Santa Fe, NM — Momentum Score, Home Values & Best-For

Why look at Santa Fe?

  • Mid-tier housing market. Median home is $581k.
  • Stable market. Home values -0.3% year-over-year — neither overheated nor falling.
  • Growing population. ~0.9%/yr — typically signals jobs + investment.
Santa Fe, NM
Image: Wikipedia · Santa Fe, New Mexico
View watchlist →
61
Stable
Momentum score · 0–100

Where Santa Fe stands

At or near all-time high.

Median home $580,746
1-year -0.3%
5-yr growth +3.9%
vs 5-yr peak -0.9%
Population +0.9%/yr

Home value trajectory · last 10 years

Zillow ZHVI · monthly
peak 2024-12$581k$288k$395k$502k$610k201620182020202220242026

Lifestyle scores

🚶
Walkability
40/100
Car-dependent
Estimated from population density. Higher = denser, more amenities within walking distance.
🚉
Public transit
30/100
Minimal transit
Curated list of major US transit systems + population-based estimate. Higher = real subway/rail/bus options.
💻
Remote work fit
79/100
Strong remote-work fit
Composite of city size, housing cost, state tax structure, and region's remote-work track record.

Scores are heuristic estimates from population density, state, and known transit/walkable cities. Not based on a paid Walk Score / Transit Score API — see methodology for the formula.

Rent trajectory · last 5 years

Zillow ZORI · monthly
$1,985/mo$1,408$1,784$2,159202220242026

Home value vs rent · indexed to 100

Both rebased at first month of ZORI data (~2015)
Home valueRent121132100120140202220242026

Rent vs buy

Price-to-rent ratio: 24.4
Lean rent

At a 24.4 price-to-rent ratio, the math is starting to lean toward renting in Santa Fe. Buying makes more sense the longer you plan to stay and the more confident you are that prices will keep appreciating roughly in line with rent.

How the momentum score breaks down

methodology →
Home YoY
48 · w22%
Home 5-yr growth
58 · w22%
Distance from peak
84 · w18%
Population growth
62 · w16%
Rent YoY
45 · w12%
Home 10-yr growth
71 · w10%

About Santa Fe (Wikipedia)

Santa Fe is the capital city of the U.S. state of New Mexico. It is the fourth-most populous city in the state with a population of 87,505 as of the 2020 census, while the Santa Fe metropolitan area has an estimated 158,000 people. The greater Albuquerque–Santa Fe–Los Alamos combined statistical area includes eight counties in north-central New Mexico with 1.16 million residents. The county seat of Santa Fe County, Santa Fe is situated at the foothills of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains at the highest altitude of any U.S. state capital, with an elevation of 6,998 feet.

Source: Wikipedia · this summary is contributed and licensed under CC-BY-SA.

City facts

MayorMichael Garcia (D)
Area52.34 sq mi
Elevation6998 ft
Founded1610
NicknameThe City Different
Density1675.28/sq mi
Named forSt. Francis of Assisi

Extracted from the Wikipedia infobox. Values may be slightly out of date relative to the latest sources.

Things to see in Santa Fe(Tourism)

  • The Inn & Spa at Loretto
  • Palace of the Governors
  • Santa Fe International Folk Art Market
  • Sangre de Cristo Mountains
  • Fiestas de Santa Fe
  • Don Diego de Vargas
  • Zozobra
  • Gibbs Smith
  • Google Books
  • Taos
  • Bandelier National Monument
  • Valles Caldera

+3 more on Wikipedia.

Extracted from the Wikipedia article. Names linked in the source — open the city’s Wikipedia page for details.

Local safety & alerts

No active National Weather Service alerts for Santa Fe County right now.

Public-safety links are official .gov sources, not curated by us. Santa Fe County routes NWS alerts; check the state EM portal for non-weather emergencies.

