elevation
6,543 feet

Weather stations: Grants Milan Muni Ap (2 miles away) and Grants Ap (2 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

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: Cibola General Hospital, Rio Rancho, Phoenix.

Cibola County is outside any metro area, with 5,000 to 20,000 people in its towns, next to a metro area (USDA rural-urban code 6, 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:

  • El Malpais National Monument6 miles
  • El Morro National Monument27 miles
  • Chaco Culture National Historical Park35 miles

Read about Milan's history on Wikipedia.

Know Milan?

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

  • Broadview, NM (unincorporated)296 people, 2 miles
  • San Rafael, NM (unincorporated)1,039 people, 7 miles
  • Mount Taylor, NM (unincorporated)335 people, 7 miles
  • Bluewater Village, NM (unincorporated)133 people, 7 miles
  • Lobo Canyon, NM (unincorporated)492 people, 10 miles
  • Haystack, NM (unincorporated)250 people, 11 miles
  • Anzac Village, NM (unincorporated)185 people, 13 miles
  • Las Tusas, NM (unincorporated)999 people, 15 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.