Side-by-side metrics and state or size-class ranks use the same Census and FBI fields shown on this profile. Results stay in the URL so you can bookmark or share them.
Place dossier plate
SheetNM-ALAMOGORDO-NM · Alamogordo, NM 31,063 pop · income 24th pct · 21 tracts
Instrument codes from this place’s ACS population and household income, BEA state COL, FBI safety, national income percentile, photo-finish peer city, home-value band, and matched Census-tract book - not a moving recommendation.
Income neighbourhood around Alamogordo
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Alamogordo on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Morristown · lowest
44,811
Morristown · lowest
44,811 median HH income
17.9% of the leader · rank #1
Avon · near
52,500
Avon · near
52,500 median HH income
21.0% of the leader · rank #2
Malvern · near
52,500
Malvern · near
52,500 median HH income
21.0% of the leader · rank #3
South Bend · near
52,512
South Bend · near
52,512 median HH income
21.0% of the leader · rank #4
Alamogordo · this city
52,515
Alamogordo · this city
52,515 median HH income
21.0% of the leader · rank #5
Russellville · near
52,529
Russellville · near
52,529 median HH income
21.0% of the leader · rank #6
Southlake · highest
250,001
Southlake · highest
250,001 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #7
What this shows Neighbourhood peers only - not a full nationwide city board. Open a near peer when the gap is small; open the poles when the spread is wide.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by population, income, and FBI crime rate
Out-of-state nearest neighbors for Alamogordo on ACS population and median household income
, plus FBI UCR reporting rate when the extract covers this place. Link sets are deduped so each column is a distinct comparison path, not a forecast that peers share a labor market or climate.
Similar population
Nearest out-of-state cities by ACS population. This city: 31,063.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Alamogordo - the verdict
Measured against every US city with at least 1,000 residents, Alamogordo lands in the 24th percentile for household income and the 14th percentile for safety. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
24th
percentile, household income
31st
percentile, home value
39th
percentile, median rent
14th
percentile, safety
📝 How we sourced this
Population, income, and housing-cost figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates (B-series tables). Crime data uses FBI UCR; climate uses NOAA Climate Normals; school counts come from NCES Common Core of Data; permits use the Census Building Permits Survey (BPS). See our methodology page for the full ETL pipeline and OMB / FIPS join keys.
Data Snapshot: Alamogordo, NM
New Mexico's Alamogordo is a small city, with 31,063 residents per the latest Census Bureau ACS figures. The typical household in Alamogordo brings in $52,515 a year, in the lower quartile of U.S. cities for household income, with a poverty rate of 13.1%. Typical homes in Alamogordo are valued around $163,600, and the median resident age is 37.7 years. About 25.2% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, while 46.6% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
Alamogordo's reported crime rate runs above the national norm: FBI UCR figures show 3181.4 crimes per 100,000 residents, above the national average (reporting is voluntary across agencies, so treat this as reporting activity rather than a definitive danger score). NOAA climate normals record an annual average temperature of 63.1°F with 10.6 inches of precipitation per year and 2.4 inches of snowfall.
Living costs in New Mexico run below the national norm: on BEA's 100-equals-national-average cost index, New Mexico scores 92.2 (Below Average), per the 2024 Regional Price Parities release. Statewide, HUD pegs Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom unit at $1,129 monthly. Statewide, average monthly utility bills in New Mexico run around $167, per EIA 2023 residential energy data. Workers in Alamogordo report an average commute of 16.6 minutes, with 80.1% driving alone and 6.5% working from home. FEMA's National Risk Index rates natural-hazard exposure at 58.9 out of 100 (Moderate).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Alamogordo's data
How this reading path is ordered
This is not a composite city score. It is a city-specific route through the available public records, ordered for this profile so the page starts with questions the joined data can actually answer. The route here runs from schools and households to comparison shortlist to housing and income to within-city variation to reported crime to climate and hazard context to work and mobility to population change; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Alamogordo, city-specific coverage includes within-city Census tract profiles, commute-mode shares, annual population history, FBI reported-crime rates, matched public-school count.
