Living in Carlsbad, NM
Small city in New Mexico
Carlsbad is a small city in New Mexico, home to about 32,000 people, with 37,000 living within 31 mi. Day to day, most trips are by car. Life moves at a slow, calm pace, and homes are mostly houses.
Is Carlsbad a good place to live? Pros and cons
👍 Pros
- Dog-friendly: 4 dog parks within 9 mi
- Sunny: more sunshine and clearer skies than most places
- Affordable housing: a typical 3-bedroom home is about $291k and rents for $1,900 a month
- Low taxes: about $1,191 state income tax per resident, 0.54% property tax
👎 Cons
- Smaller job market: about 37,000 people live within 31 mi
- Quieter on culture: few museums and attractions nearby
- Fewer graduates: 20% of adults have a bachelor's degree or higher
- Few top-rated hospitals: no 4–5★ hospital within 31 mi
Whether it's a good place for you depends on what you value. Take the quiz to see how Carlsbad ranks against your own priorities.
Key facts
Living in Carlsbad: common questions
What is the cost of living in Carlsbad?
A typical 3-bedroom home is worth about $291k, and a 3-bedroom rents for about $1,900 a month including utilities. Overall living costs are below the US average (index 92, where the US is 100).
What are taxes like in Carlsbad?
New Mexico collects about $1,191 in state income tax per resident, and homeowners here pay about 0.54% of their home's value in property tax each year.
Is Carlsbad safe?
Carlsbad isn't in the FBI's 2019 city crime table, so Best Life Fit Me counts its safety as average.
What is the weather like in Carlsbad?
Carlsbad has mild winters: winter days average around 60°F and summer days around 96°F, with roughly 3″ of snow a year.
Does Carlsbad get natural disasters?
Natural disaster risk is moderate, mainly from flooding: 4 federally declared disasters have hit the county since 2000, and FEMA expects about 1.04 deaths or injuries per 100,000 residents a year.
What is the nearest major airport to Carlsbad?
The nearest major airport is ELP, about 132 mi away.
How Carlsbad scores
Each bar compares Carlsbad with the other 1,990 places in Best Life Fit Me. A dot shows where it sits between two ends, such as major metro and small town; neither end is better. Coloured bars run from poor (red) to excellent (green).
Places like Carlsbad
These places have the most similar overall profile across all 24 aspects.
The circle is each place's all-round score out of 100: the average of its 15 quality scores, from red (poor) to green (excellent).
Nearby
See all the best places to live in New Mexico.
Is Carlsbad right for you?
Answer 27 quick questions and see how it ranks against your priorities.