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-BLACK-ROCK-NM · Black Rock, NM 1,108 pop · income 28th pct
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 Black Rock
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Black Rock on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Lucama · lowest
34,583
Lucama · lowest
34,583 median HH income
34.1% of the leader · rank #1
East Frankfort · near
55,346
East Frankfort · near
55,346 median HH income
54.6% of the leader · rank #2
Black Rock · this city
55,350
Black Rock · this city
55,350 median HH income
54.6% of the leader · rank #3
St. Matthews · near
55,351
St. Matthews · near
55,351 median HH income
54.6% of the leader · rank #4
Lehigh · near
55,353
Lehigh · near
55,353 median HH income
54.6% of the leader · rank #5
Waldorf · near
55,357
Waldorf · near
55,357 median HH income
54.6% of the leader · rank #6
Fruitland · highest
101,375
Fruitland · highest
101,375 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
Out-of-state nearest neighbors for Black Rock on ACS population and median household income
. 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: 1,108.
Measured against every US city with at least 1,000 residents, Black Rock lands in the 28th percentile for household income. Source: Census ACS.
28th
percentile, household income
4th
percentile, home value
39th
percentile, median rent
📝 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: Black Rock, NM
1,108 people live in Black Rock, New Mexico - a small town by U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. Black Rock households earn a median of $55,350 annually, below the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 31.3%. Typical homes in Black Rock are valued around $80,000, and the median resident age is 28.8 years. Educational attainment runs 13.9% of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher. Separately, 56.0% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
Living costs in New Mexico run below the national norm: the state registers 92.2 on a 100-equals-national-average index (Below Average) per BEA Regional Price Parities 2024. 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. On FEMA's National Risk Index, this area rates 58.9 out of 100 for natural-hazard exposure (Moderate).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Black Rock'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 comparison shortlist to work and mobility to housing and income; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Black Rock, city-specific coverage includes commute-mode shares.
No matched row is reported here for matched public-school count, local building permits, FBI reported-crime rates, within-city Census tract profiles, annual population history; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
1. Comparison shortlist
Which cities make useful reference points for Black Rock?
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.
Within New Mexico, the closest population matches are Spencerville (1,100 residents, $60,708 income); Springer (1,098 residents, $48,188 income); Ponderosa Pine (1,091 residents, $83,864 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Poquonock Bridge, CT (1,108 residents); Bolivar, NY (1,108 residents); Lucama, NC (1,108 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.
What does the journey to work look like in Black Rock?
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 75.2%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. Remote work has a visible role in the local pattern. That can reduce commute exposure for some workers, but it says nothing about job availability or broadband quality; read it alongside income and housing rather than as a stand-alone lifestyle score.
How far does income reach against housing in Black Rock?
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. The ratio makes housing the clearest place to start this profile, but a low multiple can coexist with slow demand, older stock, or household-level hardship. Compare the home-value distribution and same-state peer table before treating it as an advantage.
The home-value-to-income reference is relatively compact: the ACS median home value is 1.4 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 31.3%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
Below median income · poverty 31.3% (Highest-decile poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
92.2 (US=100)
Affordable · BEA RPP 2024, New Mexico average
F
City profile score · Black Rock, NM
31/100
4 published dimensions · ACS/FBI 2023
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.
Household income F
$55,350
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Bachelor's+ share F
13.9%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Poverty rate F
31.3%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Violent crime N/A
N/A
No FBI UCR violent-crime rate for this place (coverage is incomplete).
Black Rock profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Cost of living: 77/100 (B+) · 92.2 index
Household income: 28/100 (F) · $55,350
Bachelor's+ share: 17/100 (F) · 13.9%
Poverty rate: 0/100 (F) · 31.3%
How does Black Rock compare to other US cities?
Black Rock measured against every US city with 1,000+ residents, computed live from the same Census and FBI data shown throughout this page.
Household income28% higher than other cities
Home value4% pricier than other cities
Median rent39% pricier than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Black Rock 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 Black Rock near the bottom of New Mexico's cities
Among the 409 New Mexico cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Black Rock ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Black Rock only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#163 of 324
50th percentile in New Mexico
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 409
0th percentile in New Mexico
Median Home Value
#278 of 324
14th percentile in New Mexico
Poverty Rate
#79 of 408
81st percentile in New Mexico
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#237 of 409
42nd 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
28th percentile nationally for median household income. Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
How Black Rock's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$80,000Among the most affordablemore affordable than 96% 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
Black Rock's home-value-to-income ratio: 1.4×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
affordable
< 3.0×
National rank
#320 of 15,516
More affordable than 98% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#315 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 1.4×, Black Rock sits in the affordable band:
national rank #320 of 15,516 and #315 of 11,323micro cities (under 10,000).
The multiple is comparatively compact among tracked cities, but a low ratio can still coexist with slow demand or household-level hardship.
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
$55,350Black Rock, NM median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Black Rock, 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 Black Rock, NM.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)13.9%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)31.3%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)56.0%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
1,108
Median Income
$55,350
Median Home Value
$80,000
Median Age
28.8
Poverty Rate
31.3%
Labor force participation
56.0%
Bachelor's Degree+
13.9%
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
75.2%
Carpool
4.4%
Public Transit
2.2%
Walk
0.0%
Work from Home
17.6%
Other
0.6%
Based on 459 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 Black Rock. 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 Black Rock 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 Black Rock sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Black Rock 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, 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.