Photo: Tdigkhang · CC BY-SA 4.0Unemployment in La Cienega (1.5%) is lower than in 90% of U.S. towns
Household incomes here are higher than in 62% of U.S. towns. For jobs and income La Cienega is better than 62% of U.S. towns (B); for walkability it is more walkable than 38% of U.S. towns (C+). The trip to work takes 24 minutes on average, where New Mexico has 24 and the U.S. 26.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Where La Cienega stands out on work
La Cienega and Santa Fe trade workers both ways
Santa Fe is the top workplace for La Cienega residents (52%) and also where the most people who work in La Cienega come from (42% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside La Cienega
60% of La Cienega residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 39% of the jobs based in La Cienega pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 97% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
Inside La Cienega’s Jobs & income grade
Unemployment holds La Cienega’s grade up; job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 28% of U.S. towns). It also does well on household income.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, La Cienega could be anywhere from C to A−.
52% of working residents work in Santa Fe
Where La Cienega clocks in
52% of workers
17% of workers
7% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
A place that makes things: 32% of La Cienega’s jobs are in goods
495 jobs are based in La Cienega.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in La Cienega, 2013 → 2023: 229 → 495. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.
Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2023.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs La Cienega’s own residents hold wherever they work.
A workday in La Cienega: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 1,429 residents head out to work, 47 work right here, and 448 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,600 people are in La Cienega on a workday afternoon, 28% fewer than live here.
0.34 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
La Cienega’s commute takes about 24 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of La Cienega workers work from home, vs 12% across New Mexico. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,635 commuters (the 13% who work from home are left out). Across New Mexico: 84% drive alone, 1% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Half of La Cienega commutes less than 11 miles
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
The commute in La Cienega is mostly behind the wheel
How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 3.2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 3.4% across New Mexico, on an EPA index of 5.0.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,870 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 0.8 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 55% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 6.4% of La Cienega households have no vehicle (New Mexico 5.6%, U.S. 8.4%). 3% of La Cienega’s commuters take a bus or train.
La Cienega places 1,636th of 4,355 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 2,500 to 4,800
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 437 | Sandia Heights NM | 3,160 | $144K | 4.7% | 3.5% | 1% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 750 | Placitas NM | 4,223 | $110K | 3.2% | 3.5% | 3% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,419 | El Cerro NM | 2,923 | $106K | 5.9% | 4.5% | 2% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,634 | Fayette NY | 3,583 | $78K | 9.8% | 1.4% | 8% | B |
| 1,635 | Roselawn IN | 3,417 | $76K | 7.0% | 2.9% | 4% | B |
| 1,636 | La Cienega NM | 3,543 | $85K | 10.0% | 1.5% | 3% | B |
| 1,637 | Ballville OH | 3,929 | $85K | 5.0% | 5.5% | 3% | B |
| 1,638 | Lytle TX | 3,626 | $71K | 8.8% | 4.1% | 5% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 4,355 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | D− |
Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of La Cienega, the top three, the last and three more from New Mexico.
Bordering towns draw 52% of La Cienega’s workers
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | La Cienega workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| La Cienega | – | B | C+ | 24 min | $85,250 |
| Santa Fe | 52% | C+ | A | 21 min | $73,482 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Santa Fe. Darker towns draw more of La Cienega’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs, where the employer reports them. Income, poverty, unemployment, commute time and how people travel: Census ACS 2020–24 averages.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in La Cienega: questions
What is the median household income in La Cienega?
$85,250 (±$21,062) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $64,059 across New Mexico and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in La Cienega?
10.0%, against 17.8% across New Mexico and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from La Cienega?
24 minutes each way on average, against 24 across New Mexico and 26 nationally. 13% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in La Cienega work?
3% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Santa Fe (52%, 9 mi), Albuquerque (17%, 44 mi), Los Alamos (7%, 24 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is La Cienega walkable?
La Cienega is more walkable than 38% of U.S. towns (Walkability C+): an EPA walkability index of 5.0 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around La Cienega without a car?
3% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from La Cienega, from the people who make the trip.
More of La Cienega
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer. Walkability index, job access and transit service: U.S. EPA Smart Location Database. The two grades are our own summaries of these figures, not official ratings.