Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Belen grades low on several counts. Its weakest is safety: it reports more crime per resident than 99% of U.S. towns, including 99 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025. Where it does best is walkability: it is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 78% of U.S. towns. Add cost of living to its strengths — a typical home costs about $272K, 3.8 years of the Albuquerque metro’s $71K median household income. Put together, the subjects come to a D overall, ranking 64th of 72 in New Mexico. Nationally, it does better than 7% of U.S. towns. Incomes are weaker too: the median household income is $43K, and 31% of residents live below the poverty line. Its National Register listings include Felipe Chaves House and Belen Hotel.
Figures: home values, Zillow · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · FBI crime data, 2025 · National Register of Historic Places.
Where Belen beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Felipe Chaves House
Census counts: 1,306 in 1920, 7,360 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1860 and 3 maps from 1952 on.
4 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New Mexico), ordered by how far Belen is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Belen, 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 Belen.
Belen trades lower home prices for longer drives to work, but it is a long drive from an emergency room and reports violent crime at about twice the New Mexico rate.
Violent crime runs at 13 per 1,000 residents, about twice the New Mexico rate; the Safety Grade counts each violent crime four times, so this weighs most on its D−. Property crime runs at 47.9 per 1,000 residents, about twice the New Mexico rate, most of it theft.
Belen’s violent offense rate comes in at 13 per 1,000 residents.
| Belen | New Mexico towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 13 per 1,000 residents | 4 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 47.9 per 1,000 residents | 16.2 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
The Belen school district runs its public schools. The largest public high school is Belen High, with 958 students. Two of its 8 schools are below, each with the reason it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Belen MiddleLargest public middle schoolGrades 7–8 | Grades 7–8 | 475 | – |
| Belen HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 958 | C+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NM on state tests and graduation
The nearest emergency room, Presbyterian Hospital, is 23.9 miles away in a straight line. Against the 3,222 U.S. towns with household incomes like Belen’s, it is healthier than 60%, so its C− isn’t only a matter of income.
Belen: 19% of adults report frequent physical distress, above both New Mexico’s towns (17%) and U.S. towns (14%). 32% of Belen adults say their health is fair or poor. Also worth knowing: only 6 of the 73 New Mexico towns we compare have a higher share of adults who have diabetes than Belen.
| Belen | New Mexico towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 22% | 16% | 8.1% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 25% | 19% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 14% | 12% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 17% | 14% |
| What stands out | Belen | NM |
|---|---|---|
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 76.8% | 73.3% |
| More uninsured adults | 22.2% | 15.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
On expected storm and flood damage, Belen sits above three quarters of U.S. communities. The national flood insurance program has paid 23 claims in the town since 1988. FEMA puts 74% of the town’s expected hazard losses down to inland flooding, and 17% to earthquakes. Households in the town have drawn federal disaster aid in 2 declared disasters, most recently in 2022.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
July afternoons reach 93°, January nights drop to 23° and about 5 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Belen has about as many jobs (3,003) as working residents, but only 417 people both live and work here.
Just 16% of Belen’s working residents have a job in town. This New Mexico town had 3,003 jobs in 2023, up 249 from 2013. Its mean commuting time comes in at 26 minutes. The top destinations are Albuquerque (38%), Los Lunas (12%) and Santa Fe (3%).
| Belen | New Mexico towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 31% | 20% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $43,000 | $55,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 16% | 13% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 26 minutes | 23 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Homes are within reach (about $272K for the typical one, B+ for cost of living), but half of working residents commute more than 30 miles.
Homes sold in Belen spent a median 72 days on the market. Over the 12 months to September 2026, the typical home gained 2.3% in value. In Belen, the typical rent is $916 a month, where New Mexico’s towns sit at $944 a month and U.S. towns at $1,185 a month.
| Belen | New Mexico towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $916 a month | $944 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 73% | 70% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
There are 4.9 miles of trail across 4 parks and preserves. For Belen, the concentration of trails is 0.3 miles per square mile. Parks and preserves in the town: 4, covering 16 acres.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Vivian Fields | — | 12 |
| 2. Anna Becker Park | — | 2 |
| 3. Jose Gallegos Park | — | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
1 within 15 miles of the center of Belen
About 4 of every 100 Belen residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across New Mexico.
4 places in Belen on the National Register of Historic Places.
City in New Mexico, United States
Belén (; Spanish: Belén) is the second most populated city in Valencia County, New Mexico, the United States, after its county seat, Los Lunas. The population was 7,360 as of the 2020 Census. Belén is Spanish for Bethlehem. It gained the nickname "Hub City" after the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway completed a line through it in 1907. The city is geographically near the center of New Mexico, and is a significant transportation hub that includes access to rails, Interstate Highway 25, and air at Valencia County's only public airport. Belén is at the southern end of the Albuquerque Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city is located 35 miles south of Albuquerque.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
4 towns share a border with Belen.
| Town | NM rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Belen | #64 | D | B+ | D− | C+ | C− |
| Sausal | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Los Chaves | #42 | C− | B | — | C | C+ |
| Jarales | — | — | A+ | — | C | C |
| Pueblitos | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Jarales has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Los Chaves and Jarales report no FBI crime data of their own. Sausal and Pueblitos aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Belen with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Belen grades D overall, better than 7% of U.S. towns and #64 of 72 in New Mexico. It grades C− for health, D− for safety and C+ for schools. Safety is its weak spot, with a D−.
Not for the area. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B+.
