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-LOS-ALAMOS-NM · Los Alamos, NM 13,471 pop · income 92nd pct · 4 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 Los Alamos
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Los Alamos on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Deming · lowest
35,920
Deming · lowest
35,920 median HH income
18.3% of the leader · rank #1
Tehaleh · near
136,454
Tehaleh · near
136,454 median HH income
69.6% of the leader · rank #2
Callender · near
136,458
Callender · near
136,458 median HH income
69.6% of the leader · rank #3
Dayton · near
136,458
Dayton · near
136,458 median HH income
69.6% of the leader · rank #4
Friendly · near
136,485
Friendly · near
136,485 median HH income
69.6% of the leader · rank #5
Los Alamos · this city
136,502
Los Alamos · this city
136,502 median HH income
69.6% of the leader · rank #6
Weddington · highest
196,159
Weddington · highest
196,159 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 Los Alamos 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: 13,471.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Los Alamos - the verdict
Los Alamos ranks in the 92nd percentile for household income and the 87th percentile for safety nationally, out of every US city with at least 1,000 residents. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
92nd
percentile, household income
82nd
percentile, home value
39th
percentile, median rent
87th
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: Los Alamos, NM
New Mexico's Los Alamos is a small town, with 13,471 residents per the latest Census Bureau ACS figures. Median household income here is $136,502 per year, placing it in the top quartile of U.S. cities for household income, with a poverty rate of 3.9%. Typical homes in Los Alamos are valued around $458,200, and the median resident age is 41.0 years. 68.0% of adults here have a bachelor's degree or higher; 66.2% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
Los Alamos reports a comparatively low crime rate: per-100,000 total crime stands at 453.9 in FBI UCR data, below the national average (a voluntary reporting program, read this as reporting activity, not a definitive danger score). NOAA climate normals record an annual average temperature of 40.3°F with 25.5 inches of precipitation per year.
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. A typical two-bedroom carries a HUD Fair Market Rent of $1,129 per month statewide. EIA 2023 residential energy data puts New Mexico's average monthly utility costs around $167 (state average). Natural-hazard exposure scores 58.9 out of 100 on FEMA's National Risk Index (Moderate).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Los Alamos'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 housing and income to schools and households to work and mobility to reported crime to within-city variation to climate and hazard context to comparison shortlist; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Los Alamos, city-specific coverage includes FBI reported-crime rates, commute-mode shares, within-city Census tract profiles, matched public-school count.
No matched row is reported here for local building permits, annual population history; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
Question 1
How far does income reach against housing in Los Alamos?
The home-value-to-income reference sits in a middle range: the ACS median home value is 3.4 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 3.9%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
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.
What does the education layer cover for Los Alamos?
The NCES join finds 6 public schools within the city match. 68.0% 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.
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.
What can 4 Census tracts reveal inside Los Alamos?
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.
Which cities make useful reference points for Los Alamos?
Within New Mexico, the closest population matches are Las Vegas (13,120 residents, $42,732 income); Artesia (12,555 residents, $77,647 income); Deming (14,735 residents, $35,920 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Weddington, NC (13,468 residents); Troy, MO (13,467 residents); Asbury Lake, FL (13,465 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.
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.
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.
Work and mobility
What does the journey to work look like in Los Alamos?
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.
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 71.4%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
Public transit
2.0%
Work from home
16.2%
Drive alone
71.4%
City-level Census ACS commuting estimates covering 7,427 workers age 16+.
What can the FBI record say about safety in Los Alamos?
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.
The joined FBI UCR record reports 453.9 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, below the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 80% lower in arithmetic terms, but agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies.
Property rate
397.8
Violent rate
56.1
Total reported rate
453.9
FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, incidents per 100,000. Voluntary agency reporting; not a danger score.
What physical conditions frame life in Los Alamos?
NOAA normals put the annual mean temperature at 40.3°F, with 25.5 inches of precipitation. 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.
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.
Mean temperature
40.3°F
Annual precipitation
25.5 in
FEMA risk index (state avg)
58.9
NOAA Climate Normals and FEMA National Risk Index (state-averaged on PlainCities). Hazard context is not address-level.
Top-decile income · poverty 3.9% (Below-median poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
92.2 (US=100)
Affordable · BEA RPP 2024, New Mexico average
A-
City profile score · Los Alamos, NM
84/100
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.
