Sunland Park, New Mexico

Area Profile

17,463 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Sunland Park, in Doña Ana County.

55out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 36% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 16 sources
Opportunity3,263rd of 4,199 cities measured43
SchoolsTop 2% of 4,162 cities measured91
Growth2,994th of 4,224 cities measured40
Housing affordabilityTop 37% of 4,218 cities measured71
Climate2,886th of 4,225 cities measured64
Physical resilience3,314th of 4,226 cities measured27
AccessTop 31% of 4,226 cities measured97
Economic stability3,533rd of 4,226 cities measured36
The quick read

Employment conditions sit below most comparable cities measured: unemployment is 6.2% and the Opportunity signal places Sunland Park in the bottom 22%. The unemployment rate is published for Doña Ana County, NM, which contains Sunland Park, rather than for Sunland Park alone.

Public schools test above most of the state: 37% of students met the mathematics standard, placing the area in the top 2% of published profiles for schools.

Residential permitting has slowed: 22 units authorized over the past twelve months, 79% below the prior year.

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
17,463
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$62,814
Bottom 44% nationally
Density
1,185/sq mi
14.7 sq mi of land
Median age
30.9
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
New Mexico
Metro area
Nearest major airport
DNA
7 mi · Dona Ana County Intl Jetport
Median home value
$215,200
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment across Doña Ana County, NM, which contains Sunland Park, is 6.2% — higher than in all but 6% of the 4,226 measured US cities.

Employment across Doña Ana County, NM, which contains Sunland Park, fell 0.3% over the past year, to 97,345 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsDoña Ana County, NM’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$53,74513th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftDoña Ana County, NM’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$51,9189th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$12,7852024 ACS 5-Year$62,814Bottom 44%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$2,5722024 ACS 5-Year$22,655Bottom 14%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±6%2024 ACS 5-Year22.9%Bottom 18%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±3.4 min2024 ACS 5-Year31.7 minBottom 27%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year21.8%Top 47%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±7%2024 ACS 5-Year73.9%39th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentDoña Ana County, NM’s figureJuly 202697,345Top 43%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)Doña Ana County, NM’s figureJuly 2026+2.1%Top 19%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)Doña Ana County, NM’s figureJuly 2026−0.3%Top 39%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forceDoña Ana County, NM’s figureJuly 2026103,80357th percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year76.7%Bottom 45%of 31,5132024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wageLas Cruces, NM Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$54,880Bottom 5%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Median annual wageLas Cruces, NM Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$42,070Bottom 3%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±0.6%2024 ACS 5-Year0.4%79th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)Doña Ana County, NM’s figureJuly 2026+0.4%Bottom 23%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment rateDoña Ana County, NM’s figureJuly 20266.2%Bottom 6%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year4.9%36th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202463k35k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $62,814 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.

Largest occupations — Las Cruces, NM

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Home Health and Personal Care Aides6,430$27,840
Fast Food and Counter Workers2,870$27,560
Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive2,360$41,030
Retail Salespersons2,110$30,460
Cashiers1,630$28,710
Customer Service Representatives1,480$36,080

Searches the 40 largest occupations here that have a published wage.

Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes city-level labor data only for places of 25,000 or more. This is the figure for Doña Ana County, NM, which contains this city.

37% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 47% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 13.8 students for every full-time teacher across 4 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
4
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
13.8
across all schools here
Math proficiency
37.0%
Top 5% in New Mexico
Reading proficiency
47.0%
Top 5% in New Mexico
All 4 public schools on record, largest first.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Riverside ElementaryGADSDEN55013.429%45%
Desert View ElementaryGADSDEN52415.049%49%
Gadsden ElementaryGADSDEN37914.032%47%
Gadsden Admin Complex Prek CenterGADSDEN13511.3——

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.

Prices for everything a household buys run about 10% below the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 89.9, against 100 for the nation. Nationally, housing drives most of the spread between places in this index; other goods vary far less.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the Las Cruces, NM Metro Area is up 42% over five years, but down 0.4% 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 $1,695 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.79% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,042, some 13% above the $920 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,042 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $41,700 a year, about 66% of the median household income here of $62,814.

The typical renter household here spends 31% of its income on rent, above the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $920 a month.

A median home at $215,200 costs 3.0 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $71,134, above the historic benchmark of about 3 times income.

Cost of living
89.9

Prices here run about 10% below the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.

Published for the Las Cruces, NM Metro Area as a whole. Prices are regional — people shop, commute and rent across a metropolitan area rather than within a city boundary — so this describes the cost of living around this place better than a figure drawn to its own limits would.

