Is El Rancho, NM a Good Place to Live?
El Rancho is a small town of 1,513 in New Mexico, with a median household income of $66,250 and a 0.7% unemployment rate. Its cost of living index is 96 (US average = 100), which is 4% below the national average.
Strengths: El Rancho stands out for an affordable cost of living.
Trade-offs: No major red flags stand out in the available data. Whether El Rancho is right for you depends on your priorities — the full breakdown is below.
All El Rancho city data on this page comes from official government sources — the US Census Bureau, FBI, NCES, BEA, and NOAA — updated annually.
Cost of Living
Index: 95.6El Rancho's overall cost of living index is 95.6, where 100 represents the US national average. Living in El Rancho costs roughly 4% less than the average American city.
| Metric | El Rancho, NM | National Avg |
|---|---|---|
| Median Home Value | $261,600 | $244,900 |
| Median Monthly Rent | $954 | $1,163 |
| Homeownership Rate | 80.0% | 65.9% |
| Median Household Income | $66,250 | $74,755 |
Crime & Safety
Higher than AverageEl Rancho's violent crime rate is 607.2 per 100,000 residents — 60% higher than the national average of ~380 per 100,000.
Vertical marker = national average. Source: FBI UCR Program.
Schools & Education
| Metric | El Rancho, NM | National Avg |
|---|---|---|
| School District | N/A | — |
| Elementary Schools | N/A | — |
| Middle Schools | N/A | — |
| High Schools | N/A | — |
| Student/Teacher Ratio | N/A | 16:1 |
| Bachelor's Degree or Higher | 28.4% | 35.4% |
| High School Diploma or Higher | 95.7% | 91.1% |
Weather & Climate
El Rancho sees average highs of 48.4°F in January and 91.3°F in July, with 13.5 inches of annual precipitation and 42.1 inches of snow per year.
| Metric | El Rancho, NM |
|---|---|
| Average High — January | 48.4°F |
| Average High — July | 91.3°F |
| Annual Precipitation | 13.5" |
| Annual Snowfall | 42.1" |
Demographics
| Metric | El Rancho, NM | National Avg |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 1,513 | — |
| Median Age | 37.8 | 38.9 |
| Unemployment Rate | 0.7% | 3.7% |
| Avg Commute Time | 27.7 min | 26 min |
| White (non-Hispanic) | 53.7% | 59.3% |
| Black or African American | 1.4% | 13.6% |
| Hispanic or Latino | 36.9% | 18.9% |
| Asian | 0.0% | 6.3% |
| Under 18 | 24.5% | 22.2% |
| 65 and over | 19.0% | 16.8% |