Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Home to 3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Bernalillo gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $341K, 4.8 years of the Albuquerque metro’s $71K median household income. It grades C− overall, 34th among New Mexico's 72 graded towns. The low prices come with trade-offs. FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 82% of U.S. communities, with inland flooding at the top, and its crime rate is higher than 80% of U.S. towns, with 37 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025. On the plus side, it is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 77% of U.S. towns. Only 12 of New Mexico’s 161 towns score higher on history. Bernalillo's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) trails 92% of U.S. towns. 25% of residents are 65 or older in Bernalillo, where New Mexico’s towns sit at 17% and U.S. towns at 18%.
Where Bernalillo beats most towns.
Our Lady of Sorrows Church
Census counts: 1,223 in 1880, 8,977 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1935 and 4 maps from 1954 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New Mexico), ordered by how far Bernalillo is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Bernalillo. Close and well known come first.
18 mi Stadium & arenaUniversity Stadium
29 mi National MonumentBandelier National Monument248K visitors a year
36 mi National PreserveValles Caldera National Preserve85K visitors a year
11 mi National MonumentPetroglyph National Monument311K visitors a year
7 mi Stadium & arenaRio Rancho Events Center
11 mi Ski areaSandia Peak Ski Area66 runs · 1,599 ft verticalUniversity Stadium: Kenneth C. Zirkel, CC BY 4.0 · Bandelier National Monument: Andrew Dunn (talk · contribs), CC BY-SA 2.0 · Valles Caldera National Preserve: Jesse Allen and Robert Simmon, Public domain · Petroglyph National Monument: Unknown, Public domain · Rio Rancho Events Center: Maryabm2009, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Sandia Peak Ski Area: Skoch3, CC BY-SA 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Bernalillo, 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 Bernalillo.
Bernalillo trades workers with Albuquerque and other neighbors and has seen reported crime fall beyond ordinary swings, but it scores below Santa Ana Pueblo and its other neighbors on health.
Reported crimes fell from 229 to 184 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
The violent offense rate in Bernalillo is 4 per 1,000 residents. Within New Mexico, it does better than just over three in five towns.
| Bernalillo | New Mexico towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 4 per 1,000 residents | 4.4 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 16 per 1,000 residents | 16.4 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Two of its 5 schools are below, each with the reason it’s listed. The largest public high school is Bernalillo High, with 824 students. The Bernalillo school district runs its public schools.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| WD Carroll ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–3 | Grades K–3 | 399 | – |
| Bernalillo HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 824 | D |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NM on state tests and graduation
One declared disaster, in 2006, has brought federal aid to Bernalillo households. Expected losses in Bernalillo break down as 85% from inland flooding and 9% from earthquakes. Also worth knowing: 2 flood insurance claims have been paid locally since 2018.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The July high for Bernalillo comes to 93°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
All 3 graded neighbors score healthier than its C, from Santa Ana Pueblo (B) to Placitas (A−).
In Bernalillo, 70% of adults had a checkup this year, and 16% have diabetes. On the CDC’s 32 measures, Bernalillo is ahead of New Mexico on 1 and behind on 3. For adults 18 to 64 locally, the share who have no health insurance is 21%.
| Bernalillo | New Mexico towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 16% | 8.1% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 13% | 16% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 70% | 69% | 79% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 14% | 12% |
| What stands out | Bernalillo | NM |
|---|---|---|
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 77% | 73.3% |
| More uninsured adults | 20.5% | 15.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
3.3 miles of trail wind through 4 parks and preserves. Bernalillo’s trail network density is 0.6 miles per square mile.
| Bernalillo | New Mexico towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.6 miles per square mile | 1.0 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 3.7% | 4% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Rotary Park | — | 8 |
| 2. Rio Rancho Bosque Nature Preserve | — | 1 |
| 3. Blue Arrowhead Park | — | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Bernalillo has about as many jobs (4,371) as working residents, but only 459 people both live and work here. Jobs based here grew from 2,758 in 2013 to 4,371.
Half the trips to work are shorter than 13 miles. Jobs based in Bernalillo grew to 4,371 in 2023, 1,613 more than in 2013. Only just over a tenth of working residents stay in Bernalillo for work; the rest commute out. Among residents in the town, 16% live below the poverty line.
| Bernalillo | New Mexico towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 16% | 21% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 27 minutes | 23 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $64,000 | $55,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 12% | 15% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Among adults 25 and older, 23% have a four-year degree or more, against 31% across New Mexico. People 65 and older are a quarter of residents (19% statewide); children under 18 are 17% of residents (22% statewide). For Bernalillo, the midpoint age is 43.9 years.
| Bernalillo | New Mexico towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 43.9 years | 37.2 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 23% | 23% | 29% |
51% women, 49% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±3.5 points. Across New Mexico, 50.3% of residents are women.
| Bernalillo | NM | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 8.2% | 11% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 8.9% | 10.7% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 8.7% | 9.3% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 15% | 13.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 10.3% | 12.8% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 13.3% | 11.2% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 10.3% | 12.5% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 14.6% | 11.5% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 10.6% | 7.8% | 7% |
| No diploma | 19.4% | 12% | 10.4% |
| High school | 32.6% | 25.7% | 26% |
| Some college | 16.9% | 22.2% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 8.6% | 9.2% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 11.5% | 17.1% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 11% | 13.9% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Bernalillo’s typical rent stands at $902 a month. The typical home value locally is about $341,000, about the same as a year ago, 8% above the New Mexico typical home.
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
1 within 15 miles of the center of Bernalillo
About 4 of every 100 Bernalillo residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across New Mexico.
3 places in Bernalillo on the National Register of Historic Places.
Town in New Mexico, United States
Bernalillo () is a town in and the county seat of Sandoval County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 8,977 at the 2020 census. Bernalillo is part of the Albuquerque metropolitan area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
3 towns share a border with Bernalillo.
| Town | NM rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bernalillo | #34 | C− | A− | C− | C− | C |
| Placitas | #17 | C | C− | — | C− | A− |
| Santa Ana Pueblo | — | — | A+ | — | C− | B |
| Rio Rancho | #3 | B | C | C | A | A− |
Santa Ana Pueblo has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Placitas and Santa Ana Pueblo report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Bernalillo with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Bernalillo grades C− overall, better than 20% of U.S. towns and #34 of 72 in New Mexico. It grades C for health, C− for safety and C− for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a C−.
Bernalillo reports more crime per resident than 80% of U.S. towns, a C− Safety Grade: 37 violent and 147 property crimes in 2025. Within New Mexico, it does better than 61% of towns.
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 A−.
