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.
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.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by population, income
Out-of-state nearest neighbors for Crystal 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: 302.
New Mexico's Crystal counts 302 residents. Source: Census ACS.
3rd
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: Crystal, NM
Census ACS 2023 estimates count 302 residents in Crystal, a small town within New Mexico. Home values in Crystal run a median of $75,800, and the median resident age is 35.7 years. About 15.1% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, while 38.9% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
Living costs in New Mexico run below the national norm: BEA Regional Price Parities 2024 puts New Mexico at 92.2 on a 100-equals-national-average scale (Below Average). 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. The average commute for Crystal workers runs 32.0 minutes, with 86.7% driving alone and 3.1% 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 Crystal'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; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Crystal, city-specific coverage includes commute-mode shares.
No matched row is reported here for FBI reported-crime rates, matched public-school count, within-city Census tract profiles, local building permits, annual population history; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
Question 1
Which cities make useful reference points for Crystal?
Within New Mexico, the closest population matches are Twin Forks (304 residents); Glen Acres (306 residents, $100,982 income); San Lorenzo (308 residents, $93,125 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are County Line, AL (302 residents); Crystal Springs, AR (302 residents); Hickory Ridge, AR (302 residents). These are mechanical peer sets, not claims that the places share a labor market, climate, culture, or metro context.
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.
What does the journey to work look like in Crystal?
Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. The profile is strongly car-oriented, so a relocation comparison should put trip distance, vehicle access, and household fuel costs ahead of a citywide commute average. The same-state peer links offer a more relevant benchmark than a national label.
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 86.7%. The reported mean trip to work is 32.0 minutes.
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 F
15.1%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Poverty rate F
21.1%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Household income N/A
N/A
No ACS median household income on file for this place.
Violent crime N/A
N/A
No FBI UCR violent-crime rate for this place (coverage is incomplete).
Crystal profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Cost of living: 77/100 (B+) · 92.2 index
Bachelor's+ share: 20/100 (F) · 15.1%
Poverty rate: 11/100 (F) · 21.1%
How does Crystal compare to other US cities?
Crystal measured against every US city with 1,000+ residents, computed live from the same Census and FBI data shown throughout this page.
Home value3% 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 Crystal 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 Crystal near the bottom of New Mexico's cities
Among the 409 New Mexico cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Crystal ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Crystal only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 409
0th percentile in New Mexico
Median Home Value
#284 of 324
12th percentile in New Mexico
Poverty Rate
#131 of 408
68th percentile in New Mexico
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#222 of 409
45th 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.
How Crystal's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$75,800Among the most affordablemore affordable than 97% 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
Income distribution context
Median household income is not available for Crystal in the current Census ACS release (common for very small places).
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)15.1%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)21.1%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)38.9%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
302
Median Income
N/A
Median Home Value
$75,800
Median Age
35.7
Poverty Rate
21.1%
Labor force participation
38.9%
Bachelor's Degree+
15.1%
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Average Commute Time
32.0 minutes
Drive Alone
86.7%
Carpool
10.2%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
0.0%
Work from Home
3.1%
Based on 98 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 Crystal. 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 Crystal 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 Crystal sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Crystal 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.