No matched row is reported here for local building permits; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
1. Schools and households
What does the education layer cover for Alamogordo?
The city has a broader matched school footprint, but count alone does not describe performance, capacity, program availability, or attendance boundaries. This profile deliberately avoids converting it into an unsupported family-friendliness score.
The NCES join finds 11 public schools within the city match. 25.2% of adults age 25+ hold a bachelor's degree or higher in the ACS estimate. These measures answer different questions: the school count describes local institutions, while adult attainment describes residents and cannot be used as a school-quality rating.
Which cities make useful reference points for Alamogordo?
Use the in-state set to hold state policy and broad price conditions more nearly constant. Use the nationwide size set to ask whether cities with a similar resident count produce different housing, income, or commute outcomes. The income set is a third lens, deliberately separate from population matching. The nationwide peer panel below adds a fourth FBI UCR reporting-rate lens, not personal risk.
Within New Mexico, the closest population matches are Carlsbad (31,813 residents, $78,277 income); South Valley (36,605 residents, $51,062 income); Clovis (38,153 residents, $54,029 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Southlake, TX (31,044 residents); Lawndale, CA (31,113 residents); North Royalton, OH (31,013 residents). A third, income-matched reference set of 6 out-of-state cities sits in the income neighbourhood chart near the Place Dossier plate. These are mechanical peer sets, not claims that the places share a labor market, climate, culture, or metro context.
How far does income reach against housing in Alamogordo?
This is a citywide price-to-income reference, not a mortgage-affordability test; it does not include interest rates, taxes, insurance, household size, or an individual buyer's down payment. Income and home value move within the same broad scale here. The useful next check is not a generic affordability label, but whether similar-size cities offer a materially different income, housing, or commute trade-off.
The home-value-to-income reference sits in a middle range: the ACS median home value is 3.1 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 13.1%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
What can 21 Census tracts reveal inside Alamogordo?
PlainCities matches 21 Census tracts to this city.
That layer breaks the citywide income, rent, and home-value medians into smaller Census geographies, which can reveal differences that one municipal median necessarily hides. A tract is a statistical area, not a locally defined neighborhood or a promise about conditions on a particular block. Start with the city profile for the broad comparison, then use the tract layer to test whether the same housing and income pattern is consistent across the city. Large within-city spreads are a reason to avoid treating any citywide median as a universal resident experience.
These joined records add useful context, but they do not need another full-size panel. Each remains a separate measure with its own geography and source boundary.
Reported crime
What can the FBI record say about safety in Alamogordo?
The joined FBI UCR record reports 3181.4 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, above the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 40% higher in arithmetic terms, but agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies.
Treat this as a reporting-rate comparison, not a prediction of personal risk or a neighborhood-level safety grade. Tourism, daytime population, reporting practices, and variation inside the city are not adjusted away. The state rank and same-state peer table are the narrower comparisons available on this page.
Total reported rate
3181.4
Violent rate
334.4
Property rate
2847.0
FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, incidents per 100,000. Voluntary agency reporting; not a danger score.
What physical conditions frame life in Alamogordo?
The two sources should not be blended into one comfort or safety score. Use the climate values for baseline conditions and the risk index as a prompt to inspect specific hazards, insurance, and local emergency guidance for a particular address.
NOAA normals put the annual mean temperature at 63.1°F, with 10.6 inches of precipitation and 2.4 inches of annual snowfall. FEMA's state-averaged National Risk Index score for New Mexico is 58.9 out of 100. Climate normals describe long-run weather; the FEMA score on PlainCities is a state average of county NRI inputs and combines hazards, exposure, vulnerability, and resilience.
FEMA risk index (state avg)
58.9
Annual precipitation
10.6 in
Mean temperature
63.1°F
NOAA Climate Normals and FEMA National Risk Index (state-averaged on PlainCities). Hazard context is not address-level.
