Photo: John Phelan · CC BY 4.0Measured against area pay, Los Chaves costs less to live in than 62% of U.S. towns
It ranks #27 of 72 in New Mexico for affordability. Home prices around Los Chaves have risen about 70% over the past 5 years.
Census 2020–24 home values, rents, tax bills and cost burden, measured against the median household income of the Albuquerque, NM metro area ($71K). How TownRatings grades cost of living
Only 1 sale in September 2026: in a market this size, monthly medians swing a lot, so the typical value is the steadier guide.
The grade compares costs with what households across the Albuquerque metro earn ($71K, Census 2020–24). The typical home costs 4.0 years of metro income, and 66% of renters pay 30% or more of income for housing.
In dollars
- $1,300a month for a two-bedroom, utilities includedHUD Fair Market Rent, 2026
- 96prices across the Albuquerque metro, where the U.S. is 100 (housing 89)BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024
In paychecks the grade
- 4.0 yrsof area income buys the typical home; the typical U.S. town: 3.3$71K, Albuquerque-area income
- 14%of area income goes to the median rent; the typical U.S. town: 18%Census 2020–24
- 26%of owners do; the typical U.S. town: 20%Census 2020–24
Housing in Los Chaves, in brief
Prices rose faster than New Mexico’s over five years
There’s no Zillow index for Los Chaves, so the page uses the federal house price index for the ZIP codes around it, which follows repeat sales of the same homes. It rose 70% over five years, against 50% across New Mexico. Price trend ↓
Nearly every household owns
93% of Los Chaves households own their home, against 70% across New Mexico. There are only 116 renter households, so rentals are scarce. Property taxes ↓
Written from the data on this page. There’s no Zillow index for Los Chaves, so the typical value is an estimate: the Census median carried forward with the federal house price index; incomes, rents paid, taxes and ownership come from the Census American Community Survey.
What’s behind Los Chaves’ grade
Measured against what households in the area earn, Los Chaves is more affordable than 62% of U.S. towns, #27 of 72 in New Mexico. Home prices pull the grade down most; rent holds it up.
Home prices up 70% in 5 years
The federal house price index for the ZIP codes around Los Chaves rose 70% over the past 5 years, faster than across New Mexico (50%). Last year prices rose 4.1%. Carrying the Census median home value forward with that index puts the typical Los Chaves home at roughly $351,000 today.
Carrying the Census median forward with the index puts a typical home at about $351K.
Federal Housing Finance Agency House Price Index (annual) for the ZIP codes around Los Chaves, weighted by land area. It tracks repeat sales of the same homes, so it shows how prices changed, not what homes cost.
A typical home costs 4.0 years of area income
The calculator starts from the area income the grade uses. Switch to Los Chaves’s own median, or type yours.
That’s $61K short of a typical Los Chaves home.
A two-bedroom rents for about $1,300 a month here, $710 less than owning.
An estimate, not a loan offer: payments of up to 28% of income, a 30-year fixed loan, Los Chaves’s typical property tax (0.57% of value a year, from the Census) and insurance of about 0.35%. Mortgage insurance, HOA fees and other debts aren’t included.
A two-bedroom rents for about $1,300
Renters already here pay a median of $833, so moving in tends to cost more than staying put.
Fair Market Rent a month, utilities included
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Fair Market Rents by ZIP code (Albuquerque, NM MSA): the 40th-percentile rent plus utilities for a standard unit. Median rent and renters: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey.
Property tax runs below the New Mexico norm
The median bill is $1,637 (New Mexico: $1,731), 0.57% of a home’s value a year, against 0.70% statewide.
Census American Community Survey 2020–24: the median real-estate tax bill homeowners report, and that bill ÷ the median home value. Bills include town, school and county taxes. The Census reports bills over $10,000 only as “$10,000+”.
The rest of a budget near Los Chaves
Only figures published free for the whole country, each labeled with the area it covers: the Albuquerque, NM metro area, or New Mexico. Groceries follow the goods price level; nobody publishes them town by town.
| Cost | Here | Compared with | Area | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prices overall U.S. = 100 | 96 | NM 92 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| Goods (groceries, clothing, cars…) U.S. = 100 | 96 | NM 96 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| Utilities U.S. = 100 | 78 | NM 78 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| Other services U.S. = 100 | 99 | NM 99 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
Price levels: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities 2024 (metro area and state). Electricity: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Electric Power Monthly, table 5.6.A.
Los Chaves vs. its neighbors
Zillow publishes no value for Los Chaves. Tome and Sausal and Adelino have no Zillow value, so they are in the table only.
Cost next door · one source per column
| Town | Cost | Typical home Zillow, latest | Median value Census 2020–24 | Tax rate bill ÷ value | 2-bed rent HUD 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Los Chaves | B | — | $286K | 0.57% | $1,300 |
| Belen | B+ | $272K | $166K | 0.73% | $1,310 |
| Tome | B− | — | $269K | 0.64% | $1,530 |
| Sausal | – | — | $255K | 0.56% | $1,200 |
| Adelino | – | — | $222K | 0.70% | $1,530 |
| Los Lunas | C | $331K | $263K | 0.74% | $1,530 |
“—” under Zillow: Zillow publishes no value for that town, so it’s left blank rather than mixed with Census figures. “—” under Cost: not graded (too little Census data, or under 1,000 residents).
Questions about the cost of living in Los Chaves
Is Los Chaves expensive to live in?
Measured against what households in the area earn, Los Chaves costs less than 62% of U.S. towns: a B for cost of living, #27 of 72 in New Mexico. The typical home costs 4.0 years of the median household income of the Albuquerque, NM metro area ($71K).
How much is rent in Los Chaves?
HUD puts a two-bedroom at about $1,300 a month with utilities, the going rate for someone moving in. Renters already here pay a median of $833 (Census 2020–24).
What are property taxes in Los Chaves?
The median bill is $1,637 a year, 0.57% of the median home value (New Mexico: $1,731, 0.70%), from the Census 2020–24.
Neighbors talk housing
What Los Chaves buyers, sellers and renters are saying.
Home values: Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI), Zillow Research. Sales, days on market and supply: Redfin Data Center, September 2026. Income, ownership, taxes and rent: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey. Price trend: Federal Housing Finance Agency House Price Index. Fair Market Rents: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The calculator is an estimate, not a loan offer. Regional price levels: BEA; electricity: EIA. How TownRatings grades cost of living.