Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Belen earns a D, ranked 64th of 72 in New Mexico, mostly because of safety and incomes. Its police reported 99 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025, a higher rate per resident than 99% of U.S. towns. The median household income is $43K, and 31% of residents live below the poverty line. In its favor, it is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 78% of U.S. towns. 31% of residents live below the poverty line in Belen, above both New Mexico’s towns (20%) and U.S. towns (9.6%). Of the 32 New Mexico towns we compare, none has a higher level of property crime than Belen. Its National Register listings include Felipe Chaves House and Belen Hotel.
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.
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.
18% of adults in Belen have diabetes; 19% report frequent physical distress. This New Mexico town beats the New Mexico average on 1 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 14. Also worth knowing: the share of adults 18 to 64 in Belen who have no health insurance: 22%. Only 7 of the 73 New Mexico towns we compare have a higher share of adults who get no exercise outside work 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
For Belen, the risk rating from FEMA is 75 of 100. 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
The peak summer temperature in Belen is 93°F.
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.
The top destinations are Albuquerque (38%), Los Lunas (12%) and Santa Fe (3%). Just 16% of Belen’s working residents have a job in town. The town had 3,003 jobs in 2023, up 249 from 2013. Its mean commuting time comes in at 26 minutes.
| Belen | New Mexico towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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.
Over the 12 months to September 2026, the typical home gained 2.3% in value. Belen’s typical rent is $916 a month. 73% of Belen households live in a home they own.
| 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. The concentration of trails for Belen comes to 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. That is 3.8 years of the area's median household income ($70,783 across the Albuquerque, NM metro 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+.