Bachelor's+ share A+
68.0%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Household income A+
$136,502
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Violent crime A-
56 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
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.
Poverty rate B
3.9%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Los Alamos profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Bachelor's+ share: 96/100 (A+) · 68.0%
Household income: 92/100 (A+) · $136,502
Violent crime: 82/100 (A-) · 56 /100k
Cost of living: 77/100 (B+) · 92.2 index
Poverty rate: 72/100 (B) · 3.9%
Where Los Alamos sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Los Alamos'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 - Los Alamos highlighted among 27 peers.Read the chart values
Los Alamos, NM (this city): home $458,200, crime 454/100k
Troy, MO : home $212,100, crime 1,122/100k
Auburn, IN : home $172,800, crime 428/100k
Irondale, AL : home $250,000, crime 1,581/100k
Las Vegas, NM : home $143,900, crime 2,122/100k
Artesia, NM : home $213,800, crime 2,650/100k
Portales, NM : home $132,900, crime 3,653/100k
New York, NY : home $751,700, crime 3,039/100k
Los Angeles, CA : home $879,500, crime 2,212/100k
Chicago, IL : home $315,200, crime 4,012/100k
Houston, TX : home $253,400, crime 5,442/100k
Phoenix, AZ : home $381,900, crime 3,125/100k
Philadelphia, PA : home $232,400, crime 5,457/100k
San Antonio, TX : home $219,700, crime 5,218/100k
San Diego, CA : home $848,500, crime 2,082/100k
Dallas, TX : home $295,300, crime 4,010/100k
San Jose, CA : home $1,187,800, crime 3,195/100k
Austin, TX : home $512,700, crime 3,709/100k
Fort Worth, TX : home $277,300, crime 3,158/100k
Columbus, OH : home $234,500, crime 3,088/100k
Indianapolis, IN : home $207,000, crime 4,214/100k
San Francisco, CA : home $1,380,500, crime 4,526/100k
Seattle, WA : home $912,100, crime 5,783/100k
Denver, CO : home $586,700, crime 5,755/100k
Oklahoma City, OK : home $215,100, crime 3,570/100k
El Paso, TX : home $171,700, crime 1,772/100k
Washington, DC : home $724,600, crime 4,514/100k
How does Los Alamos compare to other US cities?
Here's how Los Alamos stacks up against the full field of US cities (population 1,000+), computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income92% higher than other cities
Home value82% pricier than other cities
Median rent39% pricier than other cities
Safety87% 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, Los Alamos ranks #4 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 Los Alamos 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 Los Alamos near the bottom of New Mexico's cities
Among the 409 New Mexico cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Los Alamos ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Los Alamos only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#21 of 324
94th percentile in New Mexico
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 409
0th percentile in New Mexico
Median Home Value
#26 of 324
92nd percentile in New Mexico
Poverty Rate
#288 of 408
29th percentile in New Mexico
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#23 of 409
94th 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
92nd percentile nationally for median household income · 87th percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Los Alamos's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Los Alamos'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 Los Alamos's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$458,20018th percentilemore affordable than 18% 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
Los Alamos's home-value-to-income ratio: 3.4×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
moderate
3.0–5.0×
National rank
#8,371 of 15,516
More affordable than 46% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#1,348 of 3,317
Small cities (10,000–49,999)
At 3.4×, Los Alamos sits in the moderate band:
national rank #8,371 of 15,516 and #1,348 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
$136,502Los Alamos, NM median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Los Alamos, 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 Los Alamos, NM.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)68.0%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)3.9%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)66.2%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
13,471
Median Income
$136,502
Median Home Value
$458,200
Median Age
41.0
Poverty Rate
3.9%
Labor force participation
66.2%
Bachelor's Degree+
68.0%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
453.9
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
56.1
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
397.8
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
40.3°F
Annual Precipitation
25.5"
Annual Snowfall
N/A
Schools
Total Schools
6
Public schools in this city
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
71.4%
Carpool
4.8%
Public Transit
2.0%
Walk
2.9%
Work from Home
16.2%
Other
2.7%
Based on 7,427 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 Los Alamos. 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 Los Alamos 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 Los Alamos sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Los Alamos 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.