City · Bernalillo County, New Mexico

Albuquerque, New Mexico

Albuquerque is a city in Bernalillo County, New Mexico, part of the Albuquerque, NM metro area. It has 562,218 residents. Albuquerque, New Mexico has a quality-of-life score of 30 out of 100 (low), ranking #10,910 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within New Mexico it ranks #40 of 163 cities and towns. It ranks best on distance to an airport (low), new business applications (high) and mental health providers (high). It ranks worst on property crime rate (high), violent crime rate (high) and drug overdose deaths (high).

30Low

Quality-of-life score: #10,910 of 15,651 cities and towns
New Mexico: #40 of 163 in NM
Population: 562,218 (2020-2024)
Land area: 187 mi²
Density: 3,002.3 /mi²
FIPS code: 3502000

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 75 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety1#15,484/15,637
Economy32#10,626/15,631
Housing32#10,223/14,977
Health30#10,880/15,609
Healthcare49#7,981/15,650
Environment38#9,563/15,453
Education59#6,432/15,649
Infrastructure71#4,584/15,650
Community38#9,757/15,651
Leisure & amenities41#9,286/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Albuquerque, New Mexico ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Bernalillo County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Distance to an airport · low8 mi
98/100New Mexico 56 miUnited States 33 mi2025Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauBernalillo County value
New business applications · high33.6 /1k
98/100New Mexico 19.2 /1kUnited States 16.6 /1k2025U.S. Census BureauBernalillo County value
Mental health providers · high596 /100k
93/100New Mexico 480 /100kUnited States 348 /100k2025University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteBernalillo County value
Preventable hospital stays · low1,797 /100k
91/100New Mexico 2,042 /100kUnited States 2,769 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteBernalillo County value
Distance to an Amtrak station · low6 mi
89/100New Mexico 43 miUnited States 43 mi2026Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauBernalillo County value
Primary care physicians · high108 /100k
87/100New Mexico 75 /100kUnited States 76 /100k2022University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteBernalillo County value

Weaknesses

Property crime rate · high3,583 /100k
1/100New Mexico 2,240 /100kUnited States 1,535 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationBernalillo County value
Violent crime rate · high957 /100k
1/100New Mexico 622 /100kUnited States 328 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationBernalillo County value
Drug overdose deaths · high52.9 /100k
1/100New Mexico 46.4 /100kUnited States 18.4 /100kMar 2025–Feb 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataBernalillo County value
Mental health care shortage · high19.2
1/100New Mexico 16.6United States 9.9Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationBernalillo County value
Drought exposure · high98%
3/100New Mexico 84%United States 43%Oct 2025–Sep 2026National Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAABernalillo County value
Injury deaths · high146 /100k
4/100New Mexico 134 /100kUnited States 87 /100k2019-2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteBernalillo County value

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

Broadband subscriptionsImproving
80.3% (2015-2019) → 90.5% (2020-2024)
+10 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Median household incomeImproving
$52,911 (2015-2019) → $68,317 (2020-2024)
+29%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Child poverty rateImproving
24.0% (2015-2019) → 19.9% (2020-2024)
−4.1 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
35.2% (2015-2019) → 39.2% (2020-2024)
+4 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
Home price to income ratioWorsening
3.7× (2015-2019) → 4.3× (2020-2024)
+14%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
High school diploma or higherImproving
89.7% (2015-2019) → 91.2% (2020-2024)
+1.5 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 88.0% → 89.6%

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Albuquerque, New Mexico improved on 5 of 15 measures with a comparison and declined on 3. 6 moved within the margin of error and 1 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved5

Child poverty−4.1 points24.0% → 19.9%
Broadband+10 points80.3% → 90.5%
Bachelor's++4 points35.2% → 39.2%
Poverty−1.3 points16.9% → 15.5%
Household income+29%$52,911 → $68,317

Declined3

Uninsured+1.1 points9.1% → 10.2%
Transit use−1 points1.9% → 0.9%
Price / income+0.5×3.7× → 4.3×

All 15 measures

Change of every measure of Albuquerque, New Mexico between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	21.8 min2015-2019	22.4 min2020-2024	+0.6 min	Within the margin of error	41%
Bachelor's degree or higher	35.2%2015-2019	39.2%2020-2024	+4 points	Improved	60%
Broadband subscriptions	80.3%2015-2019	90.5%2020-2024	+10 points	Improved	60%
Child poverty rate	24.0%2015-2019	19.9%2020-2024	−4.1 points	Improved	65%
Effective property tax rate	1.03%2015-2019	0.89%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Little change	46%
High school diploma or higher	89.7%2015-2019	91.2%2020-2024	+1.5 points	Within the margin of error	53%
Home price to income ratio	3.7×2015-2019	4.3×2020-2024	+0.5×	Declined	46%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4702015-2019	0.4612020-2024	−0.009	Within the margin of error	59%
Median household income	$52,9112015-2019	$68,3172020-2024	+29%	Improved	53%
Poverty rate	16.9%2015-2019	15.5%2020-2024	−1.3 points	Improved	57%
Public transit commuters	1.9%2015-2019	0.9%2020-2024	−1 points	Declined	18%
Rent as share of income	30.7%2015-2019	31.4%2020-2024	+0.7 points	Within the margin of error	49%
Rent-burdened households	51.3%2015-2019	52.4%2020-2024	+1.1 points	Within the margin of error	52%
Unemployment rate	5.6%2015-2019	5.4%2020-2024	−0.2 points	Within the margin of error	53%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	9.1%2015-2019	10.2%2020-2024	+1.1 points	Declined	34%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Albuquerque, New Mexico five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Albuquerque, New Mexico in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Albuquerque, New Mexico itself moved +0.9 points in standing on average over the same 10 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

562,218 residents (±82)

Men
Women

80 and over
70–79
60–69

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

243,733 households (±1,296)

Albuquerque, New Mexico
New Mexico share

Under $25k18%44,723
$25k–50k19%45,735
$50k–75k17%41,702

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

243,733 households (±1,296)

Albuquerque, New Mexico
New Mexico share

Own62%150,676
Rent38%93,057

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Own (+2.1 points).

