Census-designated place · Santa Fe County, New Mexico

El Rancho, New Mexico

El Rancho is a census-designated place in Santa Fe County, New Mexico, part of the Santa Fe, NM metro area. It has 1,451 residents. El Rancho, New Mexico has a quality-of-life score of 52 out of 100 (moderate), ranking #7,498 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within New Mexico it ranks #17 of 163 cities and towns. It ranks best on fine particulate matter (PM2.5) (low), preventable hospital stays (low) and mental health providers (high). It ranks worst on drug overdose deaths (high), primary care shortage (high) and child poverty rate (high).

52Moderate

Quality-of-life score: #7,498 of 15,651 cities and towns
New Mexico: #17 of 163 in NM
Population: 1,451 (2020-2024)
Land area: 2 mi²
Density: 691.3 /mi²
FIPS code: 3523840

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 74 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.

Safety17#12,974/15,637
Economy45#8,583/15,631
Housing66#5,060/14,977
Health59#6,346/15,609
Healthcare59#6,382/15,650
Environment90#1,606/15,453
Education35#10,223/15,649
Infrastructure25#11,713/15,650
Community46#8,488/15,651
Leisure & amenities79#3,257/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) · low4.2 µg/m³
99/100New Mexico 5.9 µg/m³United States 8.0 µg/m³2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencySanta Fe County value
Preventable hospital stays · low1,349 /100k
98/100New Mexico 2,042 /100kUnited States 2,769 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteSanta Fe County value
Mental health providers · high830 /100k
98/100New Mexico 480 /100kUnited States 348 /100k2025University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteSanta Fe County value
Arts, entertainment and recreation · high10.7 /10k
96/100New Mexico 4.0 /10kUnited States 5.5 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsSanta Fe County value
Hospital quality rating · high4.5
94/100New Mexico 2.5United States 3.2Jul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesSanta Fe County value
Unemployment rate · low0.9%
92/100New Mexico 4.2%United States 4.3%2020-2024U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Census table B23025High uncertainty

Weaknesses

Drug overdose deaths · high67.3 /100k
1/100New Mexico 46.4 /100kUnited States 18.4 /100kMar 2025–Feb 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataSanta Fe County value
Primary care shortage · high17.4
7/100New Mexico 16.1United States 6.2Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationSanta Fe County value
Child poverty rate · high31.9%
9/100New Mexico 20.5%United States 15.5%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001
Math scores · low2.61
9/100New Mexico 2.70United States 3.032018University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteSanta Fe County value
Drought exposure · high82%
10/100New Mexico 84%United States 43%Oct 2025–Sep 2026National Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAASanta Fe County value
Property crime rate · high1,940 /100k
15/100New Mexico 2,240 /100kUnited States 1,535 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationSanta Fe County value

Trends

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

PopulationRising
1,183 (2015-2019) → 1,451 (2020-2024)
+23%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
63.6% (2015-2019) → 90.6% (2020-2024)
+27 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
25.0% (2015-2019) → 41.8% (2020-2024)
+17 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Child poverty rateWorsening
15.2% (2015-2019) → 31.9% (2020-2024)
+17 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
23.9% (2015-2019) → 35.7% (2020-2024)
+12 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
Poverty rateWorsening
9.3% (2015-2019) → 19.6% (2020-2024)
+10 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 Rancho, New Mexico improved on 2 of 9 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 7 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.

Improved2

Broadband+27 points63.6% → 90.6%
Bachelor's++12 points23.9% → 35.7%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 9 measures

Change of every measure of El Rancho, New Mexico between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	26.5 min2015-2019	28.8 min2020-2024	+2.3 min	Within the margin of error	25%
Bachelor's degree or higher	23.9%2015-2019	35.7%2020-2024	+12 points	Improved	93%
Broadband subscriptions	63.6%2015-2019	90.6%2020-2024	+27 points	Improved	97%
Effective property tax rate	0.49%2015-2019	0.43%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Within the margin of error	28%
High school diploma or higher	92.6%2015-2019	96.3%2020-2024	+3.7 points	Within the margin of error	74%
Home price to income ratio	4.0×2015-2019	3.5×2020-2024	−0.5×	Within the margin of error	93%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4322015-2019	0.4222020-2024	−0.010	Within the margin of error	59%
Median household income	$56,2502015-2019	$80,4172020-2024	+43%	Within the margin of error	78%
Rent as share of income	23.0%2015-2019	24.1%2020-2024	+1.1 points	Within the margin of error	46%

“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 Rancho, New Mexico five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of El Rancho, 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 Rancho, New Mexico itself moved +10.5 points in standing on average over the same 9 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

1,451 residents (±317)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69
50–59†
40–49†
30–39†
20–29†
10–19†
Under 10†

Share of all residents, each sex

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: 50–59 women (−5.8 points).

