Living in South Valley, NM
Suburb in New Mexico
South Valley is a suburb in New Mexico, home to about 37,000 people, with 846,000 living within 31 mi. Day to day, most trips are by car. Life moves at a relaxed pace, and homes are mostly houses.
Is South Valley a good place to live? Pros and cons
👍 Pros
- Affordable housing: a typical 3-bedroom home is about $239k and rents for $1,460 a month
- Sunny: more sunshine and clearer skies than most places
- Low natural disaster risk: 3 federally declared disasters since 2000
- Easy flying: ABQ is 5 mi away
👎 Cons
- Weaker public schools: test results well below the US average
- Fewer graduates: 15% of adults have a bachelor's degree or higher
- Smaller job market: about 846,000 people live within 31 mi
- Fewer outdoor escapes: few parks and no water close by
Whether it's a good place for you depends on what you value. Take the quiz to see how South Valley ranks against your own priorities.
Key facts
Living in South Valley: common questions
What is the cost of living in South Valley?
A typical 3-bedroom home is worth about $239k, and a 3-bedroom rents for about $1,460 a month including utilities. Overall living costs are below the US average (index 96, where the US is 100).
What are taxes like in South Valley?
New Mexico collects about $1,191 in state income tax per resident, and homeowners here pay about 0.71% of their home's value in property tax each year.
Is South Valley safe?
South Valley isn't in the FBI's 2019 city crime table, so Best Life Fit Me counts its safety as average.
How are the schools in South Valley?
Public schools in South Valley test well below the US average in math and reading (2018–19 state tests, put on one national scale with NAEP), with about 15 students per teacher.
What is the weather like in South Valley?
South Valley has cool winters: winter days average around 53°F and summer days around 91°F, with roughly 7″ of snow a year.
Does South Valley get natural disasters?
Natural disaster risk is low, mainly from flooding and earthquakes: 3 federally declared disasters have hit the county since 2000, and FEMA expects about 0.55 deaths or injuries per 100,000 residents a year.
What is the nearest major airport to South Valley?
The nearest major airport is ABQ, about 5 mi away.
How South Valley scores
Each bar compares South Valley 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 South Valley
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 South Valley right for you?
Answer 27 quick questions and see how it ranks against your priorities.