Table view

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

275,085 workers (±2,880)

Albuquerque, New Mexico
New Mexico share

Drive alone71%194,504
Carpool9.4%25,821
Public transit0.9%2,406

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the Albuquerque, NM

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Bernalillo County, the county holding most of Albuquerque's residents.

Bernalillo County has 16,349 employer establishments, 243 for every 10,000 residents (0.98× the US rate of 248; 1.15× New Mexico's), with 277,465 paid employees at an average annual pay of $55,010. The Census Bureau also counts 48,869 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 16,349; 48,869 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 243; US 248 · New Mexico 212
Paid employees: 277,465
Average annual pay: $55,010; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Bernalillo County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Ambulatory health care services	1,443	21.5	1.03×About typical	17,186	$63,454	3,192
Restaurants and other eating places	1,329	19.8	1.08×About typical	28,758	$23,770	279
Specialty trade contractors	1,030	15.3	0.99×About typical	14,064	$63,292	2,276
Lessors of real estate	916	13.6	1.11×About typical	3,447	$53,348	5,291
Limited-service restaurants	671	10	1.25×About typical	14,103	$22,343	128
Legal services	611	9.1	1.69×More than typical	3,346	$98,295	563
Offices of other health practitioners	500	7.4	1.22×About typical	2,214	$47,536	1,699
Building equipment contractors	467	7	1.16×About typical	7,127	$70,929	548
Full-service restaurants	438	6.5	0.85×About typical	11,915	$25,918	91
Construction of buildings	418	6.2	0.82×About typical	4,139	$69,745	1,190
Automotive repair and maintenance	375	5.6	1.11×About typical	2,493	$47,066	486
Insurance agencies and brokerages	357	5.3	1.21×About typical	2,855	$70,122	693

Rank places for an industry Open Bernalillo County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 671,767 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated $469.4M of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Albuquerque, New Mexico: $835 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $469.4M; −9.3% vs FY2025
Per resident: $835; US $1,994
Sole-source: 14%; US 30%
Single offer: 27%; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Department of the Air Force$91.6M20%
Defense Threat Reduction Agency$57.6M12%
Bureau of Indian Affairs and Bureau of Indian Education$48.1M10%
Department of Veterans Affairs$42.6M9.1%
U.S. Customs and Border Protection$25.6M5.5%
Forest Service$23.8M5.1%
Department of the Navy$23.8M5.1%
Defense Logistics Agency$22.8M4.9%

Top recipients

APPLIED RESEARCH ASSOCIATES, INC.$98.1M21%
ADC LTD NM$25M5.3%
WESTWIND COMPUTER PRODUCTS, INC.$22.1M4.7%
AML GLOBAL LIMITED$21.4M4.6%
CACI, INC. - FEDERAL$11.3M2.4%

Spending by fiscal year

443.9MFY2017
552.4MFY2018
480.3MFY2019
826.4MFY2020
679.9MFY2021
531.6MFY2022
696.2MFY2023
638.5M

Top industries (NAICS)

Scientific research and development services · 5417$168M36%
Computer systems design and related services · 5415$55.1M12%
Management, scientific, and technical consulting services · 5416$31.6M6.7%
Architectural, engineering, and related services · 5413$24.2M5.2%
Petroleum and coal products manufacturing · 3241$21.4M4.6%

Largest awards whose ZIP code lies mostly in Albuquerque, New Mexico

F-22 TE-RECCS II$82.9M
APPLIED RESEARCH ASSOCIATES, INC.· Bernalillo County, NM· Research & development· May 9, 2023 – Jun 1, 2026· FA861123F0022
RASTER TASK ORDER 0008 - MAUI SPACE SURVEILLANCE COMPLEX (MSSC) MISSION EXECUTION$74.2M
THE BOEING COMPANY· Bernalillo County, NM· Research & development· Mar 20, 2020 – Apr 22, 2026· FA945120F0008
RASTER TO 09: SOR HOST AND SPACE SITUATIONAL AWARENESS (SHASSAM)$69.2M
THE BOEING COMPANY· Bernalillo County, NM· Research & development· Dec 13, 2019 – Jun 2, 2026· FA945120F0009
OPERATIONS FOR ALBUQUERQUE JCC AND OA/CTS

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Albuquerque, New Mexico, so they do not add up across cities.

Albuquerque, New Mexico's figures are part of those of Bernalillo County, NM ($6.4B in FY2026), never added to them: 7.3% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Albuquerque is mostly in Bernalillo County.

See federal money in Bernalillo County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Albuquerque, New Mexico is split between congressional districts: each representative is shown with the share of its residents in their district (current boundaries).

House

Senate

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Bernalillo County42100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Albuquerque, NM39

Other cities and towns in Bernalillo County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/3502000

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends