PlainCompare

Metro Life Score

Las Cruces, NM

48.1
Life Score / 100
C+
Grade (curved)
#218
of 387 metros
44%
of metros outranked

Data updated May 2026

Verify: BEA · BLS · HUD · FBI · NCES · EPA · Census

The verdict

Las Cruces ranks #218 of 387 US metros, ahead of 44% - carried by its rent (89/100) and held back most by safety (1/100).

89
strongest: Rent
74
then: Cost of Living
1
weakest: Safety
7
weighted dimensions

Where Las Cruces sits among all US metros

Composite Life Score vs the national field

48 44th percentile higher than 44% of 387 US metros

25–30: 1 US metros (0%). Below this entry. 30–35: 16 US metros (4%). Below this entry. 35–40: 46 US metros (12%). Below this entry. 40–45: 53 US metros (14%). Below this entry. 45–50: 81 US metros (21%). This entry sits in this band. 50–55: 67 US metros (17%). Above this entry. 55–60: 68 US metros (18%). Above this entry. 60–65: 40 US metros (10%). Above this entry. 65–70: 12 US metros (3%). Above this entry. 70–75: 3 US metros (1%). Above this entry. This metro 25 75 every US metro, bucketed by value

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US metros. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source PlainCompare composite of BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, DOL, EPA data · May 2026

How the score is built

Reading the Las Cruces Life Score

Las Cruces's composite score of 48.1 out of 100, a grade of C+, places the metro at rank #218 of 387, ahead of 44% of US metros. The strongest inputs are Rent (89/100) and Cost of Living (74/100), which pull the composite upward, while Safety (1/100) and Schools (29/100) drag it downward. (How the weighting works.)

BEA RPP 90.2 (rent-RPP 63.0). BLS median salary $62,792, 72,370 jobs (Home Health and Personal Care Aides, Fast Food and Counter Workers, Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive). HUD 2BR FMR $1,042/mo (studio $744).

FBI UCR (NM): 697 violent, 2706 property/100K. NCES: 14.0:1 ratio, 11.6% charter. EPA: 21 Superfund sites (NM). Ranks #215-#221 below.

Dimension detail

How Las Cruces scores, dimension by dimension

Score Breakdown

Cost of Living Wages Rent Safety Schools Childcare Environment

Dimension Scores

Cost of Living 74/100 (20%)
Wages 35/100 (20%)
Rent 89/100 (15%)
Safety 1/100 (15%)
Schools 29/100 (10%)
Childcare -/100 (10%)
Environment 51/100 (10%)

Key Data Points

90.2
Cost Index (RPP)
$62,792
Avg Median Salary
$1,042
2BR Fair Market Rent
697
Violent Crime/100K (NM)
14.0:1
Student-Teacher Ratio
21
Superfund Sites (NM)
72,370
Total Employment

Crime, schools, childcare, and environment data shown at state level where metro-specific data is unavailable.

Compare Las Cruces With...

Las Cruces vs Farmington Compare → Las Cruces vs Santa Fe Compare → Las Cruces vs Albuquerque Compare → Las Cruces vs Wildwood Compare → Las Cruces vs Waterloo Compare → Las Cruces vs Paducah Compare →

Ranking Context

Las Cruces outranks 44% of U.S. metros.

Rank Metro Score Grade
#215 Midland, TX 48.5 C+
#216 Kennewick-Richland, WA 48.5 B-
#217 Savannah, GA 48.6 B-
#218 Las Cruces, NM 48.1 C+
#219 Wenatchee-East Wenatchee, WA 48.1 C+
#220 Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI 48.0 C+
#221 St. George, UT 48.0 C+

NM Metro Scores

Farmington, NM C+ 45.7 Santa Fe, NM D 35.7 Albuquerque, NM F 32.9

Using Las Cruces's Life Score

Las Cruces is a regional baseline, not a neighborhood reading, use it to shortlist, then dig into the dimensions that matter to you.

  • Its strongest dimension is rent (89/100) and its weakest is safety (1/100) - weigh those against your own priorities. How the score is built
  • Put Las Cruces head-to-head against another metro before you decide, every dimension, side by side. Compare metros
  • See where Las Cruces lands on the national rankings for cost, safety, pay and more. Browse rankings

Scores summarize federal data at the metro level; crime, schools and cost vary widely within a single metro.

Explore more

Frequently Asked Questions

What are Las Cruces's biggest strengths? ▼
Las Cruces's strongest dimensions are Rent (89/100), Cost of Living (74/100), Environment (51/100). Rent is top-tier nationally.
What are Las Cruces's weakest areas? ▼
Las Cruces's lowest-scoring dimensions are Safety (1/100), Schools (29/100), Wages (35/100). Safety weighs heavily on the composite.
How expensive is Las Cruces compared to the national average? ▼
Las Cruces's Regional Price Parity is 90.2 (9.8% less than national); rent RPP 63.0.
What is the average salary in Las Cruces? ▼
Las Cruces median salary: $62,792, 72,370 jobs. Top: Home Health and Personal Care Aides, Fast Food and Counter Workers, Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive.
How is the life score calculated? ▼
Las Cruces's 48.1/100 blends 7 federal-data dimensions - see our methodology page for the weighting.

Research Guides

Data from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OES, NCES, DOL, and EPA. Not affiliated with the U.S. Government.

Related

Data sourced from official public datasets. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCompare Editorial

Disclaimer: This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Data is sourced from BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, DOL, and EPA. Consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on this data.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

All federal data sources used on this page
  • U.S. Census Bureau ACS - multi-dimension demographic + housing + income aggregates for cross-area comparison. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
  • BEA Regional Economic Accounts - GDP, personal income, employment by state and metro. bea.gov/data/regional
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) - wage estimates for comparable-area indexing. bls.gov/oes
  • FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) - crime statistics for safety-score component. fbi.gov/ucr
  • NCES Common Core of Data - public-school quality indicators by area. nces.ed.gov/ccd
  • EPA AirNow + Air Quality System (AQS) - air-quality measurements by area. epa.gov/outdoor-air-quality-data
  • HUD Fair Market Rents (FMR) - county and metro housing-cost indicators. huduser.gov/datasets/fmr

Every figure on PlainCompare is loaded directly from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OEWS, NCES, DOL, EPA, and the Census Bureau, no number is typed in by an editor. This metro's Life Score is computed directly from the 7 federal sources cited above. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026.