Neighborhoods of Santa Fe

20 tracked · ranked by median home value
1Vista Encantada$1,281,620+0.2%
2Canyon$1,185,442+4.8%
3San Acacio$1,172,307+5.0%
4Don Gaspar$842,207+7.6%
5San Mateo$769,258-0.7%
6Don Diego$640,079-0.1%
7La Nueva Casa Solana$604,358-1.2%
8Arroyo Chamisa$575,011-0.1%
9Historic Guadalupe$567,236+0.5%
10Casa Linda$514,810-2.4%
11Torreon$508,822-0.7%
12Casa Alegre$502,238+1.4%
13Candlelight$494,234+1.1%
14La Joya$491,277-4.3%
15La Madera$481,761-1.2%
16Barrio La Canada$475,789-2.1%
17Fiesta$459,280-0.7%
18Casas Del Cerro$448,028-0.1%
19Bellamah$399,364+0.6%
20Las Acequias$396,477+0.0%

New Mexico context

Schools

41 public schools16,946 students15.0:1 student-teacher

Santa Fe is served by 41 public schools enrolling about 16,946 students, with a student-teacher ratio of 15.0:1 — about the same as the US average of ~15:1. Public-school facts are from the NCES Common Core of Data; check ratings and attendance boundaries by exact address below.

Ratings, districts & boundaries:

Sources: Zillow ZHVI (home values), Zillow ZORI (rents), US Census ACS + place population. Updated when source agencies publish revisions.

Climate & natural-disaster risk

Winter (Jan)
50° / 25°
avg high / low
Summer (Jul)
87° / 61°
avg high / low
Sunny days/yr
280
~77% of year
Annual precip
14″ rain
12″ snow
Disaster risk (1=very low, 5=very high)
Hurricane
Very low
Tornado
Low
Wildfire
Very high
Earthquake
Low
Flood
Low

State-level averages from NOAA Climate Normals (1991-2020) and FEMA National Risk Index. City-level conditions can vary significantly within a state.

Current weather

Loading current conditions…

7-day forecast on weather.gov →

Find rentals & listings

Open current Santa Fe listings on the major real-estate sites.

Links open the live search on the destination site — results are always current.

Local news & community

Updated 2026-05-28 from Google News + Reddit RSS. Filtered for Santa Fe-specific coverage. Headlines link to original sources.

Local sports teams

Major professional teams the Santa Fe area cheers for. Detailed stats, schedules, and player pages on intherafters.com.

Local economy & environment

Humidity
48%
Dry climate
Median household income
$58,700
New Mexico state median
Top industries (state-level)
Government (labs)TourismOil & Gas

Humidity is annual average relative humidity (NOAA). Income is Census ACS 5-year estimate. Industries are largest employment sectors statewide (BLS); the local mix in a given city may vary.

Find more cities like Santa Fe

Open the matchmaker pre-filled to match Santa Fe’s price band, region, and size — refine to taste.

Find more like Santa Fe →

Cities similar to Santa Fe

Explore other places with comparable momentum or affordability.

See all New Mexico cities →    Browse best-of lists →

Cost-of-ownership at the median

Tax burden
moderate state tax
~29% all-in for a $150k earner
Property tax / yr
$5k
0.78% × median home $581k
Climate / hazard
limited data
Plan for the local hazard profile.

Snapshot assumes a $150k single earner buying at the median home. Your real numbers depend on bracket, deductions, school district, and HOA. Use the affordability calculator and net-pay calculator for your specific case.

Schools & crime context

Schools

School quality is district-by-district and varies dramatically within a city. Check GreatSchools or your state DOE rankings for specific schools before deciding. City-level school data coming soon.

Crime

New Mexico: 780 violent crimes per 100K residents (state avg, FBI UCR). Neighborhood-level rates can vary 10× within one city — research specific areas via CrimeGrade or local police data.

Compare to where you live now

Set your current city once and we’ll show the cost delta on every city profile.

Jobs & hiring

In Santa Fe, unemployment sits around 5.1%, and hiring momentum has been steady. The strongest local sectors are tech, skilled trades & manufacturing and healthcare.

5.1% unemployment54/100 hiring momentum$73,482 median household income35/100 remote-work fit

Search current openings: