City in New Mexico, United States

Rio Rancho

$353kMedian Home
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View on MapPopulation88kElevation5,282 ft
Quick Read

Rio Rancho is the largest and most populous city in Sandoval County, New Mexico, United States. A small portion of the city extends into northern Bernalillo County. Part of the expansive Albuquerque metropolitan area, it is the third-largest city in New Mexico, and one of the most rapidly growing. Rio Rancho had a population of 104,046 at the 2020 census. The name Rio Rancho derives from Los Ranchos, the Spanish colonial ranches established along the Rio Grande in the Albuquerque Basin, and throughout historic Nuevo México. There were large ranches also in neighboring Corrales.

The City of Vision
01

Where It Is

Location Context
Rio Rancho, New Mexico
Latitude35.23°
Longitude-106.66°
Population88k
Altitude5,282 ft

State Context

New MexicoU.S. state

New Mexico is a landlocked state in the Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also borders the state of Texas to the east and southeast, Oklahoma to the northeast, and shares an international border with the Mexican states of Chihuahua and Sonora to the south. New Mexico's largest city is Albuquerque, and its state capital is Santa Fe, the oldest state capital in the U.S.—founded in 1610 as the government seat of Nuevo México in New Spain—and the highest in elevation, at 6,998 feet (2,133 m).Wikipedia

Income tax: 1.70% - 5.90%Avg sales tax: 7.61%Property tax: 0.62%

About the Region

Desert Southwest

The Desert Southwest — Arizona, Nevada, and New Mexico — shares a climate defined by heat, aridity, and extraordinary landscape. Phoenix has grown into one of the country's largest cities on the premise of air-conditioned suburban living, a bargain for decades that is being stress-tested by climate shifts pushing summer highs above 110°F and placing long-term water resources under pressure. Las Vegas offers Nevada's zero income tax and extraordinary entertainment infrastructure against the same water equation tied to a shrinking Colorado River.

Tucson, Albuquerque, and Santa Fe offer a different profile: human-scale cities with deep roots in Spanish colonial and Indigenous traditions, lower costs than their larger neighbors, and the landscape that draws artists, retirees, and outdoor enthusiasts. The region's sunlight is exceptional — Phoenix regularly exceeds 300 sunny days per year — and the cultural texture across New Mexico in particular is unlike anywhere else in the United States.

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Nature Access

Nature & Park Feeds

Closest protected landscapes, reserves, and big park systems surfaced from the same nearby feeds used in compare.

Distances in miles
Federal park feed

National Parks

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OpenStreetMap feed

Local Nature & Reserves

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Sources: National Park Service and OpenStreetMap
03

City Profile

Median Age39 yrs
College Educated33%bachelor's or higher
Work From Home12%of workforce
Poverty Rate7%
04

Cost of Living

Housing
$2k/mo
Median rent
$353k
Median home price
Rent burden29% of income
Household Income
$79k
Median annual
05

Livability

Internet
Fiber
1%
Cable
97%
address availability
08

Current Conditions

10

Local Next Steps

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