Safest Places to Live in New Mexico of August 2026
New Mexico is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It borders Utah, Colorado, Texas, Arizona, and a part of Mexico to the south.
New Mexico became a state very late, in 1912. Before that, it was home to Native Americans, and it was a Spanish colony. After this, it was a part of independent Mexico but became a part of the US after the Mexican-American War. This is the reason why New Mexico has the highest percentage of the Hispanic population of all states. Likewise, its culture is a mix of Native American, Spanish, Mexican and American cultures.
With over 2 million residents, New Mexico is the 36th most populous state. It is also the fifth-largest state by area and the sixth least densely populated of all states. The capital of New Mexico is Santa Fe, while the largest city is Albuquerque, which has 560,000 residents.
Ranking Criteria
ElitePersonalFinance extracted the latest data from the FBI crime statistics in the United States. We took violent crime as the main criteria. To get our score, we used this formula:
Crime Score = ( Total Number of Violent Crimes / Population ) * 1,000
This way, safer cities got the lowest score, and those more vulnerable to crimes got higher scores.
The cities that did not report crimes to the FBI and those under 3,000 residents were not included in the list.
10 Safest Places in New Mexico of August 2026
| Rank: | City: | Population: | Total Number of Crimes: | Crime Score: |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank:1 | City:Lovington | Population:11 322 | Total Number of Crimes:12 | Crime Score:1,06 |
| Rank:2 | City:Milan | Population:3 632 | Total Number of Crimes:4 | Crime Score:1,10 |
| Rank:3 | City:Corrales | Population:8 715 | Total Number of Crimes:12 | Crime Score:1,38 |
| Rank:4 | City:Rio Rancho | Population:99 359 | Total Number of Crimes:189 | Crime Score:1,90 |
| Rank:5 | City:Raton | Population:5 939 | Total Number of Crimes:16 | Crime Score:2,69 |
| Rank:6 | City:Taos | Population:5 963 | Total Number of Crimes:19 | Crime Score:3,19 |
| Rank:7 | City:Edgewood | Population:6 161 | Total Number of Crimes:20 | Crime Score:3,25 |
| Rank:8 | City:Alamogordo | Population:31 832 | Total Number of Crimes:109 | Crime Score:3,42 |
| Rank:9 | City:Anthony | Population:9 284 | Total Number of Crimes:32 | Crime Score:3,45 |
| Rank:10 | City:Truth or Consequences | Population:5 791 | Total Number of Crimes:20 | Crime Score:3,45 |
Crime Score in All Cities in New Mexico of August 2026
If your city didn’t make our list, you could see our full list of New Mexico cities.
We can’t compare crime rates in small and large cities. That’s why ElitePersonalFinance made a detailed analysis and narrowed the results according to population segments:
- Under 3,000 Residents
- 3,000 – 30,000 Residents
- Over 30,000 Residents
(Other sites don’t include places with under 3,000 residents, but we included them.)
These are the results that we got:
Under 3,000 Residents
| Rank: | City: | Population: | Total Number of Crimes: | Crime Score: |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank:1 | City:Taos Ski Valley | Population:69 | Total Number of Crimes:0 | Crime Score:0,00 |
| Rank:2 | City:Hope | Population:106 | Total Number of Crimes:0 | Crime Score:0,00 |
| Rank:3 | City:Tatum | Population:823 | Total Number of Crimes:0 | Crime Score:0,00 |
| Rank:4 | City:Texico | Population:1 078 | Total Number of Crimes:0 | Crime Score:0,00 |
| Rank:5 | City:Dexter | Population:1 236 | Total Number of Crimes:0 | Crime Score:0,00 |
| Rank:6 | City:Mesilla | Population:1 826 | Total Number of Crimes:0 | Crime Score:0,00 |
| Rank:7 | City:Eunice | Population:2 997 | Total Number of Crimes:1 | Crime Score:0,33 |
| Rank:8 | City:Estancia | Population:1 586 | Total Number of Crimes:1 | Crime Score:0,63 |
| Rank:9 | City:Clayton | Population:2 691 | Total Number of Crimes:3 | Crime Score:1,11 |
| Rank:10 | City:Cloudcroft | Population:700 | Total Number of Crimes:1 | Crime Score:1,43 |
| Rank:11 | City:Questa | Population:1 753 | Total Number of Crimes:3 | Crime Score:1,71 |
| Rank:12 | City:Angel Fire | Population:1 072 | Total Number of Crimes:2 | Crime Score:1,87 |
| Rank:13 | City:Capitan | Population:1 417 | Total Number of Crimes:3 | Crime Score:2,12 |
| Rank:14 | City:Tularosa | Population:2 988 | Total Number of Crimes:7 | Crime Score:2,34 |
| Rank:15 | City:Hurley | Population:1 181 | Total Number of Crimes:3 | Crime Score:2,54 |
