Belen Hotel · Photo: AzaniahT · CC BY-SA 3.0Measured against area pay, Belen costs less to live in than 69% of U.S. towns
It ranks #23 of 72 in New Mexico for affordability. Up 2.3% in a year, 14% below the New Mexico typical home.
Census 2020–24 home values, rents, tax bills and cost burden, measured against the median household income of the Albuquerque, NM metro area ($71K). How TownRatings grades cost of living
In dollars, homes in Belen cost less than the New Mexico typical home. But the grade compares costs with what households in the area earn, and Albuquerque-area incomes are lower too ($71K, against $74K for the typical U.S. town). Property tax takes 0.73% of a home’s value a year (New Mexico: 0.70%), and 59% of renters pay 30% or more of income for housing.
In dollars
- $272Ktypical home, 14% below the New Mexico typical homeZillow, September 2026
- $1,310a month for a two-bedroom, utilities includedHUD Fair Market Rent, 2026
- 96prices across the Albuquerque metro, where the U.S. is 100 (housing 89)BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024
In paychecks the grade
- 2.3 yrsof area income buys the typical home; the typical U.S. town: 3.3$71K, Albuquerque-area income
- 16%of area income goes to the median rent; the typical U.S. town: 18%Census 2020–24
- 59%of renters pay 30%+ of income for housing; across New Mexico: 50%Census 2020–24
- 28%of owners do; the typical U.S. town: 20%Census 2020–24
What Belen’s housing numbers say
A median income goes further next door
At Belen’s median income, the calculator’s budget of about $171K falls short here but covers the typical home in Pueblitos ($117K). Can I afford it? ↓
Written from the data on this page. Home values are the Zillow Home Value Index, through September 2026; sales and supply are Redfin’s for September 2026; incomes, rents paid, taxes and ownership come from the Census American Community Survey.
What’s behind Belen’s grade
Measured against what households in the area earn, Belen is more affordable than 69% of U.S. towns, #23 of 72 in New Mexico. The share of households paying 30%+ for housing pulls the grade down most; property tax holds it up.
Prices here have kept pace with New Mexico: up 22.6% in five years, against 25.1% statewide (Zillow).
Up 22.6% in five years
About the same pace as New Mexico (25.1%).
Show as a table
| January | Belen | New Mexico |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | $135,000 | $177,000 |
| 2018 | $143,000 | $183,000 |
| 2019 | $149,000 | $191,000 |
| 2020 | $167,000 | $203,000 |
| 2021 | $196,000 | $228,000 |
| 2022 | $233,000 | $261,000 |
| 2023 | $241,000 | $285,000 |
| 2024 | $254,000 | $299,000 |
| 2025 | $266,000 | $310,000 |
| 2026 | $270,000 | $313,000 |
| September 2026 | $272,000 | $316,000 |
A typical Belen home worth $132K in October 2016 is worth about $272K today.
Zillow Home Value Index: the typical value of all homes (middle third), smoothed and seasonally adjusted, through September 2026.
Too few sales to read the market
Only 5 homes sold in September 2026, the latest month in Redfin’s figures: too few to describe the market or quote a median sale price.
A typical home costs 2.3 years of area income
The calculator starts from the area income the grade uses. Switch to Belen’s own median, or type yours.
That covers a typical Belen home, with $11K to spare.
A two-bedroom rents for about $1,310 a month here, $280 less than owning.
An estimate, not a loan offer: payments of up to 28% of income, a 30-year fixed loan, Belen’s typical property tax (0.73% of value a year, from the Census) and insurance of about 0.35%. Mortgage insurance, HOA fees and other debts aren’t included.
A two-bedroom rents for about $1,310
Renters already here pay a median of $916, so moving in tends to cost more than staying put.
Fair Market Rent a month, utilities included
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Fair Market Rents by ZIP code (Albuquerque, NM MSA): the 40th-percentile rent plus utilities for a standard unit. Median rent and renters: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey.
Low tax bills, but a high tax rate
The median bill is $1,216, under the New Mexico median of $1,731, because homes cost less. As a share of value it’s 0.73% a year, against 0.70% statewide.
Census American Community Survey 2020–24: the median real-estate tax bill homeowners report, and that bill ÷ the median home value. Bills include town, school and county taxes. The Census reports bills over $10,000 only as “$10,000+”.
The rest of a budget near Belen
Only figures published free for the whole country, each labeled with the area it covers: the Albuquerque, NM metro area, or New Mexico. Groceries follow the goods price level; nobody publishes them town by town.
| Cost | Here | Compared with | Area | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prices overall U.S. = 100 | 96 | NM 92 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| Goods (groceries, clothing, cars…) U.S. = 100 | 96 | NM 96 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| Utilities U.S. = 100 | 78 | NM 78 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| Other services U.S. = 100 | 99 | NM 99 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
Price levels: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities 2024 (metro area and state). Electricity: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Electric Power Monthly, table 5.6.A.
Belen vs. its neighbors
Of the 1 towns here with a Zillow value, Belen has the lowest. Los Chaves and Sausal and Pueblitos have no Zillow value, so they are in the table only.
Cost next door · one source per column
| Town | Cost | Typical home Zillow, September 2026 | Median value Census 2020–24 | Tax rate bill ÷ value | 2-bed rent HUD 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Belen | B+ | $272K | $166K | 0.73% | $1,310 |
| Sausal | – | — | $255K | 0.56% | $1,200 |
| Los Chaves | B | — | $286K | 0.57% | $1,300 |
| Jarales | A+ | — | — | — | $1,200 |
| Pueblitos | – | — | $117K | — | $1,200 |
“—” under Cost: not graded (too little Census data, or under 1,000 residents). “—” under Zillow: Zillow publishes no value for that town, so it’s left blank rather than mixed with Census figures.
Questions about the cost of living in Belen
Is Belen expensive to live in?
Measured against what households in the area earn, Belen costs less than 69% of U.S. towns: a B+ for cost of living, #23 of 72 in New Mexico. The typical home costs 2.3 years of the median household income of the Albuquerque, NM metro area ($71K).
How much does a house cost in Belen?
About $272K, Zillow’s typical value for September 2026, up 2.3% in a year. The New Mexico typical home is $316K.
What salary do you need to live in Belen?
To buy the typical home with 20% down at 6.3%, about $68,000 a year, keeping the payment (about $1,590 a month with tax and insurance) at 28% of income. To rent a two-bedroom at 30% of income, about $52,000.
How much is rent in Belen?
HUD puts a two-bedroom at about $1,310 a month with utilities, the going rate for someone moving in. Renters already here pay a median of $916 (Census 2020–24).
What are property taxes in Belen?
The median bill is $1,216 a year, 0.73% of the median home value (New Mexico: $1,731, 0.70%), from the Census 2020–24.
Are home prices in Belen going up?
Yes: up 2.3% in the past year and 22.6% in five years, against 25.1% across New Mexico (Zillow).
Neighbors talk housing
What Belen buyers, sellers and renters are saying.
Home values: Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI), Zillow Research, September 2026. Sales, days on market and supply: Redfin Data Center, September 2026. Income, ownership, taxes and rent: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey. Fair Market Rents: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The calculator is an estimate, not a loan offer. Regional price levels: BEA; electricity: EIA. How TownRatings grades cost of living.