What does the journey to work look like in Alamogordo?
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 80.1%. The reported mean trip to work is 16.6 minutes.
Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. No single mode completely explains the work trip here. The mix is more useful than a one-number commute grade, especially when comparing places where transit, walking, and remote work divide the non-driving share differently.
Drive alone
80.1%
Work from home
6.5%
Public transit
0.5%
City-level Census ACS commuting estimates covering 13,652 workers age 16+.
Is Alamogordo growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
Census PEP estimates show the population grew by +975 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +3.2% change. No comparable local building-permit series is available here, so population change should not be read as a housing-supply measure. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
Recent estimates point upward. Growth can increase housing demand and service needs, but the permit record must move in the same direction before calling it a supply response; the two series measure different things.
2020 estimate
30,931
2025 estimate
31,906
Period change
+3.2%
Census Population Estimates Program, 2020–2025; permit context uses Census BPS.
Comparative score against U.S. cities with population of 1,000 or more on Census ACS medians
(income, poverty, bachelor's share, cost of living) and FBI UCR violent-crime rates when
published. Higher means a stronger standing on those published figures, not a livability
rating, not a recommendation to move, buy, or pick a "best" city. Missing inputs drop out
and redistribute weight.
How it is calculated.
Cost of living B+
92.2 index
BEA state Regional Price Parities index (100 ≈ national average); lower is stronger on this axis. Same value for every city in the state.
Bachelor's+ share D
25.2%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Violent crime F
334 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Poverty rate F
13.1%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Household income F
$52,515
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Alamogordo profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Cost of living: 77/100 (B+) · 92.2 index
Bachelor's+ share: 49/100 (D) · 25.2%
Violent crime: 28/100 (F) · 334 /100k
Poverty rate: 27/100 (F) · 13.1%
Household income: 24/100 (F) · $52,515
Where Alamogordo sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Alamogordo's median home value and FBI crime rate plotted with similar-size and
same-state peers (padded with large cities when the peer set is thin). The second
read: pricey does not always mean safer, check which quadrant this city lands in.
Census ACS median home value vs FBI UCR crime rate - Alamogordo highlighted among 9 peers.Read the chart values
Alamogordo, NM (this city): home $163,600, crime 3,181/100k
Southlake, TX : home $957,500, crime 1,032/100k
Lawndale, CA : home $726,000, crime 2,459/100k
Hopkinsville, KY : home $140,200, crime 2,952/100k
Morristown, TN : home $155,700, crime 3,236/100k
Carlsbad, NM : home $187,900, crime 3,316/100k
Hobbs, NM : home $180,700, crime 4,542/100k
Gallup, NM : home $134,600, crime 5,400/100k
Los Lunas, NM : home $232,700, crime 3,496/100k
How does Alamogordo compare to other US cities?
Where Alamogordo sits among all US cities (population 1,000+) on each measure, computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income24% higher than other cities
Home value31% pricier than other cities
Median rent39% pricier than other cities
Safety14% safer than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
A national percentile can hide a lot of local variation: narrowed to New Mexico alone, Alamogordo ranks #29 of 42 New Mexico cities by lowest crime rate - a different, more locally useful comparison than stacking it against the entire country.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Alamogordo against every qualifying US city; each in-state rank narrows that to New Mexico only. Full formula and direction notes: methodology.
New Mexico-relative analysis
Median Gross Rent places Alamogordo near the bottom of New Mexico's cities
Among the 409 New Mexico cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Alamogordo ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Alamogordo only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#174 of 324
46th percentile in New Mexico
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 409
0th percentile in New Mexico
Median Home Value
#188 of 324
42nd percentile in New Mexico
Poverty Rate
#195 of 408
52nd percentile in New Mexico
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#137 of 409
67th percentile in New Mexico
How in-state ranks are ordered
Ranked by raw value (highest first); a higher rank is not automatically "better" for every measure, see each metric's own context above. This is a comparison within New Mexico only, not a livability score. See the methodology for the source and calculation.
