Sangre de Christo Chapel Cuarteles, NM, 2009
Cuartelez’s story
Cuartelez in pictures
The archive holds 1 old photo or paper going back to 2009 and 3 maps from 1953 on.
Explore the history →CuartelezNM
A town of 1,512.
Population
1,512
Census survey, 2020–24
Median home value
$305K
Census ACS
Household income
$114K
median
Median age
30.0
years
Jobs based here
2
A commuter town
Is Cuartelez a good place to live?
Cuartelez’s best subject grade is an A− for cost of living; its weakest is a D for hazard risk. On incomes, just 13 of New Mexico’s 156 towns do better. Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 82% of U.S. towns. Only 3 of the 73 New Mexico towns we compare have a higher income of the median household than Cuartelez. 49% of the land in Cuartelez is conserved, where New Mexico’s towns sit at 3.9% and U.S. towns at 4.3%. Cuartelez has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
A commuter town
100% of working residents leave Cuartelez for work
Where Cuartelez’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
2jobs based in Cuartelez
0%of working residents work in town
18 mimedian commute distance
Census LEHD 2023
How Cuartelez grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New Mexico), ordered by how far Cuartelez is from typical.
Hazard riskinland flooding tops the listDOpen →WalkabilityEPA walkability 6.5 of 20; 0% of households have no car; 0% of workers walk, bike or ride transitC−Open →Cost of livingTypical home $305K, 3.9 years of the Santa Fe metro’s $79K median household incomeA−Open →SchoolsBehind 78% of New Mexico districts on tests and graduationC−Open →HealthHealthier than 69% of U.S. towns; Presbyterian Espanola Hospital 3.7 miles awayB+Open →Jobs & income$114K median household income; 2 jobs based hereB+Open →
Character Graded, but not part of the overall grade.
Described, not graded Taste, not quality: snow or an older crowd is neither good nor bad.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Getting set up
Moving to Cuartelez: who provides what
Cuartelez is unincorporated, so Santa Fe County and regional agencies provide most services.
PowerJemez Mountains Elec Coop15.8¢/kWh · EIA 2025HIFLD · EIA
WaterCuatro Villas Mdwca water system6 health-based violations in 5 years · EPAEPA
Internet6 providers99% of addresses get 100/20 MbpsFCC
Trash & county servicesSanta Fe CountySanta Fe County provides services here
Register to voteOnlineIn New Mexico you can register online until 28 days before Election Day, in person up to and including Election Day, or by mail (postmarked 28 days before).vote.govWho runs elections hereSanta Fe County ClerkSanta Fe County; contacts on the Handbook page.FVAP, Dec 2025
ZIP code8756787567 100%Census 2020
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Aug 27, 2026.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Cuartelez.
OutdoorsB−
Open space protected for good: nearly a third of Cuartelez
Cuartelez’s trail network density comes in at 1.4 miles per square mile.
49.4%conserved
49.4%
conserved · 429 of 869 acres
1.9 mi
of trails · 1.4 per sq mi
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Natural hazardsHazard risk grade D
Natural hazards: very high risk in Cuartelez, mostly inland flooding
Cuartelez’s FEMA hazard score stands at 85 of 100. FEMA puts 78% of the town’s expected hazard losses down to inland flooding, and 14% to wildfires.
85risk score of 100
FEMA risk score
Inland floodingWildfire
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Work & commuteJobs & income grade B+
With 0.0 jobs for every working resident, most of Cuartelez’s workers commute out
In Cuartelez, the mean commuting time is 31 minutes, above both New Mexico’s towns (23 minutes) and U.S. towns (25 minutes). 5.6% of residents live below the poverty line here. The top destinations are Los Alamos (26%), Santa Fe (18%) and Española (17%).
