Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Alamogordo grades C− overall, ranked 39th of 72 in New Mexico, with clear strengths and some subjects that lag. On the other side, the median household income is $56K, and 17% of residents live below the poverty line. It also does better than most on schools: its schools rank ahead of 68% of New Mexico towns. Its lowest everyday mark is in safety: it reports more crime per resident than 85% of U.S. towns, including 139 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025. A typical home there costs about $220K, 3.9 years of the Alamogordo area’s $56K median household income. 49% of working residents work locally in Alamogordo, above both the New Mexico town median (13%) and the median of U.S. towns (8%). Alamogordo is home to New Mexico State University-Alamogordo.
Where Alamogordo beats most towns.
| College | Students |
|---|---|
| New Mexico State University-Alamogordo | 395 |
Administration Building
Edward CondonEach subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New Mexico), ordered by how far Alamogordo is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 2,363 in 1920, 30,898 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1900 and 4 maps from 1950 on.
7 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Alamogordo. Close and well known come first.
11 mi National ParkWhite Sands National Park660K visitors a year
in town MuseumNew Mexico Museum of Space History5.0M visitors a year
31 mi National forestLincoln National Forest
in town Zoo & aquariumAlameda Park Zoo
in town MuseumThe Toy Train Depot16 mi Ski areaSki Cloudcroft26 runs · 634 ft verticalWhite Sands National Park: uncredited NPS employee, Public domain · New Mexico Museum of Space History: AllenS, Public domain · Lincoln National Forest: Dsw3131, Public domain · Alameda Park Zoo: AllenS, Public domain · The Toy Train Depot: Original uploader was Madmaxmarchhare at en.wikipedia, CC BY 2.5
Who provides power, water and the rest in Alamogordo, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Aug 27, 2026.
Ordered by what stands out in Alamogordo.
Alamogordo is healthier than towns with similar incomes, has home values falling while New Mexico’s rise and has seen reported crime fall by a third or more.
Reported crimes fell from 1,051 to 710 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
The violent crime rate in Alamogordo is 4.4 per 1,000 residents. Alamogordo reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 85% report less. The property crime rate in Alamogordo is 17.9 per 1,000 residents.
| Alamogordo | New Mexico towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 4.4 per 1,000 residents | 4 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 17.9 per 1,000 residents | 16.2 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Its public schools are run by the Alamogordo school district. Two of its 16 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chaparral MiddleLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 513 | – |
| Alamogordo HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,440 | B− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NM on state tests and graduation
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 79% of U.S. communities. Since 1996, 68 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Alamogordo.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Values fell 2.2% in the past year while the New Mexico typical home rose 1.7%.
62% of Alamogordo households own their home. The typical Alamogordo home is worth about $220,000, 30% below the New Mexico typical home. Alamogordo’s median rent is $902 a month.
| Alamogordo | New Mexico towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 62% | 70% | 73% |
| Median rent | $902 a month | $944 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
16 miles of trail in 15 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Washington Park, at 31 acres.
| Alamogordo | New Mexico towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.7 miles per square mile | 1.0 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 4.1% | 3.8% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Washington Park | 0.3 mi | 31 |
| 2. Jim R. Griggs Sports Complex | — | 31 |
| 3. Balloon Park | — | 23 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Alamogordo has chilly winters and hot summers, with very little rain. July afternoons reach 93°, January nights drop to 27° and about 2 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The top destinations are Las Cruces (8%), Albuquerque (5%) and Holloman AFB (3%).
| Alamogordo | New Mexico towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 18 minutes | 23 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 7.3% | 8.4% | 11% |
| Median household income | $56,000 | $55,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
No broad age group is more than 4 points off the New Mexico average. Alamogordo has grown 3.2% since 2020, to 31,906 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 26% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 31% across New Mexico.
| Alamogordo | New Mexico towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 37.1 years | 37.5 years | 40.5 years |
| Aged 65 or older | 19% | 17% | 18% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 26% | 23% | 29% |
46% women, 54% men
About 116 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±1.2 points). Across New Mexico, 50.3% of residents are women. Among residents 25 to 34, 62% are men (NM 51%). Median age: women 40.4, men 34.6.
| Alamogordo | NM | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 12.5% | 11% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 9.6% | 10.7% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 9% | 9.3% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 16.7% | 13.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 13.2% | 12.8% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 9.8% | 11.2% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 10.2% | 12.5% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 10.7% | 11.5% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 8.5% | 7.8% | 7% |
| No diploma | 6.8% | 12% | 10.4% |
| High school | 27.1% | 25.7% | 26% |
| Some college | 28.6% | 22.2% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 12% | 9.2% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 15.6% | 17.1% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 9.9% | 13.9% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Against the 7,716 U.S. towns with household incomes like Alamogordo’s, it is healthier than 81%, so its B− isn’t only a matter of income. Within New Mexico it is healthier than 74% of the 73 graded towns: much of New Mexico scores lower on these measures.
Alamogordo beats the New Mexico average on 1 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 0. 71% of adults had a checkup this year in Alamogordo.
| Alamogordo | New Mexico towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 71% | 69% | 79% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 13% | 16% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 23% | 14% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 23% | 26% | 19% |
| What stands out | Alamogordo | NM |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 12.9% | 15.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
1 within 15 miles of the center of Alamogordo
About 6 of every 100 Alamogordo residents are enrolled in college, about the same as New Mexico.
7 places in Alamogordo on the National Register of Historic Places.
17 notable people were born in Alamogordo.
City in New Mexico, United States
Alamogordo () is a city in and the county seat of Otero County, New Mexico, United States. A city in the Tularosa Basin of the Chihuahuan Desert, it is bordered on the east by the Sacramento Mountains and to the west by Holloman Air Force Base. The population was 31,384 as of the 2020 census. Alamogordo is widely known for its connection with the 1945 Trinity test, which was the first-ever explosion of an atomic bomb. Humans have lived in the Alamogordo area for at least 11,000 years. The present settlement, established in 1898 to support the construction of the El Paso and Northeastern Railroad, is an early example of a planned community. The city was incorporated in 1912. Tourism became a…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with Alamogordo.
| Town | NM rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alamogordo | #39 | C− | B− | C− | B+ | B− |
| Boles Acres | — | — | A− | — | B+ | B− |
| La Luz | — | — | A+ | — | B+ | C+ |
Boles Acres and La Luz have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Boles Acres and La Luz report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Alamogordo with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Alamogordo grades C− overall, better than 18% of U.S. towns and #39 of 72 in New Mexico. It grades B− for health, C− for safety and B+ for schools. Jobs & income is its weak spot, with a D.
Within New Mexico, it does better than 50% of towns.
17 notable people were born here, including Edward Condon and Edwin L. Mechem.