Gauge source note
24th percentile nationally for median household income · 14th percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Alamogordo's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Alamogordo's percentile rank on 3 favorable-direction measures (income, affordability, safety) vs. every tracked US city -- higher on every axis is more favorable. Not a composite quality score, just the arithmetic mean of the axes shown.
How Alamogordo's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$163,600Among the most affordablemore affordable than 69% of 15,600 US cities
Show national distribution
Each bar is a $25K-wide band; taller bars hold more US cities. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2023
Alamogordo's home-value-to-income ratio: 3.1×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
moderate
3.0–5.0×
National rank
#7,254 of 15,516
More affordable than 53% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#1,064 of 3,317
Small cities (10,000–49,999)
At 3.1×, Alamogordo sits in the moderate band:
national rank #7,254 of 15,516 and #1,064 of 3,317small cities (10,000–49,999).
Income and home value move in the same broad scale; check same-state peers before treating the multiple as an advantage or a warning.
How this ratio is calculated
Ratio = Census ACS 2023 median home value ÷ median household income for cities with both fields and population ≥ 1,000.
Rank 1 = lowest ratio (most compact). Bands match the fleet affordability thresholds used on guides (<3.0 / 3.0–5.0 / >5.0).
This is not a mortgage payment estimate and does not include rates, taxes, insurance, or down payment.
Income distribution context
$52,515Alamogordo, NM median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Alamogordo, NM median household income (Census ACS 5-year) with U.S. national quintile shares for context. Diagonal = equality; the curve is national, not computed for Alamogordo, NM.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)25.2%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)13.1%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)46.6%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
31,063
Median Income
$52,515
Median Home Value
$163,600
Median Age
37.7
Poverty Rate
13.1%
Labor force participation
46.6%
Bachelor's Degree+
25.2%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
3181.4
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
334.4
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
2847.0
per 100,000 residents
Crime reporting caveat
Reflects incidents reported to the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting program — agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies by jurisdiction and year, so this reflects reporting activity, not a definitive danger score. Not adjusted for tourism, commuter, or daytime population.
Climate
Avg Temperature
63.1°F
Annual Precipitation
10.6"
Annual Snowfall
2.4"
Schools
Total Schools
11
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Alamogordo's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
30,931 residents
2021
31,194 residents
2022
31,304 residents
2023
31,763 residents
2024
32,064 residents
2025
31,906 residents
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Average Commute Time
16.6 minutes
Drive Alone
80.1%
Carpool
11.0%
Public Transit
0.5%
Walk
0.8%
Work from Home
6.5%
Other
1.1%
Based on 13,652 workers 16 and over.
Monthly Utility Costs
New Mexico statewide monthly utility average (EIA 2023): $167
EIA 2023 residential energy data puts average monthly utilities across New Mexico at $167 (electricity about $85 , water and sewer about $42 ).
These are New Mexico statewide averages, not a meter reading for Alamogordo. Actual bills vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.
Living Costs & Risk
New Mexico's BEA cost-of-living index is 92.2 (Below Average; US average = 100, RPP 2024). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in the county around Alamogordo is $1,129/mo. FEMA's National Risk Index, averaged to New Mexico statewide on PlainCities, rates natural-hazard exposure at 58.9 / 100 (Moderate).
Cost/risk geography note
Cost of living is a New Mexico statewide BEA average; rent is a county-level HUD Fair Market Rent for the county Alamogordo sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Alamogordo compares to similar-size New Mexico cities
Same-state peer method
Closest same-state population matches, not geographic neighbors. Population + median household income come from Census Bureau ACS 5-year B01001 and B19013.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year 2023, FBI UCR, NOAA Climate Normals, NCES CCD, Census ACS B08301/B08136, U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023, BEA Regional Price Parities 2024, HUD Fair Market Rents 2026, FEMA National Risk Index.