Census-designated place · Valencia County, New Mexico

El Cerro Mission, New Mexico

El Cerro Mission is a census-designated place in Valencia County, New Mexico, part of the Albuquerque, NM metro area. It has 5,323 residents. El Cerro Mission, New Mexico has a quality-of-life score of 5 out of 100 (very low), ranking #14,906 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within New Mexico it ranks #128 of 163 cities and towns. It ranks best on job growth (high), rent as share of income (low) and preventable hospital stays (low). It ranks worst on high school diploma or higher (low), drought exposure (high) and grocery stores (low).

5Very low

Quality-of-life score: #14,906 of 15,651 cities and towns
New Mexico: #128 of 163 in NM
Population: 5,323 (2020-2024)
Land area: 6 mi²
Density: 904.8 /mi²
FIPS code: 3522582

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 72 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.

Safety8#14,445/15,637
Economy4#14,948/15,631
Housing94#890/14,977
Health6#14,724/15,609
Healthcare3#15,184/15,650
Environment64#5,517/15,453
Education1#15,509/15,649
Infrastructure5#14,799/15,650
Community2#15,288/15,651
Leisure & amenities1#15,472/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where El Cerro Mission, New Mexico ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Valencia 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

Job growth · high2.8%
93/100New Mexico -0.4%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataValencia County value
Rent as share of income · low18.5%
91/100New Mexico 30.1%United States 30.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25071
Preventable hospital stays · low1,854 /100k
89/100New Mexico 2,042 /100kUnited States 2,769 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteValencia County value
Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) · low6.2 µg/m³
87/100New Mexico 5.9 µg/m³United States 8.0 µg/m³2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyValencia County value
Days with unhealthy air · low0.0%
84/100New Mexico 4.3%2025U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyValencia County value
Effective property tax rate · low0.57%
82/100New Mexico 0.63%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090

Weaknesses

High school diploma or higher · low70.1%
1/100New Mexico 88.0%United States 89.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B15003
Drought exposure · high100%
1/100New Mexico 85%United States 43%Nov 2025–Oct 2026National Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAAValencia County value
Grocery stores · low0.5 /10k
1/100New Mexico 1.0 /10kUnited States 1.7 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsValencia County value
Poor or fair health · high36.3%
2/100New Mexico 25.1%United States 19.9%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Bachelor's degree or higher · low6.1%
2/100New Mexico 31.0%United States 35.7%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B15003
Food environment index · low5.4
2/100New Mexico 4.6United States 7.62019 & 2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteValencia County value

Trends

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

PopulationRising
4,170 (2015-2019) → 5,323 (2020-2024)
+28%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
79.4% (2015-2019) → 22.7% (2020-2024)
−57 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Rent as share of incomeImproving
51.0% (2015-2019) → 18.5% (2020-2024)
−33 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Child poverty rateImproving
56.2% (2015-2019) → 36.2% (2020-2024)
−20 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Median household incomeImproving
$31,941 (2015-2019) → $49,470 (2020-2024)
+55%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Poverty rateImproving
35.8% (2015-2019) → 25.0% (2020-2024)
−11 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%

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, El Cerro Mission, New Mexico improved on 1 of 11 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 10 moved within the margin of error and 0 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.

Improved1

Rent / income−33 points51.0% → 18.5%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 11 measures

Change of every measure of El Cerro Mission, New Mexico between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	32.7 min2015-2019	46.0 min2020-2024	+13.2 min	Within the margin of error	1%
Bachelor's degree or higher	11.8%2015-2019	6.1%2020-2024	−5.7 points	Within the margin of error	6%
Broadband subscriptions	72.0%2015-2019	79.5%2020-2024	+7.5 points	Within the margin of error	47%
Child poverty rate	56.2%2015-2019	36.2%2020-2024	−20 points	Within the margin of error	94%
Effective property tax rate	0.82%2015-2019	0.57%2020-2024	−0.3 points	Within the margin of error	67%
High school diploma or higher	71.6%2015-2019	70.1%2020-2024	−1.5 points	Within the margin of error	18%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4032015-2019	0.4142020-2024	+0.011	Within the margin of error	41%
Median household income	$31,9412015-2019	$49,4702020-2024	+55%	Within the margin of error	88%
Poverty rate	35.8%2015-2019	25.0%2020-2024	−11 points	Within the margin of error	94%
Rent as share of income	51.0%2015-2019	18.5%2020-2024	−33 points	Improved	100%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	20.8%2015-2019	15.5%2020-2024	−5.3 points	Within the margin of error	88%

