Santa Fe, New Mexico
Cost of living, housing, income, commute, climate, and safety — compiled for relocators researching Santa Fe.
Key figures
Each metric shows how Santa Fe compares with the U.S. baseline (ACS/BLS nationals where available; catalog-city averages for crime, climate, and commute). Income, housing, population, and crime are for the incorporated city (city limits), not the broader metro/MSA — unemployment is county-level (BLS LAUS).
- Population
- 87,505City limits · not metro/MSA
- Median household income
- $62,000Incorporated place (ACS)21% below U.S. avgU.S. $78,538
- Housing cost index
- 118ACS home+rent vs U.S. (100 = avg)18% above U.S. avgU.S. 100
- Median home value
- $570,000City limits (ACS)88% above U.S. avgU.S. $303,400
- Median rent
- $1,600City limits (ACS)19% above U.S. avgU.S. $1,348
- Unemployment
- 3.4%County LAUS · not city-onlyNear U.S. avg (4.2 pts)U.S. 4.2 pts
- Avg commute
- 18 min28% below U.S. avgU.S. 25 min
- Walk Score
- 3327% below U.S. avgU.S. 45
- Violent crime rate
- 48launch estimate, not FBI-verified yet
- Property crime rate
- 62launch estimate, not FBI-verified yet
- Summer high
- 85°F2.0°F below U.S. avgU.S. 87°F
- Winter low
- 19°F15.0°F below U.S. avgU.S. 34°F
- Annual rainfall
- 14 in57% below U.S. avgU.S. 32.9 in
- Sunny days
- 2836% above U.S. avgU.S. 266
Compare Santa Fe with another city
High-desert light, monsoon storms, and Hispanic cultural roots are unmistakable. Winter lows around 19°F mean heating costs and snow logistics belong on the checklist. Average one-way commute time is about 18 minutes, and Walk Score estimates land around 33/100. Labor-market readings near 3.4% unemployment are neither boom nor bust by national standards. Safety figures are still on the curated-seed baseline for this city; check back once FBI Crime Data Explorer enrichment has run for an actual per-100k rate.
Santa Fe (pop. 87,505) sits in New Mexico. With median income around $62,000 and a cost index of 118, the market reads above the national housing-cost baseline. Ownership is a high bar — typical values near $570,000 push many newcomers toward renting first.
Santa Fe is compact enough that a single wrong neighborhood choice is easy to feel day to day — visit at commute hour before signing. Figures on this page are merged from Census ACS, BLS LAUS, FBI Crime Data Explorer, and NOAA Climate Normals — use them to compare Santa Fe with nearby alternatives before you relocate.
Nearby & similar cities
Continue researching with these internal links — each page is a full data profile.
Sources
- Census / ACS: U.S. Census Bureau / American Community Survey (curated seed)
- BLS: Bureau of Labor Statistics (curated seed)
- Crime: FBI Crime Data Explorer (curated seed)
- Climate: NOAA Climate Normals (curated seed)
Last updated 2026-07-28