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Town

Santa Fe

#3 in Best Places to Live in Santa Fe County
  • B+
    Overall Grade
  • Town in New Mexico
  • 159 reviews
B+
Overall Niche Grade
How are grades calculated?
  1. Public Schools
    C+
  2. Crime & Safety
    C+
  3. Housing
    C
  4. Nightlife
    B+
  5. Good for Families
    B-
  6. Diversity
    A
  7. Jobs
    C+
  8. Weather
    A
  9. Cost of Living
    C
  10. Health & Fitness
    A
  11. Outdoor Activities
    A-
  12. Commute
    A-
View Full Report Card
Santa Fe is a town in New Mexico with a population of 82,980. Santa Fe is in Santa Fe County. Living in Santa Fe offers residents a suburban feel and most residents own their homes. In Santa Fe there are a lot of coffee shops and parks. Many young professionals and retirees live in Santa Fe and residents tend to lean liberal.
Population
82,980

Real Estate

Median Home Value
$265,000
National
$184,700
Median Rent
$1,004
National
$949
Area Feel
Suburban
Rent vs. Own
  • Rent
    38%
  • Own
    62%
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Santa Fe Rankings

Niche ranks thousands of places to live based on key statistics from the U.S. Census and and expert insights.

Crime & Safety

Crime & Safety
C+
Based on violent and property crime rates.
Violent Crimes
  • Calculated annually per 100,000 residents
National
  • Assault
    229
    283
  • Murder
    5
    6
  • Rape
    43
    41
  • Robbery
    66
    136
Property Crimes
  • Calculated annually per 100,000 residents
National
  • Burglary
    1,456
    500
  • Theft
    2,058
    2,043
  • Motor Vehicle Theft
    254
    284
Home Security Options for Santa Fe
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  • 24/7 Whole home protection with no contract
  • CNET Editor’s choice winner 2018

Residents

Diversity
A
Based on ethnic and economic diversity.
Age
  • <10 years
    11%
  • 10-17 years
    9%
  • 18-24 years
    8%
  • 25-34 years
    13%
  • 35-44 years
    12%
  • 45-54 years
    13%
  • 55-64 years
    14%
  • 65+ years
    20%
Education Levels
National
  • Master's degree or higher
    21%
    12%
  • Bachelor's degree
    21%
    19%
  • Some college or associate's degree
    24%
    29%
  • High school diploma or equivalent
    23%
    28%
  • Less than high school diploma
    12%
    13%

Working in Santa Fe

Jobs
C+
Based on employment rates, job and business growth, and cost of living.
Median Household Income
$53,922
National
$55,322
Search for Jobs in Santa Fe
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  • Private Schools
  • Colleges
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Santa Fe Reviews

159 reviews
All Categories
Lived in Santa Fe two decades. Housing prices for unique homes are a bargain compared to California which we fled. It's beautiful! 7000 feet high with clean air and gorgeous nature: parks open to all. Friendly people, diversity, lots of dog lovers. Wonderful restaurants and art venues. The air is clean, roads are mostly good with minimal rush hour traffic. The entire state is great for skiing, cycling and hiking. NM has almost no earthquakes, no tornadoes or hurricanes, and fewer fires than many states. But jobs are scarce unless you bring your own business or consult out of state. So great for retirees with own income. It does snow in the winter, sometimes a lot but usually not bad especially compared to the midwest, anywhere north and the east coast.
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I love this place. Well aside from a very few things (opinion). First of all, I do enjoy the art scene. It is very big here and the downtown here is beautiful. Possibly the nicest small town downtown in the US. Another I really enjoy about this town is the tranquility. At about 70,000 people, it is very calm and serene with all the landscape and open space around. It is about 50 miles from a city named Albuquerque, which is the largest in the state of New Mexico. Though what I don’t Iike about Santa Fe is that it’s too isolated. Even though Albuquerque is near by, it is the only real city you’ll ever see. Denver comes close as the closest metropolis near by. Another thing I don’t like is the lack of amenities in Santa Fe. By amenities I mean by shopping choices and eateries. There’s not even a Jack in the Box here! But overall I do like this city for it being calm and having nice architecture.
Santa Fe is a very artistic and creative city with an European flavor to it. It has amazing food, beautiful architecture, fairly green, and progressive city. My favorite story about Santa Fe it the recent election of our mayor. It wasn't until after he won that I found out he was gay due to national news reporting we had elected a gay mayor. To my knowledge, it NEVER came up as an issue and I felt very proud to live in this city that day! I also really appreciate the Spanish and Native American culture influence that you can feel in this city. The cons about Santa Fe: Santa Feans natives are terrible drivers, easy to anger, and quick to take offense. I also wish it had a stronger economy than it does outside of tourism.