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Town

Santa Fe

#3 in Best Places to Live in Santa Fe County
  • B+
    Overall Grade
  • Town in New Mexico
  • 154 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-
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Population
82,927

Real Estate

Median Home Value
$259,700
National
$184,700
Median Rent
$964
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
    247
    283
  • Murder
    1
    6
  • Rape
    59
    41
  • Robbery
    99
    136
Property Crimes
  • Calculated annually per 100,000 residents
National
  • Burglary
    1,326
    500
  • Theft
    2,209
    2,043
  • Motor Vehicle Theft
    285
    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.
Median Household Income
$51,572
National
$55,322
Children
17%
Education Levels
National
  • Master's degree or higher
    20%
    12%
  • Bachelor's degree
    21%
    19%
  • Some college or associate's degree
    24%
    29%
  • High school diploma or equivalent
    22%
    28%
  • Less than high school diploma
    13%
    13%
  • Public Schools
  • Private Schools
  • Colleges
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Santa Fe Reviews

154 reviews
All Categories
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.
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I have lived in Santa Fe almost my entire life and I am currently a college student down at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces, NM. Every single day I miss Santa Fe and everything about the city. It is diverse, beautiful, unique, peaceful, and so much more! It is a great place to live a healthy fun life!
Well, it's different here - both wonderful and difficult. There is great food, fascinating culture, world-class arts scene, quaint and historic places, Pueblo architecture, big skies, stunning vistas. Hiking, amazing birds, healthy bee population. We could go on for pages about the attributes of this place.
New Mexico exerts a hold on people that is hard to explain. Among the "trivia" we complain about:

1. Worst driving ever.
2. Appalling roads
3. Very high property taxes in the county area - for basically no services.
4. The "gringo tax" is popular. We didn't believe this, at first, but it became obvious. We have found many 'service' providers bid on a job at an inflated price.
6. Everything takes a long time.
7. Levels of dirtiness and neglect seem typical .
8. Apathy, corruption, and nepotism keep New Mexico at the bottom of the heap on virtually every social measure.