Alamogordo, New Mexico

Area Profile

31,307 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Alamogordo, in Otero County.

44out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 8% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 13 sources
Opportunity4,069th of 4,199 cities measured25
SchoolsTop 27% of 4,162 cities measured68
Growth3,295th of 4,224 cities measured35
Housing affordabilityTop 31% of 4,218 cities measured73
ClimateTop 48% of 4,225 cities measured71
Physical resilience4,176th of 4,226 cities measured5
AccessTop 21% of 4,226 cities measured98
Economic stability3,780th of 4,226 cities measured31
The quick read

Employment conditions sit below most comparable cities measured: unemployment is 5.8% and the Opportunity signal places Alamogordo in the bottom 3%.

In the public schools here, 25% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 14.4 students for every teacher.

Residential permitting has slowed: 6 units authorized over the past twelve months, against 8 the year before. The permit count and 1 other measure here are published for Otero County, NM, which contains Alamogordo, rather than for Alamogordo alone.

These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.

At a glance

Population
31,307
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$55,952
Bottom 33% nationally
Density
1,451/sq mi
21.6 sq mi of land
Median age
37.1
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
New Mexico
Micro area
Nearest major airport
ALM
3 mi · Alamogordo-White Sands Rgnl
Median home value
$172,900
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 5.8% — higher than in all but 9% of the 4,226 measured US cities.

Unemployment has been rising for 4 consecutive months, most recently 5.8%.

Employment fell 2.5% over the past year, to 11,147 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsOtero County, NM’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$47,6705th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftOtero County, NM’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$54,94615th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$2,9932024 ACS 5-Year$55,952Bottom 33%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$1,9872024 ACS 5-Year$32,590Bottom 46%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year17.0%Bottom 29%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.5 min2024 ACS 5-Year19.6 minTop 16%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year25.5%Top 38%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year80.2%61st percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 202611,147Bottom 4%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026−2.1%Bottom 23%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026−2.5%Bottom 13%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forceJuly 202611,8354th percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year74.8%Bottom 39%of 31,5132024 ACS 5-Year
Public transit to work ±0.4%2024 ACS 5-Year0.4%79th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026+0.9%Bottom 4%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20265.8%Bottom 9%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year7.3%48th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/078.03.2
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 5.8% in July 2026. It has been rising for the last 4 months, over a series running from 2020-01 to 2026-07. A break in the line is a month the Bureau of Labor Statistics did not publish for this area — it is left empty rather than estimated.

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202456k46k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $55,952 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.

25% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 37% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 14.4 students for every full-time teacher across 10 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
12
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
14.4
across 10 of them
Math proficiency
24.8%
Top 36% in New Mexico
Reading proficiency
37.1%
Top 27% in New Mexico
The 12 largest public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Alamogordo HighALAMOGORDO1,44015.017%39%
Chaparral MiddleALAMOGORDO51313.923%36%
Mountain View MiddleALAMOGORDO47914.523%39%
Desert Star ElementaryALAMOGORDO46615.534%36%
Sunset Hills ElementaryALAMOGORDO43613.627%27%
Sierra ElementaryALAMOGORDO28417.847%52%
Buena Vista ElementaryALAMOGORDO22214.832%37%
Yucca ElementaryALAMOGORDO17911.232%37%
North ElementaryALAMOGORDO15910.617%22%
Stepping Stones PreschoolALAMOGORDO11412.7——
Nm School for the Blind and Visually ImpairedNM SCHOOL FOR THE BLIND AND VISUALLY IMPAIRED453.8——
Academy Del Sol Alt.ALAMOGORDO0—3%8%

100.0% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with, not how the schools perform, so it is shown and not scored.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against New Mexico’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the non-metropolitan parts of New Mexico is up 37% over five years, and up 1.3% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $1,133 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.66% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $973, some 8% above the $902 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $973 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $38,900 a year, about 70% of the median household income here of $55,952.

The typical renter household here spends 30% of its income on rent, at the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $902 a month.

A median home at $172,900 costs 2.4 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $72,974, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Rent as a share of income
29.8%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.4×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$973
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$902
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$172,900
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Alamogordo’s median household income of $55,952, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Home price change (1 year)the non-metropolitan parts of New Mexico’s figure2026 Q2+1.3%26th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the non-metropolitan parts of New Mexico’s figure2026 Q2+36.8%35th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the non-metropolitan parts of New Mexico’s figure2026 Q2+75.6%21st percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.22024 ACS 5-Year2.4Top 46%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year61.6%23rd percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±3602024 ACS 5-Year15,47896th percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$792Top 7%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,353Top 10%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$973Top 5%of 4,072FY2026
Median gross rent ±$662024 ACS 5-Year$902Top 42%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$8,3122024 ACS 5-Year$172,90046th percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$932024 ACS 5-Year$1,13328th percentileof 26,4402024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$6,3412024 ACS 5-Year$72,974Bottom 42%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.06%2024 ACS 5-Year0.66%25th percentileof 20,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year29.8%Bottom 42%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±1122024 ACS 5-Year12491st percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.8%60th percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year13.9%76th percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±3722024 ACS 5-Year2,27898th percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year

These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures.

Development Momentum

35/ 100
Ranks 3,295 of 4,224 published city profiles

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

Population has grown 2% since 2020, reaching 31,667 in 2024.

Population is still rising but the pace is easing: 31,667 residents in 2024, up 0.4% over the year, a smaller gain than the year before.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 6 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes. The multifamily share is published for Otero County, NM, which contains Alamogordo, rather than for Alamogordo alone.

