Photo: AllenS · Public domainHousehold incomes in La Luz are lower than in 91% of U.S. towns
The trip to work takes 14 minutes on average, next to 24 for New Mexico and 26 for the U.S. Poverty touches 15.0% of residents; New Mexico has 17.8%. La Luz grades D− for jobs and income and B for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What the numbers say about work in La Luz
La Luz and Alamogordo trade workers both ways
Alamogordo is the top workplace for La Luz residents (35%) and also where the most people who work in La Luz come from (44% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
A big share show a job far from home
44% of working residents have a main job more than 50 miles away. Part of that is employers that report every worker at one head office, so not all of those trips happen daily. How far ↓
Commutes from La Luz are quick
The average trip to work takes 14 minutes, against 24 across New Mexico. That’s about 77 hours a year less on the road than the typical New Mexico worker. Time on the road ↓
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; with 501 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in La Luz
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, La Luz is better than 4% of U.S. towns. The poverty rate holds La Luz’s grade up; unemployment pulls it down (26.4%, U.S. 5.2%).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, La Luz could be anywhere from D− to C.
35% of working residents work in Alamogordo
Where La Luz clocks in
35% of workers
8% 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.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from La Luz
About 44% show a job over 50 miles away. Some of that is real, and some is employers that report every worker at a head office, so a few long commutes are on paper only.
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.
About 14 minutes each way, quicker than most of New Mexico
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 4.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of La Luz workers work from home, vs 12% across New Mexico. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 687 commuters (the 8% 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.
Who leaves La Luz for work, and who comes in
On a workday 483 residents head out to work, 18 work right here, and 192 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,500 people are in La Luz on a workday afternoon, 16% fewer than live here.
0.42 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.
In La Luz, 80% of jobs are in factories, building or farming
210 jobs are based in La Luz.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in La Luz, 2013 → 2023: 218 → 210. 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 Luz’s own residents hold wherever they work.
In La Luz, most people drive to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, La Luz is more walkable than 60% of U.S. towns. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 22.7% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 3.4% across New Mexico, on an EPA index of 4.6.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 749 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service: no data. EPA’s transit file has no stops for most of this county (its agencies had not published schedules in the format EPA used in 2020). That is missing data, not a finding that there is no bus or train.
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 1.1% of La Luz households have no vehicle (New Mexico 5.6%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of La Luz’s commuters take a bus or train.
U.S. towns of 1,300 to 2,400, and where La Luz sits
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Plandome NY | 1,482 | $250K | 0.9% | 1.4% | 1% | A+ |
| 3 | Hewlett Harbor NY | 1,332 | $250K | 1.9% | 7.2% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 642 | Picacho Hills NM | 2,002 | $121K | 5.6% | 1.7% | 2% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 814 | Tres Arroyos NM | 1,926 | $88K | 2.2% | 5.1% | 2% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 967 | Little Walnut Village NM | 1,445 | $125K | 2.8% | 0.0% | 1% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 5,010 | Eden TX | 2,248 | $47K | 17.3% | 2.7% | 15% | D− |
| 5,011 | Gold Hill Township IL | 1,345 | $50K | 18.8% | 3.9% | 8% | D− |
| 5,012 | La Luz NM | 1,797 | $47K | 15.0% | 26.4% | 4% | D− |
| 5,013 | Augusta AR | 1,813 | $51K | 28.7% | 4.2% | 21% | D− |
| 5,014 | Sparks GA | 2,098 | $39K | 27.6% | 2.9% | <1% | D− |
| … | |||||||
| 5,343 | Paraje NM | 1,333 | $33K | 61.7% | 0.0% | 0% | 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 Luz, the top three, the last and three more from New Mexico.
Work next door: 35% of La Luz’s workers
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | La Luz workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| La Luz | – | D− | B | 14 min | $46,655 |
| Alamogordo | 35% | D | B− | 18 min | $55,952 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Alamogordo. Darker towns draw more of La Luz’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 Luz: questions
What is the median household income in La Luz?
$46,655 (±$28,758) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $64,059 across New Mexico and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in La Luz?
15.0%, against 17.8% across New Mexico and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from La Luz?
14 minutes each way on average, against 24 across New Mexico and 26 nationally. 8% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in La Luz work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Alamogordo (35%, 6 mi), Las Cruces (8%, 67 mi), Albuquerque (7%, 153 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is La Luz walkable?
La Luz is more walkable than 60% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 4.6 out of 20, and 23% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around La Luz without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 1% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from La Luz, from the people who make the trip.
More of La Luz
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.