Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 2,178, settled in 1910.
The best of Jal’s subject grades is an A for cost of living; the weakest is a D− for incomes. The biggest park or preserve is Jal Lake Park, at 47 acres. Jal has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Jal beats most towns.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New Mexico), ordered by how far Jal is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 404 in 1930, a peak of 3,051 in 1960, 2,202 in 2020. The archive holds 2 old photos and papers going back to 1997 and 2 maps from 1969 on.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Jal, 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 Jal.
In Jal, the midpoint rent is $1,318 a month, above both the New Mexico town median ($940 a month) and the median of U.S. towns ($1,185 a month). Values fell 4.3% in the year to September 2026.
| Jal | New Mexico towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,318 a month | $940 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
Its public schools are run by the Jal school district. Below: Two of its 3 schools, each with why it was picked. The 3 public schools in Jal teach 567 students between them.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jal ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 290 | – |
| Jal HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 158 | D− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NM on state tests and graduation
36% of Jal adults feel lonely, above both New Mexico’s towns (35%) and U.S. towns (33%). CDC measures, 32 in all: Jal beats New Mexico on 1 and trails on 6. Among adults locally, 67% had a checkup this year.
| Jal | New Mexico towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 67% | 69% | 79% |
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 16% | 8.1% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 23% | 14% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 26% | 19% |
| What stands out | Jal | NM |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 6.6% | 7.4% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 20% | 14.2% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Expect mild winters and hot summers in Jal, with very little rain. July afternoons reach 97°, January nights drop to 29° and about 2 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Jobs based in Jal grew to 958 in 2023, 449 more than in 2013. 44% of Jal’s working residents work right in town. In Jal, 32% of residents live below the poverty line. Half commute less than 18 miles.
| Jal | New Mexico towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 32% | 21% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 44% | 14% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 18 minutes | 23 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Most reported incidents are property crimes. No town among the 34 in New Mexico we compare has a lower level of property crime than Jal. Jal's reported crime rate is well below New Mexico's.
| Jal | New Mexico towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2024) | 0 per 1,000 residents | 4.9 | 1.7 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2024) | 1.4 per 1,000 residents | 16.2 | 11.5 |
FBI crime data, 2024 · crimes reported to police
Compared with 55% of U.S. communities, expected storm and flood damage locally is lower. 57% of Jal’s expected losses from natural hazards come from inland flooding, followed by wildfires at 10%. Since 1990, Jal has seen 4 flood insurance claims paid out.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Jal Lake Park | — | 47 |
| 2. Jal Schools Baseball Field. | — | 11 |
| 3. Jal Schools Softball and Little League Fields | — | 9 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
None within 15 miles of Jal; the nearest are
About 1 of every 100 Jal residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across New Mexico.
City in New Mexico, United States
Jal () is a small city located in Lea County, New Mexico, United States. It is New Mexico's south-easternmost city, and shares a border with Texas to the east and south. The population was estimated to be 2,069 in 2023. Jal is historically important in the natural gas industry, from the early 1900s to the present day.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
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.