“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 El Cerro Mission, New Mexico five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of El Cerro Mission, 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, El Cerro Mission, New Mexico itself moved +9 points in standing on average over the same 8 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

5,323 residents (±1,403)

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

1,595 households (±298)

El Cerro Mission, New Mexico
New Mexico share

Under $25k23%†368
$25k–50k29%†463
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

1,595 households (±298)

El Cerro Mission, New Mexico
New Mexico share

Own85%1,362
Rent15%†233

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

1,927 workers (±508)

El Cerro Mission, New Mexico
New Mexico share

Drive alone69%1,326
Carpool20%†387
Public transit0.0%0

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 Valencia County, the county holding most of El Cerro Mission's residents.

Valencia County has 962 employer establishments, 121 for every 10,000 residents (0.49× the US rate of 248; 0.57× New Mexico's), with 12,051 paid employees at an average annual pay of $39,838. The Census Bureau also counts 4,081 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 962; 4,081 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 121; US 248 · New Mexico 212
Paid employees: 12,051
Average annual pay: $39,838; US $68,342

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

Specialty trade contractors	112	14.1	0.91×About typical	888	$57,387	389
Restaurants and other eating places	82	10.3	0.56×Fewer than typical	1,541	$19,402	26
Ambulatory health care services	67	8.5	0.41×Fewer than typical	635	$46,769	211
Building equipment contractors	57	7.2	1.20×About typical	372	$59,613	79
Limited-service restaurants	45	5.7	0.71×Fewer than typical	879	$19,011	10
Construction of buildings	44	5.6	0.73×Fewer than typical	201	$42,587	159
Lessors of real estate	39	4.9	0.40×Fewer than typical	67	$26,358	289
Truck transportation	36	4.5	0.90×About typical	368	$57,864	159
Plumbing, heating and air-conditioning contractors	35	4.4	1.34×More than typical	258	$58,008	36
Religious organizations	31	3.9	0.71×Fewer than typical	214	$18,364	—
Full-service restaurants	29	3.7	0.48×Fewer than typical	584	$19,151	11
Foundation, structure and building exterior contractors	26	3.3	1.04×About typical	197	$53,553	78

Rank places for an industry Open Valencia County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 79,254 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 $43.1K of federal contract obligations were for work performed in El Cerro Mission, New Mexico: $8.10 per resident (US $2,007).

Obligations: $43.1K; −76% vs FY2025
Per resident: $8.10; US $2,007
Sole-source: 0.0%; US 30%
Single offer: 4.1%; US 8.7%

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

Top buying agencies

National Park Service$39.1K91%
Federal Aviation Administration$2,2245.2%
Forest Service$1,7794.1%

Top recipients

ORCOM, A DIVISION OF ORTEGA COMPANIES, INC$39.1K91%
BRANAT CONSTRUCTION LLC$2,2245.2%
MOUNTAIN AIR HELICOPTERS INC$1,7794.1%

Spending by fiscal year

12.1KFY2017
30.5KFY2018
-1.1KFY2019
4.2KFY2020
745.5FY2021
11.5KFY2022
14.7KFY2023
17.8KFY2024

Top industries (NAICS)

Residential building construction · 2361$39.1K91%
Utility system construction · 2371$2,2245.2%
Nonscheduled air transportation · 4812$1,7794.1%

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 9, 2026, loaded Oct 9, 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 El Cerro Mission, New Mexico, so they do not add up across cities.

El Cerro Mission, New Mexico's figures are part of those of Valencia County, NM ($150.5K in FY2026), never added to them: 29% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: El Cerro Mission is mostly in Valencia County.

See federal money in Valencia 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.

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

House

Senate

Explore Congress The 2026 races

County

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

Valencia County6100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Albuquerque, NM39

Other cities and towns in Valencia 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
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/3522582

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends