The Bernalillo school district runs its public schools. One of its 2 schools is below, with the reason it’s listed. The 2 public schools in Peña Blanca teach 205 students between them.

School	Level	Students	Letter
Cochiti ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5	Grades PK–5	153	–

Full pagePeña Blanca’s schools pageOpen the page

The districtsBERNALILLO Every school2 schools · Cochiti Elementary Questions“Are Peña Blanca’s schools good?”

NCES · EDFacts

Work & commute

The average trip to work in Peña Blanca is longer than in the typical New Mexico or U.S. town

In Peña Blanca, 11% of residents live below the poverty line. Of the 74 New Mexico towns we compare, none has a lower share of working residents who work in town than Peña Blanca. Employers in Peña Blanca added 32 jobs between 2013 and 2023, to 53. The top destinations are Albuquerque (35%), Santa Fe (21%) and Bernalillo (4%).

0%work in town

	Peña Blanca	New Mexico towns	U.S. towns
Average trip to work	45 minutes	23 minutes	25 minutes
Working residents who work in town	0.3%	14%	8%
Below the poverty line	11%	21%	9.6%
Work from home	8.7%	8.4%	11%

Where working residents work

In Peña Blanca0%

Albuquerque35%

Santa Fe21%

Bernalillo4%

Rio Rancho3%

30 mi

median commute distance

jobs based in Peña Blanca

A commuter town

jobs vs. working residents

Full pagePeña Blanca’s work & commute pageOpen the page

The jobs here53 jobs based here · A commuter town Where people work0% work in Peña Blanca Commute times45 minutes · The average commute How far they goHalf commute less than 30 miles

Census LEHD 2023 · ACS

Climate

Four seasons and hot summers in Peña Blanca

The town’s midsummer high stands at 92°F, near the New Mexico town median (93°F) and above the median of U.S. towns (85°F).

8″snow a winter

Typical low → high °F

Winter22–50°

Spring37–72°

Summer58–91°

Fall39–71°

Oct 21

typical first frost

Apr 26

typical last frost

+1.4°

vs. the 20th-century average

Full pagePeña Blanca’s climate pageOpen the page

A year of weatherJuly highs 92°, January lows 21°Rain & snow8″ of snow a winter · 10 inches of rain and snow a year Heating & coolingMostly a heating bill Then and now+1.4° vs. the 20th century · Warmer than the 20th-century average

NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020

Housing

Peña Blanca stands out in New Mexico and nationally: the median rent there is lower

The share of households in Peña Blanca who live in a home they own is 88%, above both New Mexico’s towns (70%) and U.S. towns (73%). Over the 12 months to September 2026, the typical home gained 8.9% in value.

$275KZillow home value

	Peña Blanca	New Mexico towns	U.S. towns
Median rent	$99 a month	$940 a month	$1,185 a month
Households that own their home	88%	70%	73%

Typical home value

Peña Blanca$275K

New Mexico$316K

+8.9%

value change, 1 year

Full pagePeña Blanca’s housing & cost-of-living pageOpen the page

Prices over the yearsUp 8.9% in a year Years of income to buyA typical home costs 3.9 years of income Rents$99 a month · Median rent

Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center

Health

How healthy Peña Blanca is

Among adults in Peña Blanca, 30% get no exercise outside work. Against the New Mexico average, Peña Blanca comes out ahead on 3 CDC measures out of 32, and behind on 2. Only 6 of the 74 New Mexico towns we compare have a lower share of adults who have been diagnosed with depression than Peña Blanca. Two figures for adults locally: 16% have diabetes, 13% binge drink.

	Peña Blanca	New Mexico towns	U.S. towns
No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES)	20%	16%	8.1%
Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES)	69%	69%	79%
Diabetes (CDC PLACES)	16%	14%	12%
Binge drink (CDC PLACES)	13%	13%	16%

32 measures vs. New Mexico

3 better27 too close to call2 worse

What stands out	Peña Blanca	NM
Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth	10%	14.2%
Fewer adults with COPD	5.4%	6.6%
More uninsured adults	19.8%	15.6%

Presbyterian Santa Fe Medical Center

17.4 mi away · emergency room

1 of 3

care shortages: mental health

Full pagePeña Blanca’s health reportOpen the page

Everyday habitsMore adults who get no exercise Hospitals & doctors nearby17.4 miles to an ER · Presbyterian Santa Fe Medical Center How adults are doingMore adults in fair or poor health Every CDC estimateBetter than NM on 3 of 32

CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA

Natural hazards

Peña Blanca has a moderate natural-hazard risk, chiefly from inland flooding

Of the losses FEMA expects in Peña Blanca, 57% come from inland flooding and 15% from drought.

57risk score of 100

FEMA risk score

Inland floodingDroughtWildfire

Full pagePeña Blanca’s hazards pageOpen the page

What it facesModerate risk Flood claims0 paid flood claims · No paid flood claims on record Past disasters18 disaster declarations · Declared for the county Get ready2.4 events a year, on average · Ready for inland flooding

FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA

Outdoors

0% of Peña Blanca is conserved land

4.5 miles of trail. Peña Blanca’s trail density stands at 0.7 miles per square mile.

0%conserved

conserved · 0 of 4,388 acres

4.5 mi

of trails · 0.7 per sq mi

Full pagePeña Blanca’s outdoors pageOpen the page

Trail map4.5 miles of trail, mapped Pick a walkPick a walk Conserved land0% conserved · 0 acres protected Questions“Where can I hike in Peña Blanca?”

Nearby attractions

Bandelier National Monument and 42 more within 40 miles

Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Peña Blanca. Close and well known come first.

All 45 attractions →

9 mi National MonumentBandelier National Monument248K visitors a year

19 mi National PreserveValles Caldera National Preserve85K visitors a year

39 mi Stadium & arenaUniversity Stadium

9 mi Park & preserveKasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument

23 mi MuseumGeorgia O'Keeffe Museum

28 mi National Historical ParkPecos National Historical Park37K visitors a year

Sources: National Park Service · ski areas © OpenSkiMap / OpenStreetMap contributors · Wikidata · Wikipedia readership · photos via Wikimedia Commons

Photo credits

Bandelier National Monument: Andrew Dunn (talk · contribs), CC BY-SA 2.0 · Valles Caldera National Preserve: Jesse Allen and Robert Simmon, Public domain · University Stadium: Kenneth C. Zirkel, CC BY 4.0 · Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument: Marshallhenrie, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Georgia O'Keeffe Museum: John Phelan, CC BY 3.0 · Pecos National Historical Park: Mosamiazaz at English Wikipedia, Public domain

Keep exploring

Everything we know about Peña Blanca

18pages on Peña Blanca

The big questions

Schools2 schools HealthBetter than NM on 3 of 32 CDC measures Cost of living$275K typical home · up 8.9% in a year Work & commute$71K median household income · 53 jobs here Natural hazardsFEMA risk higher than 57% of U.S. communities · inland flooding

Out and about

Outdoors5 mi of trails · 0% conserved land PlacesAttractions45 nearby · Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument 9 mi LibraryPueblo De Cochiti Library Colleges

The story

HistoryFamous people2 born in Peña Blanca Climate92° summer highs · 8″ of snow

Day to day

NewsWeatherHandbookZIP code 87041 Town SquareNeighbors

After high school

Colleges nearby

None within 15 miles of Peña Blanca; the nearest are

Southwestern CollegeUniversity or college · Private nonprofit · Santa Fe16.3 mi Institute of American Indian and Alaska Native Culture and Arts DevelopmentUniversity or college · Public · Santa Fe18.1 mi$5,920 in-state tuition Santa Fe Community CollegeCommunity college · Public · Santa Fe18.9 mi$1,851 in-state tuition

About 3 of every 100 Peña Blanca residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across New Mexico.

Prices by family income, graduation and earnings →

A commuter town

100% of working residents leave Peña Blanca for work

Where Peña Blanca’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.

53jobs based in Peña Blanca

0%of working residents work in town

30 mimedian commute distance

Census LEHD 2023

About Peña Blanca

CDP in New Mexico, United States

Peña Blanca is a census-designated place (CDP) in Sandoval County, New Mexico. As of the 2020 census, Peña Blanca had a population of 624. It is part of the Albuquerque Metropolitan Statistical Area. Peña Blanca's name is derived from the Spanish term for "white rock".

From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)

Area: 6.9 sq mi
Elevation: 5,236 ft
ZIP code: 87041

Questions about Peña Blanca

Short answers, built from the data on this page.

Is Peña Blanca, NM a good place to live?

Peña Blanca has fewer than 1,000 residents, too few for fair grades; the figures below are still real.

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568 people, and everyone knows the way

Peña Blanca in pictures

Moving to Peña Blanca: who provides what

The data

The schools Peña Blanca’s kids attend