Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A regional job hub with 1,564 jobs. Population 3,218: a town settled in 1892.
Dulce’s lowest grade is for health: residents are less healthy than 97% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. Cost of living is its strong suit (A+): a typical home costs about $53K, less than a year of the Española area’s $57K median household income. Put together, the subjects come to a D overall, better than 7% of U.S. towns. It ranks 65th of 72 in New Mexico. Schools are weaker too (D−) — its public schools trail 96% of New Mexico towns on state tests and graduation. Incomes are weaker too (D−): the median household income is $40K, and 22% of residents live below the poverty line. Hazard risk is weaker too — FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 89% of U.S. communities, with inland flooding at the top. Dulce's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) trails 100% of U.S. towns.
Figures: home values, Zillow · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · health, CDC PLACES · schools, state test and graduation results · FEMA National Risk Index.
Where Dulce beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
| Widest gap | Dulce | NM |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 36.3% | 14.2% |
Where Dulce’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New Mexico), ordered by how far Dulce is from typical.
Its grades run from A+ for cost of living (better than 99% of comparable towns) to D− for jobs and income (better than 3%), so the D overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 2004 and 3 maps from 1954 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Dulce is unincorporated, so Rio Arriba County and regional agencies provide most services.
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 Dulce.
Dulce draws workers from Farmington and beyond and has a shorter frost-free season than nearly all U.S. towns, but it is a long drive from an emergency room.
The nearest emergency room, Pagosa Springs Medical Center, is 21.2 miles away in a straight line. Against the 2,320 U.S. towns with household incomes like Dulce’s, it is less healthy than 81%, so its D− isn’t only a matter of income.
For adults 18 to 64 in Dulce, the share who have no health insurance is 13%. Among 73 New Mexico towns, just 3 have a higher share of adults who smoke cigarettes than Dulce. Add to that, 30% of Dulce adults get no exercise outside work, above both the New Mexico town median (27%) and the median of U.S. towns (25%). In Dulce, 24% of adults report frequent mental distress, and 20% report frequent physical distress.
| Dulce | New Mexico towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 14% | 14% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 24% | 16% | 17% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 17% | 14% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 38% | 23% | 14% |
| What stands out | Dulce | NM |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 5.2% | 7.4% |
| Fewer adults with high cholesterol | 29.6% | 35.1% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 36.3% | 14.2% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The public schools here belong to the Dulce school district. Its two schools are below. 2 public schools serve Dulce, with 290 students in all.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dulce MiddleLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 130 | – |
| Dulce HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 160 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NM on state tests and graduation
1,564 jobs are based in Dulce, 2.3 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. The average commute takes 10 minutes, against 23.5 across New Mexico.
The typical journey to work for Dulce comes to 10 minutes. Its typical household income is $40,000, where New Mexico’s towns sit at $55,000 and U.S. towns at $80,000. For half of commuters, work is under 1 miles away. The top destinations are Albuquerque (4%), Farmington (2%) and Durango (1%).
| Dulce | New Mexico towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 10 minutes | 23 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 22% | 20% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $40,000 | $55,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Among 73 New Mexico towns, just 7 have a higher FEMA hazard score than Dulce. FEMA puts 84% of the town’s expected hazard losses down to inland flooding, and 6% to lightning. One declared disaster, in 2024, has brought federal aid to Dulce households.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The Dulce weather station records that the frost-free season runs about 103 days, shorter than in 99% of U.S. towns.
Its July high stands at 86°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Dulce’s density of trails comes in at 0.2 miles per square mile. 2.6 miles of trail.
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
None within 15 miles of Dulce; the nearest are
About 4 of every 100 Dulce residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across New Mexico.
Census-designated place in New Mexico, United States
Dulce ( or ; Jicarilla Apache: Lóosi) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Rio Arriba County, New Mexico, United States. As of the 2020 census, Dulce had a population of 2,788. It is almost entirely Native American. It is the largest community and tribal headquarters of the Jicarilla Apache Reservation.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Dulce grades D overall, better than 7% of U.S. towns and #65 of 72 in New Mexico. It grades D− for health and D− for schools. Health is its weak spot, with a D−.
Not for the area. That is 0.9 years of the area's median household income ($57,155 across the Española, NM area).