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

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B01001View table on data.census.gov

Race and Hispanic origin

1,451 residents (±317)

El Rancho, New Mexico
New Mexico share

White23%328
Black0.2%†3
Hispanic or Latino72%1,051

Education

994 residents (±169)

El Rancho, New Mexico
New Mexico share

No high school diploma3.7%†37
High school or GED25%245
Some college29%†286

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Income

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

Household income

609 households (±113)

El Rancho, New Mexico
New Mexico share

Under $25k10%†63
$25k–50k27%†164
$50k–75k12%71
$75k–100k5.6%†34
$100k–150k17%101
$150k–200k18%†109
$200k or more11%67

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Under $25k (−9.5 points).

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

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B19001View table on data.census.gov

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Homes

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

Owners and renters

609 households (±113)

El Rancho, New Mexico
New Mexico share

Own78%474
Rent22%135

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

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B25003View table on data.census.gov

Rent paid

111 households (±29)

El Rancho, New Mexico
New Mexico share

Under $75012%†13
$750–1,00034%†38
$1,000–1,50027%†

Home values

474 homes (±108)

El Rancho, New Mexico
New Mexico share

Under $150k28%†135
$150k–250k16%†75
$250k–400k21%98

Age of homes

666 homes (±112)

El Rancho, New Mexico
New Mexico share

2010 or later3.5%†23
2000–200911%74
1980–199940%†265

Size of homes

666 homes (±112)

El Rancho, New Mexico
New Mexico share

Studio1.2%†8
1 bedroom7.1%†47
2 bedrooms27%†183

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

623 workers (±120)

El Rancho, New Mexico
New Mexico share

Drive alone83%519
Carpool7.2%†45
Public transit0.0%0
Walk1.0%†6
Bike0.0%0
Work from home7.4%†46
Other1.1%†7

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Work from home (+5.6 points).

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

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B08301View table on data.census.gov

Time to get to work

577 workers (±120)

El Rancho, New Mexico
New Mexico share

Under 15 min8.8%†51
15–29 min40%†230
30–44 min40%†232

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

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 Santa Fe, 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 Santa Fe County, the county holding most of El Rancho's residents.

Santa Fe County has 4,976 employer establishments, 318 for every 10,000 residents (1.28× the US rate of 248; 1.50× New Mexico's), with 48,934 paid employees at an average annual pay of $52,618. The Census Bureau also counts 17,772 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 4,976; 17,772 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 318; US 248 · New Mexico 212
Paid employees: 48,934
Average annual pay: $52,618; US $68,342

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

Ambulatory health care services	446	28.5	1.37×More than typical	4,090	$75,286	1,621
Restaurants and other eating places	361	23.1	1.26×More than typical	6,989	$30,565	56
Specialty trade contractors	315	20.1	1.30×More than typical	1,717	$50,511	704
Lessors of real estate	271	17.3	1.41×More than typical	709	$64,157	1,580
Construction of buildings	211	13.5	1.78×More than typical	981	$56,491	476
Full-service restaurants	174	11.1	1.45×More than typical	4,158	$33,813	22
Offices of other health practitioners	154	9.8	1.62×More than typical	443	$49,278	998
Management, scientific and technical consulting	141	9	1.34×More than typical	258	$85,236	952
Clothing and accessories stores	139	8.9	2.45×More than typical	1,000	$31,984	170
Limited-service restaurants	133	8.5	1.06×About typical	2,359	$26,348	22
Building equipment contractors	132	8.4	1.40×More than typical	687	$57,061	165
Services to buildings and dwellings	129	8.2	1.22×About typical	1,240	$34,154	754

Rank places for an industry Open Santa Fe County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 156,379 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

No federal contract obligations recorded here in FY2026.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: El Rancho is mostly in Santa Fe County.

See federal money in Santa Fe 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 Rancho, New Mexico is split between congressional districts: each representative is shown with the share of its residents in their district (current boundaries).