Rent as a share of income
30.7%
Above the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
3.0×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,042
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$920
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$215,200
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Sunland Park’s median household income of $62,814, 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
Cost of living indexthe Las Cruces, NM Metro Area’s figure202389.9Top 7%of 3,7002023
Home price change (1 year)the Las Cruces, NM Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2−0.4%6th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Las Cruces, NM Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+41.8%47th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Las Cruces, NM Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+80.0%28th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.32024 ACS 5-Year3.0Bottom 34%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year79.5%57th percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±4282024 ACS 5-Year6,02590th percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$951Top 19%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,449Top 15%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,042Top 10%of 4,072FY2026
Median gross rent ±$1482024 ACS 5-Year$920Top 44%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$15,3262024 ACS 5-Year$215,20057th percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$2652024 ACS 5-Year$1,69548th percentileof 26,4402024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$4,6822024 ACS 5-Year$71,134Bottom 39%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.14%2024 ACS 5-Year0.79%37th percentileof 20,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±6%2024 ACS 5-Year30.7%Bottom 38%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±1072024 ACS 5-Year8988th percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year1.5%66th percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year6.3%46th percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±1842024 ACS 5-Year46889th 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 and the cost-of-living index.

Development Momentum

40/ 100
Ranks 2,994 of 4,224 published city profiles
Permitting has been falling for the last 3 years of a series running from 2020 to 2024. That is the direction of the recent run. The chart below compares the first year with the last, which can point the other way.

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 8% since 2020, reaching 18,185 in 2024.

Permit activity fell in each of the 3 calendar years through 2024.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 22 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes.

Federal tax returns show that people moving in from elsewhere in the US and people moving out roughly balanced across Doña Ana County, which contains Sunland Park, in the most recent year. Households that moved in reported an average income of $53,745, close to the $51,918 of households that moved out.

At 1.3 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US cities.

Units permitted
22
2024 calendar year
Per 1,000 residents
1.3
Bottom 30% nationally
Year over year
−79%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202418k17k
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
0.0%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
78%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$53,745
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$51,918
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. El Paso County, TX 2,330 people · 26% of arrivals
  2. Otero County, NM 394 people · 4.5% of arrivals
  3. Bernalillo County, NM 387 people · 4.4% of arrivals
  4. Maricopa County, AZ 241 people · 2.7% of arrivals
  5. Luna County, NM 186 people · 2.1% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. El Paso County, TX 2,001 people · 23% of departures
  2. Bernalillo County, NM 423 people · 4.8% of departures
  3. Otero County, NM 393 people · 4.5% of departures
  4. Maricopa County, AZ 337 people · 3.8% of departures
  5. Bexar County, TX 164 people · 1.9% 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 Doña Ana County, NM. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

2020202120222023202414022
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2024 was lower than 2020 (−83%).

Weather & climate

5 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 96°F and January a low of 35°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 8.8 inches, including 2.8 inches of snow.

Air quality measures a median index of 62, in the Moderate band, and about 32 days a year pass 100, the threshold at which the air is unhealthy for sensitive groups.

20°40°60°80°100°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station EL PASO INTL AP, 13.2 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND1.7"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year972024 calendar year
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals8.8"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall1991-2020 Normals2.8"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals35°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals96°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals51991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year322024 calendar year
Median air quality index2024 calendar year622024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals38°F1991-2020 Normals

Air quality

Median air quality index
62
Moderate on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
97
90th percentile index
Days above 100
32
unhealthy for sensitive groups

A comfortable median and a bad tail are different problems. Wildfire smoke and summer ozone show up in the worst tenth of days, not in the middle of the year.

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. Air quality is measured by EPA monitors and published by county only where a monitor sits; a county without one shows nothing rather than an estimate, and a county reading is still the county’s. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

27 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, drought and earthquake, with inland flooding alone responsible for 81% of it.

DroughtHigh
Inland floodingElevated
LightningModerate
HailModerate
Heat waveModerate
EarthquakeModerate

Low or minimal exposure: winter weather, wildfire, cold wave, ice storm, strong wind, landslide, hurricane, avalanche, tornado, volcanic activity, 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
280
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year
Property crime
604
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.

Sunland Park's police department reported 280 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, near the middle of places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 604.

Doña Ana County records 6.7 homicide deaths per 100,000 residents a year, higher than most counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 19.5 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 26.2 per 100,000 residents in Doña Ana County.

Homicide
6.7
per 100,000 residents
Firearm deaths, all intents
19.5
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
26.2
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
16.4
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 Sunland Park’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 Sunland Park (Doña Ana County) rather than Sunland Park 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.

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. The cost-of-living index above is a price level for all consumption, not a household budget, and it excludes taxes. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

3 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Dona Ana County Intl Jetport at 7 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±9%2024 ACS 5-Year91.2%Top 43%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle7 miTop 16%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle3Bottom 20%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year8.0%Bottom 47%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Dona Ana County Intl JetportDNA7 mi9,550 ft
Deming MuniDMN72 mi8,018 ft
Alamogordo-White Sands RgnlALM79 mi9,207 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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Area Score
55
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Other cities in Las Cruces, NM

Same metropolitan area, measured the same way
CityCountyPopulationArea ScoreCompare
Las CrucesDoña Ana County114,19750Las Cruces vs Sunland Park

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 Sunland Park side by side with a similar place.

Sunland Park vs RivertonSunland Park vs Farmington

Moving to Sunland Park 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
HousingU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWS
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
2024 calendar year
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
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
ClimateU.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System
Daily Air Quality Index by county
2024 calendar year
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 Sunland Park

1 ZIP area

Every ZIP area in Sunland Park with census figures of its own, largest first.

ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeMedian home valueArea Score
8806310,881$41,975$115,50050