| Rank:16 | City:Moriarty | Population:1 792 | Total Number of Crimes:5 | Crime Score:2,79 |
| Rank:17 | City:Santa Clara | Population:1 765 | Total Number of Crimes:5 | Crime Score:2,83 |
| Rank:18 | City:Carrizozo | Population:935 | Total Number of Crimes:3 | Crime Score:3,21 |
| Rank:19 | City:Magdalena | Population:873 | Total Number of Crimes:3 | Crime Score:3,44 |
| Rank:20 | City:Logan | Population:959 | Total Number of Crimes:4 | Crime Score:4,17 |
| Rank:21 | City:San Ysidro | Population:199 | Total Number of Crimes:1 | Crime Score:5,03 |
| Rank:22 | City:Lordsburg | Population:2 385 | Total Number of Crimes:12 | Crime Score:5,03 |
| Rank:23 | City:Jal | Population:2 097 | Total Number of Crimes:14 | Crime Score:6,68 |
| Rank:24 | City:Santa Rosa | Population:2 639 | Total Number of Crimes:18 | Crime Score:6,82 |
| Rank:25 | City:Ruidoso Downs | Population:2 575 | Total Number of Crimes:19 | Crime Score:7,38 |
| Rank:26 | City:Springer | Population:898 | Total Number of Crimes:7 | Crime Score:7,80 |
| Rank:27 | City:Bayard | Population:2 137 | Total Number of Crimes:20 | Crime Score:9,36 |
| Rank:28 | City:Hatch | Population:1 605 | Total Number of Crimes:16 | Crime Score:9,97 |
| Rank:29 | City:Cuba | Population:756 | Total Number of Crimes:11 | Crime Score:14,55 |
3,000 – 30,000 Residents
| Rank: | City: | Population: | Total Number of Crimes: | Crime Score: |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank:1 | City:Lovington | Population:11 322 | Total Number of Crimes:12 | Crime Score:1,06 |
| Rank:2 | City:Milan | Population:3 632 | Total Number of Crimes:4 | Crime Score:1,10 |
| Rank:3 | City:Corrales | Population:8 715 | Total Number of Crimes:12 | Crime Score:1,38 |
| Rank:4 | City:Raton | Population:5 939 | Total Number of Crimes:16 | Crime Score:2,69 |
| Rank:5 | City:Taos | Population:5 963 | Total Number of Crimes:19 | Crime Score:3,19 |
| Rank:6 | City:Edgewood | Population:6 161 | Total Number of Crimes:20 | Crime Score:3,25 |
| Rank:7 | City:Anthony | Population:9 284 | Total Number of Crimes:32 | Crime Score:3,45 |
| Rank:8 | City:Truth or Consequences | Population:5 791 | Total Number of Crimes:20 | Crime Score:3,45 |
| Rank:9 | City:Sunland Park | Population:18 103 | Total Number of Crimes:65 | Crime Score:3,59 |
| Rank:10 | City:Ruidoso | Population:7 826 | Total Number of Crimes:31 | Crime Score:3,96 |
| Rank:11 | City:Portales | Population:11 675 | Total Number of Crimes:55 | Crime Score:4,71 |
| Rank:12 | City:Bosque Farms | Population:3 809 | Total Number of Crimes:18 | Crime Score:4,73 |
| Rank:13 | City:Artesia | Population:12 366 | Total Number of Crimes:65 | Crime Score:5,26 |
| Rank:14 | City:Grants | Population:8 937 | Total Number of Crimes:49 | Crime Score:5,48 |
| Rank:15 | City:Peralta | Population:3 586 | Total Number of Crimes:22 | Crime Score:6,13 |
| Rank:16 | City:Bernalillo | Population:10 353 | Total Number of Crimes:85 | Crime Score:8,21 |
| Rank:17 | City:Deming | Population:14 011 | Total Number of Crimes:135 | Crime Score:9,64 |
| Rank:18 | City:Los Lunas | Population:15 929 | Total Number of Crimes:205 | Crime Score:12,87 |
| Rank:19 | City:Gallup | Population:21 935 | Total Number of Crimes:437 | Crime Score:19,92 |
| Rank:20 | City:Belen | Population:7 094 | Total Number of Crimes:144 | Crime Score:20,30 |
Over 30,000 Residents
| Rank: | City: | Population: | Total Number of Crimes: | Crime Score: |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank:1 | City:Rio Rancho | Population:99 359 | Total Number of Crimes:189 | Crime Score:1,90 |
| Rank:2 | City:Alamogordo | Population:31 832 | Total Number of Crimes:109 | Crime Score:3,42 |
| Rank:3 | City:Las Cruces | Population:103 520 | Total Number of Crimes:514 | Crime Score:4,97 |
| Rank:4 | City:Clovis | Population:38 734 | Total Number of Crimes:261 | Crime Score:6,74 |
| Rank:5 | City:Roswell | Population:47 533 | Total Number of Crimes:404 | Crime Score:8,50 |
| Rank:6 | City:Albuquerque | Population:561 920 | Total Number of Crimes:7 596 | Crime Score:13,52 |
How safe do you feel?
Is your city safe enough? Are you worried because of the crime rate in your town? Do you have any thoughts on safety levels in the country?
If you want to share anything, feel free to leave a comment. That way, you can help us understand your perspective better.
Thank you!
Archives
- Safest Places to Live in New Mexico 2020
- Safest Places to Live in New Mexico 2019
- Safest Places to Live in New Mexico 2018
- Safest Places to Live in New Mexico 2017
- Safest Places to Live in New Mexico 2016
Sources:
