Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A city of 116,978, settled in 1849.
Las Cruces earns a D, 56th of 72 graded towns in New Mexico, mostly because of safety and incomes. It reports more crime per resident than 96% of U.S. towns, including 584 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025. The median household income is $55K, and 23% of residents live below the poverty line. In its favor, it has 112 miles of trail and 34% conserved land. 60% of working residents work locally in Las Cruces, above both New Mexico’s towns (13%) and U.S. towns (8%). Las Cruces has 11 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Nestor Armijo House and La Mesilla Historic District. Las Cruces's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) trails 88% of U.S. towns.
Where Las Cruces beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
| College | Students |
|---|---|
| New Mexico State University-Main Campus | 11,680 |
| New Mexico State University-Dona Ana | 4,054 |
| Burrell College of Osteopathic Medicine | 687 |
Census counts: 3,836 in 1910, 111,385 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1870 and 3 maps from 1941 on.
11 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New Mexico), ordered by how far Las Cruces is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Las Cruces, 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 Las Cruces.
Las Cruces fares better on crime within New Mexico than nationally, keeps more of its land conserved than most of New Mexico and has more 90° days than nearly all U.S. towns.
At 70.2 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 79% of New Mexico’s graded towns. Reported crimes fell from 6,877 to 4,898 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
The property crime rate in Las Cruces is 36.4 per 1,000 residents. Las Cruces reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 96% report less. The violent crime rate in Las Cruces is 4.9 per 1,000 residents.
| Las Cruces | New Mexico towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 36.4 per 1,000 residents | 16.2 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 4.9 per 1,000 residents | 4 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Its public schools are run by the Las Cruces school district. Three of its 41 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Camino Real MiddleLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 933 | – |
| Organ Mountain High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 2,128 | B |
| Centennial High SchoolTop results in townGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,713 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NM on state tests and graduation
Its 16,718 conserved acres are a larger share of the town than in 91% of New Mexico towns.
112 miles of trail in 57 parks and preserves. Las Cruces’ trail density is 1.5 miles per square mile. The biggest park or preserve is Desert Trails Community Park, at 32 acres.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Young Park | 1.6 mi | 21 |
| 2. Veteran's Park | 0.6 mi | 10 |
| 3. La Llorona Park | 0.4 mi | 6 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
The State Univ weather station records that about 109 days a year reach 90°, more than in 96% of U.S. towns. July afternoons average 95.8°, hotter than in 97% of U.S. towns; January nights average 28.1°.
Las Cruces has mild winters and hot summers, with very little rain. Only 4 of the 73 New Mexico towns we compare have a higher July high than Las Cruces. About 1 inches of snow falls in a winter.
| Las Cruces | New Mexico towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 96°F | 93°F | 85°F |
| January low | 28°F | 21°F | 22°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Adults 18 to 34 are 30% of residents (23% statewide); adults 35 to 64 are 31% of residents (37% statewide). 37% of Las Cruces adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more. Las Cruces has grown 5% since 2020, to 116,978 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate.
| Las Cruces | New Mexico towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 33 years | 37.5 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 37% | 23% | 29% |
| Aged 65 or older | 16% | 18% | 18% |
50.7% women, 49.3% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±0.8 points. Across New Mexico, 50.3% of residents are women. Median age: women 34.3, men 31.6.
| Las Cruces | NM | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 10.9% | 11% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 11.5% | 10.7% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 14.5% | 9.3% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 15.6% | 13.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 11.8% | 12.8% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 9.7% | 11.2% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 9.7% | 12.5% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 9.1% | 11.5% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 7.2% | 7.8% | 7% |
| No diploma | 11.3% | 12% | 10.4% |
| High school | 21.2% | 25.7% | 26% |
| Some college | 21.1% | 22.2% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 9.7% | 9.2% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 19.9% | 17.1% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 16.8% | 13.9% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Since 2013, Las Cruces has added 5,619 jobs, to 47,828 in 2023. The top destinations are University Park (6%), El Paso (5%) and Albuquerque (4%).
| Las Cruces | New Mexico towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 19 minutes | 23 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $55,000 | $55,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 11% | 8.4% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 61% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 32 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Las Cruces.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The typical Las Cruces home is worth about $287,000, down 0.9% in a year, 9% below the New Mexico typical home. 56% of households own their home in Las Cruces.
| Las Cruces | New Mexico towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 56% | 70% | 73% |
| Renters paying 30%+ of income on rent | 57% | 48% | 48% |
| Median rent | $974 a month | $936 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Against the 7,542 U.S. towns with household incomes like Las Cruces’s, it is healthier than 80%, so its B− isn’t only a matter of income. Within New Mexico it is healthier than 68% of the 73 graded towns: much of New Mexico scores lower on these measures.
| What stands out | Las Cruces | NM |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 6.7% | 7.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
3 within 15 miles of the center of Las Cruces
About 12 of every 100 Las Cruces residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across New Mexico.
3 colleges in town.
11 places in Las Cruces on the National Register of Historic Places.
36 notable people were born in Las Cruces.
City in New Mexico, United States
Las Cruces (; Spanish: [las 'kruses]; lit. 'the crosses') is a city in Doña Ana County, New Mexico, United States, and its county seat. The population was 111,385 at the 2020 census, making it the second-most populous city in New Mexico, and the largest in both Doña Ana County and southern New Mexico. It is the principal city of the Las Cruces metropolitan statistical area, which encompasses all of Doña Ana County and had an estimated 230,000 residents in 2024. The city is also part of the larger El Paso–Las Cruces combined statistical area. Las Cruces is the economic and geographic center of the Mesilla Valley, the agricultural region on the floodplain of the Rio Grande, which extends from…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
3 towns share a border with Las Cruces.
| Town | NM rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Las Cruces | #56 | D | C | D− | B− | B− |
| Mesilla | — | — | C+ | — | B− | B− |
| Picacho Hills | — | — | C | — | B− | B+ |
| Tortugas | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Mesilla and Picacho Hills have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Mesilla and Picacho Hills report no FBI crime data of their own. Tortugas isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Las Cruces with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Las Cruces grades D overall, better than 11% of U.S. towns and #56 of 72 in New Mexico. It grades B− for health, D− for safety and B− for schools. Safety is its weak spot, with a D−.
That is 5.1 years of the area's median household income ($56,848 across the Las Cruces, NM metro area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C.
36 notable people were born here, including Anwar al-Awlaki and Shawnacy Barber.
