PlainCompare

Metro Life Score

Santa Fe, NM

35.7
Life Score / 100
D
Grade (curved)
#367
of 387 metros
5%
of metros outranked

Data updated May 2026

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

The verdict

Santa Fe ranks #367 of 387 US metros, ahead of 5% - carried by its environment (81/100) and held back most by safety (1/100).

81
strongest: Environment
63
then: Wages
1
weakest: Safety
7
weighted dimensions

Where Santa Fe sits among all US metros

Composite Life Score vs the national field

36 5th percentile higher than 5% 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%). This entry sits in this band. 40–45: 53 US metros (14%). Above this entry. 45–50: 81 US metros (21%). Above this entry. 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 Santa Fe Life Score

Santa Fe's composite score of 35.7 out of 100, a grade of D, places the metro at rank #367 of 387, ahead of 5% of US metros. The strongest inputs are Environment (81/100) and Wages (63/100), which pull the composite upward, while Safety (1/100) and Rent (21/100) drag it downward. (How the weighting works.)

BEA RPP 98.8 (rent-RPP 108.0). BLS median salary $66,448, 55,730 jobs (Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive, Retail Salespersons, Fast Food and Counter Workers). HUD 2BR FMR $1,685/mo (studio $1,259).

FBI UCR (NM): 697 violent, 2706 property/100K. NCES: 14.0:1 ratio, 11.6% charter. EPA: 21 Superfund sites (NM). Ranks #364-#370 below.

Dimension detail

How Santa Fe scores, dimension by dimension

Score Breakdown

Cost of Living Wages Rent Safety Schools Childcare Environment

Dimension Scores

Cost of Living 25/100 (20%)
Wages 63/100 (20%)
Rent 21/100 (15%)
Safety 1/100 (15%)
Schools 31/100 (10%)
Childcare -/100 (10%)
Environment 81/100 (10%)

Key Data Points

98.8
Cost Index (RPP)
$66,448
Avg Median Salary
$1,685
2BR Fair Market Rent
697
Violent Crime/100K (NM)
14.0:1
Student-Teacher Ratio
21
Superfund Sites (NM)
55,730
Total Employment

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

Compare Santa Fe With...

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

Ranking Context

Santa Fe outranks 5% of U.S. metros.

Rank Metro Score Grade
#364 Fort Collins-Loveland, CO 36.3 D
#365 Fairbanks-College, AK 36.4 D
#366 Chico, CA 36.5 D
#367 Santa Fe, NM 35.7 D
#368 Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR 35.7 D
#369 Billings, MT 35.6 D
#370 Missoula, MT 35.2 D

NM Metro Scores

Las Cruces, NM C+ 48.1 Farmington, NM C+ 45.7 Albuquerque, NM F 32.9

Using Santa Fe's Life Score

Santa Fe 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 environment (81/100) and its weakest is safety (1/100) - weigh those against your own priorities. How the score is built
  • Put Santa Fe head-to-head against another metro before you decide, every dimension, side by side. Compare metros
  • See where Santa Fe 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 Santa Fe's biggest strengths? ▼
Santa Fe's strongest dimensions are Environment (81/100), Wages (63/100), Schools (31/100). Environment is top-tier nationally.
What are Santa Fe's weakest areas? ▼
Santa Fe's lowest-scoring dimensions are Safety (1/100), Rent (21/100), Cost of Living (25/100). Safety weighs heavily on the composite.
How expensive is Santa Fe compared to the national average? ▼
Santa Fe's Regional Price Parity is 98.8 (1.2% less than national); rent RPP 108.0.
What is the average salary in Santa Fe? ▼
Santa Fe median salary: $66,448, 55,730 jobs. Top: Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive, Retail Salespersons, Fast Food and Counter Workers.
How is the life score calculated? ▼
Santa Fe's 35.7/100 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.