0%work in town
| Cuartelez | New Mexico towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 5.6% | 21% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 31 minutes | 23 minutes | 25 minutes |
Where working residents work
In Cuartelez0%
Los Alamos26%
Santa Fe18%
Española17%
Albuquerque12%
18 mi
median commute distance
2
jobs based in Cuartelez
A commuter town
jobs vs. working residents
C−
Walkability grade: more walkable than 18% of U.S. towns
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
HealthB+
Compared with most of New Mexico and the rest of the country, fewer of Cuartelez’s adults have been diagnosed with depression
Among adults in Cuartelez, 18% worry about having enough food. This New Mexico town does better than the New Mexico average on 11 of 32 CDC measures and worse on 1. In Cuartelez, 13% of adults report frequent mental distress, and 27% have obesity.
69%healthier than U.S. townsB+Health Grade
| Cuartelez | New Mexico towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 68% | 69% | 79% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 16% | 17% |
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 16% | 8.1% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 35% | 35% |
32 measures vs. New Mexico
11 better20 too close to call1 worse
| What stands out | Cuartelez | NM |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 8.7% | 14.2% |
| Fewer smokers | 9.3% | 13.4% |
| Fewer adults seeing a dentist | 57% | 61.4% |
Presbyterian Espanola Hospital
3.7 mi away · emergency room
None
primary care, dental or mental-health shortage
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
11″snow a winter
Typical low → high °F
Winter19–48°
Spring34–69°
Summer54–88°
Fall36–69°
Oct 6
typical first frost
May 11
typical last frost
+1.5°
vs. the 20th-century average
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
HousingCost of living grade A−
The median home in Cuartelez sells for about $605K
In Cuartelez, 79% of households live in a home they own.
$605Kmedian sale price
2
homes sold in April
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Nearby attractions
All 32 attractions →Bandelier National Monument and 25 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Cuartelez. Close and well known come first.
13 mi National MonumentBandelier National Monument248K visitors a year
21 mi National PreserveValles Caldera National Preserve85K visitors a year
21 mi MuseumGeorgia O'Keeffe Museum
17 mi National Historical ParkManhattan Project National Historical Park56K visitors a year
19 mi Ski areaSki Santa Fe, Santa Fe, Q3855588 runs · 1,753 ft vertical
22 mi Park & preserveSanta Fe PlazaSources: National Park Service · ski areas © OpenSkiMap / OpenStreetMap contributors · Wikidata · Wikipedia readership · photos via Wikimedia Commons
Photo credits
Bandelier National Monument: Andrew Dunn (talk · contribs), CC BY-SA 2.0 · Valles Caldera National Preserve: Jesse Allen and Robert Simmon, Public domain · Georgia O'Keeffe Museum: John Phelan, CC BY 3.0 · Manhattan Project National Historical Park: Unknown, Public domain · Ski Santa Fe, Santa Fe, Q38555: Ybratcher, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Santa Fe Plaza: See above, CC BY 2.0
Keep exploring
Everything we know about Cuartelez
17pages on Cuartelez
The big questions
Out and about
Day to day
After high school
Colleges nearby
1 within 15 miles of the center of Cuartelez
About 0 of every 100 Cuartelez residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across New Mexico.
About Cuartelez
Census-designated place in New Mexico, United States
Cuartelez (or Cuarteles) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Santa Fe County, New Mexico, United States. It is part of the Santa Fe, New Mexico Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2020 census, Cuartelez had a population of 455.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 1.4 sq mi
Cuartelez’s neighbors
4 towns share a border with Cuartelez.
La PueblaSanta CruzSombrilloEspañolaCuartelez
How the neighbors grade
| Town | NM rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cuartelez | — | — | A− | — | C− | B+ |
| La Puebla | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Santa Cruz | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Sombrillo | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Española | #59 | D | B | — | C− | C |
Cuartelez has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Cuartelez and Española report no FBI crime data of their own. La Puebla, Santa Cruz and Sombrillo aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Cuartelez with a neighbor →
Questions about Cuartelez
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Cuartelez, NM expensive?
Not for the area. The typical home is worth about $305,000, 4% below the New Mexico typical home. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades A−.