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Place dossier plate
SheetNM-GALLUP-NM · Gallup, NM 21,333 pop · income 31st pct · 33 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 Gallup
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Gallup on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Deming · lowest
35,920
Deming · lowest
35,920 median HH income
24.5% of the leader · rank #1
Marinette · near
57,461
Marinette · near
57,461 median HH income
39.2% of the leader · rank #2
Gallup · this city
57,466
Gallup · this city
57,466 median HH income
39.3% of the leader · rank #3
Sugar Creek · near
57,467
Sugar Creek · near
57,467 median HH income
39.3% of the leader · rank #4
Gray · near
57,472
Gray · near
57,472 median HH income
39.3% of the leader · rank #5
Fredericksburg · near
57,474
Fredericksburg · near
57,474 median HH income
39.3% of the leader · rank #6
Stevenson Ran… · highest
146,404
Stevenson Ran… · highest
146,404 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 Gallup 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: 21,333.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Gallup - the verdict
Measured against every US city with at least 1,000 residents, Gallup lands in the 31st percentile for household income and the 3rd percentile for safety. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
31st
percentile, household income
22nd
percentile, home value
39th
percentile, median rent
3rd
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: Gallup, NM
21,333 people live in Gallup, New Mexico - a small city by U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. Gallup households earn a median of $57,466 annually, below the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 23.7%. Gallup's housing stock carries a median value of $134,600, and the median resident age is 34.0 years. 22.6% of adults here have a bachelor's degree or higher; 52.1% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
In 2024, 8 residential building permits were authorized in Gallup (Building Boom), up 300% from five years earlier, per Census BPS data. Gallup's reported crime rate runs above the national norm: FBI UCR reporting places total crime at 5399.9 incidents per 100,000 residents, above the national average (voluntary agency reporting, reflects reporting activity, not a definitive danger score).
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. Commute times here average 17.1 minutes, with 83.1% driving alone and 6.5% working from home, per Census ACS commuting 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 Gallup'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 population change to comparison shortlist to housing and income to schools and households to work and mobility to reported crime to within-city variation; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Gallup, city-specific coverage includes local building permits, annual population history, matched public-school count, FBI reported-crime rates, within-city Census tract profiles, commute-mode shares.
All six city-specific enrichment layers used by this profile are present.
Question 1
Is Gallup growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
Census PEP estimates show the population declined by -1,823 residents from 2020 to 2025, a -8.4% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 8 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
Recent estimates point downward. A falling count can reflect migration, household size, annexation boundaries, or estimation noise, so it is a prompt to inspect the full series rather than a claim about local economic health.
Which cities make useful reference points for Gallup?
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 Los Lunas (17,932 residents, $63,696 income); Sunland Park (17,085 residents, $52,147 income); Chaparral (16,642 residents, $46,102 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Carlisle, PA (21,335 residents); Ashland, OR (21,343 residents); Stephenville, TX (21,345 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 Gallup?
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 2.3 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 23.7%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
PlainCities matches 33 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.
Schools and households
What does the education layer cover for Gallup?
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 18 public schools within the city match. 22.6% 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.
Poverty estimate
23.7%
Bachelor's degree+
22.6%
Matched public schools
18
NCES Common Core of Data school locations plus Census ACS resident characteristics.
What does the journey to work look like in Gallup?
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 83.1%. The reported mean trip to work is 17.1 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
83.1%
Work from home
6.5%
Public transit
2.4%
City-level Census ACS commuting estimates covering 8,130 workers age 16+.
What can the FBI record say about safety in Gallup?
The joined FBI UCR record reports 5399.9 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, above the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 137% 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
5399.9
Violent rate
1503.6
Property rate
3896.3
FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, incidents per 100,000. Voluntary agency reporting; not a danger score.
Below median income · poverty 23.7% (Highest-decile poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
92.2 (US=100)
Affordable · BEA RPP 2024, New Mexico average
F
City profile score · Gallup, NM
31/100
5 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.
Bachelor's+ share D
22.6%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Household income F
$57,466
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Poverty rate F
23.7%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Violent crime F
1,504 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Gallup profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Cost of living: 77/100 (B+) · 92.2 index
Bachelor's+ share: 42/100 (D) · 22.6%
Household income: 31/100 (F) · $57,466
Poverty rate: 8/100 (F) · 23.7%
Violent crime: 0/100 (F) · 1,504 /100k
Where Gallup sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Gallup'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 - Gallup highlighted among 9 peers.Read the chart values
Gallup, NM (this city): home $134,600, crime 5,400/100k
Carlisle, PA : home $212,400, crime 1,314/100k
Ashland, OR : home $573,700, crime 2,019/100k
Stephenville, TX : home $226,300, crime 1,341/100k
South Lake Tahoe, CA : home $630,200, crime 2,247/100k
Los Lunas, NM : home $232,700, crime 3,496/100k
Sunland Park, NM : home $194,900, crime 906/100k
Los Alamos, NM : home $458,200, crime 454/100k
Las Vegas, NM : home $143,900, crime 2,122/100k
How does Gallup compare to other US cities?
Where Gallup sits among all US cities (population 1,000+) on each measure, computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income31% higher than other cities
Home value22% pricier than other cities
Median rent39% pricier than other cities
Safety3% safer than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
National percentiles can mask local variation. Looking only at New Mexico, Gallup ranks #38 of 42 New Mexico cities by lowest crime rate - a narrower, more locally useful cut than the national comparison above.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Gallup 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 Gallup near the bottom of New Mexico's cities
Among the 409 New Mexico cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Gallup ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Gallup only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#151 of 324
53rd percentile in New Mexico
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 409
0th percentile in New Mexico
Median Home Value
#216 of 324
33rd percentile in New Mexico
Poverty Rate
#114 of 408
72nd percentile in New Mexico
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#152 of 409
63rd 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
31st percentile nationally for median household income · 3rd percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Gallup's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Gallup'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 Gallup's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$134,600Among the most affordablemore affordable than 78% 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
Gallup's home-value-to-income ratio: 2.3×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
affordable
< 3.0×
National rank
#3,181 of 15,516
More affordable than 79% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#236 of 3,317
Small cities (10,000–49,999)
At 2.3×, Gallup sits in the affordable band:
national rank #3,181 of 15,516 and #236 of 3,317small cities (10,000–49,999).
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
$57,466Gallup, NM median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Gallup, 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 Gallup, NM.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)22.6%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)23.7%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)52.1%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
21,333
Median Income
$57,466
Median Home Value
$134,600
Median Age
34.0
Poverty Rate
23.7%
Labor force participation
52.1%
Bachelor's Degree+
22.6%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
5399.9
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
1503.6
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
3896.3
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.
Schools
Total Schools
18
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Gallup's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
21,792 residents
2021
21,417 residents
2022
20,943 residents
2023
20,448 residents
2024
20,252 residents
2025
19,969 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
📈 Building Boom
Total Permits (2024)
8
housing units authorized
Single-Family
8
detached homes
Multifamily
0
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
0.4
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
2
2
0
$0.4M
2020
13
4
9
$1.9M
2021
2
2
0
$0.6M
2022
1
1
0
$0.2M
2023
1
1
0
$0.3M
2024
8
8
0
$1.4M
Permit volume increased 300% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Average Commute Time
17.1 minutes
Drive Alone
83.1%
Carpool
6.1%
Public Transit
2.4%
Walk
1.5%
Work from Home
6.5%
Based on 8,130 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 Gallup. 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 Gallup 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 Gallup sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Gallup 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, NCES CCD, Census BPS 2024, 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.