Federal tax returns show Otero County, which contains Alamogordo, gained about 0.3% of its residents through moves within the US in the most recent year, counting those who arrived against those who left. Households that moved in reported an average income of $47,670, below the $54,946 of households that moved out.

At 0.1 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US cities. The permit rate is published for Otero County, NM, which contains Alamogordo, rather than for Alamogordo alone.

Units permitted
6
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
0.1
Bottom 6% nationally
Year over year
−25%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202432k31k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population. It has been rising for the last 4 years, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

People moving in and out

Net migration
+0.3%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
79%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$47,670
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$54,946
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. El Paso County, TX 570 people · 13% of arrivals
  2. Doña Ana County, NM 393 people · 8.8% of arrivals
  3. Lincoln County, NM 156 people · 3.5% of arrivals
  4. Clark County, NV 142 people · 3.2% of arrivals
  5. Maricopa County, AZ 113 people · 2.5% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Doña Ana County, NM 394 people · 9.1% of departures
  2. El Paso County, TX 390 people · 9.0% of departures
  3. Clark County, NV 175 people · 4.0% of departures
  4. Bernalillo County, NM 108 people · 2.5% of departures
  5. Maricopa County, AZ 102 people · 2.4% of departures

Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. This is the figure for Otero County, NM. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

The Census Bureau's Building Permits Survey lists only jurisdictions that issue their own permits, and Alamogordo, NM is not one. This is the figure for Otero County, NM, which contains this city.

Weather & climate

6 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 93°F and January a low of 33°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 10.6 inches, including 2.4 inches of snow.

20°40°60°80°100°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station ALAMOGORDO, 2.4 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND2.0"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals10.6"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall1991-2020 Normals2.4"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals33°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals93°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals61991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals38°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

5 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, wildfire and lightning, with inland flooding alone responsible for 62% of it. Lightning is independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large that hazard is.

WildfireHigh
Inland floodingHigh
Ice stormModerate
DroughtModerate
HailModerate
Heat waveModerate
AvalancheModerate

Low or minimal exposure: winter weather, lightning, landslide, earthquake, volcanic activity, strong wind, cold wave, hurricane, tornado, coastal flooding, tsunami.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. City values are the population-weighted mean of the counties the city overlaps, using AreaProfile place-to-county land-area weights. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

Violent crime
433
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year
Property crime
1,815
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year

Below these are deaths rather than offenses, published for the county. The two measure different things and are not comparable with each other.

Alamogordo's police department reported 433 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, higher than most places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 1,815.

Otero County has a modeled homicide rate of about 6.5 per 100,000 residents a year, because the CDC suppresses counts this small, higher than most counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 27.6 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 37.8 per 100,000 residents in Otero County.

Homicide
6.5
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Firearm deaths, all intents
27.6
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
37.8
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
30.5
per 100,000 residents

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.

Offenses are reported to the FBI by Alamogordo’s own police department and shown only where it reported every month of the year; a partial year is withheld rather than scaled up. Reported crime is what police recorded, which is not the same as what happened. Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe the county around Alamogordo (Otero County) rather than Alamogordo itself. Neither is part of the Area Score. How to read crime rates and death rates.

What this profile does not cover

Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.

Cost of living
Price parities are published for metropolitan areas, and this place lies outside one.
Air quality
The EPA publishes an air-quality index only where a monitor sits. There is none in this county, and a modeled value would be a different kind of number from the measured ones everywhere else on this page.
Taxes
Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. Cost of living is published where the Bureau of Economic Analysis measures it, though not for this place. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

4 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Alamogordo-White Sands Rgnl at 3 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year91.2%Top 44%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle3 miTop 4%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle4Bottom 38%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year6.5%Top 45%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Alamogordo-White Sands RgnlALM3 mi9,207 ft
Sierra Blanca RgnlSRR47 mi8,120 ft
Dona Ana County Intl JetportDNA82 mi9,550 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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44
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Other cities in Alamogordo, NM

Same metropolitan area, measured the same way
CityCountyPopulationArea ScoreCompare
ChaparralOtero County18,18642Chaparral vs Alamogordo

Every city here is measured on the same scale from the same source releases, so the comparison is like for like. A higher Area Score reflects AreaProfile’s standardized weighting rather than a judgment about which is the better place to live.

Compare

Put Alamogordo side by side with a similar place.

Alamogordo vs RoswellAlamogordo vs Weirton

Moving to Alamogordo from somewhere else?

You get the difference in prices, rent and weather, and the income that would keep pace.

Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
SafetyFederal Bureau of Investigation, Crime Data Explorer
Summarized offense counts by law enforcement agency
2025 calendar year
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
Demographics, IncomeInternal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division
U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county)
filing years 2022–2023
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
SafetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
HousingU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
Fair Market Rents
FY2026
HousingU.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency
House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions)
2026 Q2
Current conditionsNOAA National Weather Service
National Weather Service current conditions
Live observation, read when the page opens

Profile recalculated October 8, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology, or every source with how often each updates.

ZIP codes in Alamogordo

1 ZIP area

Every ZIP area in Alamogordo with census figures of its own, largest first. The ones linked below diverge enough from the city as a whole to carry a full profile; the rest track Alamogordo closely, so their figures are here rather than on a page that would repeat this one. An Area Score is calculated for published profiles only, which is why it is blank on those rows.

ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeMedian home valueArea Score
8831036,983$57,214$173,000—