Measured against area pay, Picacho Hills costs more to live in than 69% of U.S. towns
Census 2020–24 home values, rents, tax bills and cost burden, measured against the median household income of the Las Cruces, NM metro area ($57K). How TownRatings grades cost of living
The grade compares costs with what households across the Las Cruces metro earn ($57K, Census 2020–24). Even so, the typical home costs 8.0 years of metro income.
In dollars
- $970a month for a two-bedroom, utilities includedHUD Fair Market Rent, 2026
- 90prices across the Las Cruces metro, where the U.S. is 100 (housing 63)BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024
In paychecks the grade
- 8.0 yrsof area income buys the typical home; the typical U.S. town: 3.3$57K, Las Cruces-area income
- 15%of owners do; the typical U.S. town: 20%Census 2020–24
What Picacho Hills’ housing numbers say
Buyers have time and room to negotiate
At the pace homes sold in September, it would take about 7.1 months to sell everything listed (New Mexico: 4.6). The typical home took 109 days to sell. None sold above the asking price. How fast homes sell ↓
Nearly every household owns
100% of Picacho Hills households own their home, against 70% across New Mexico. Property taxes ↓
Renting costs far less than owning
A two-bedroom rents for about $970 a month. Owning the typical Picacho Hills home, with 20% down at the calculator’s rate, runs about $3,060 with tax and insurance: 3 times as much. Can I afford it? ↓
Mostly newer homes
Half of Picacho Hills’ homes were built after 2004, against 1985 for New Mexico as a whole. Property taxes ↓
Written from the data on this page. There’s no Zillow index for Picacho Hills, so the typical value is an estimate: the Census median carried forward with the federal house price index; sales and supply are Redfin’s for September 2026; incomes, rents paid, taxes and ownership come from the Census American Community Survey.
What’s behind Picacho Hills’ grade
Measured against what households in the area earn, Picacho Hills is more affordable than 31% of U.S. towns. Home prices pull the grade down most; the share of households paying 30%+ for housing holds it up.
Home prices up 50% in 5 years
The federal house price index for the ZIP code around Picacho Hills rose 50% over the past 5 years, about the same as across New Mexico. Last year prices rose 2.9%. Carrying the Census median home value forward with that index puts the typical Picacho Hills home at roughly $532,000 today.
Carrying the Census median forward with the index puts a typical home at about $532K.
Federal Housing Finance Agency House Price Index (annual) for the ZIP codes around Picacho Hills, weighted by land area. It tracks repeat sales of the same homes, so it shows how prices changed, not what homes cost.
Too few sales to read the market
Only 6 homes sold in September 2026, the latest month in Redfin’s figures: too few to describe the market or quote a median sale price.
A typical home costs 8.0 years of area income
The calculator starts from the area income the grade uses. Switch to Picacho Hills’s own median, or type yours.
That’s $301K short of a typical Picacho Hills home.
A two-bedroom rents for about $970 a month here, $2,090 less than owning.
An estimate, not a loan offer: payments of up to 28% of income, a 30-year fixed loan, Picacho Hills’s typical property tax (0.61% 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 $970
Fair Market Rent a month, utilities included
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Fair Market Rents by ZIP code (Las Cruces, NM MSA): the 40th-percentile rent plus utilities for a standard unit. Median rent and renters: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey.
High tax bills, but a low tax rate
The median bill is $2,778 (New Mexico: $1,731), because homes cost more. As a share of value it’s 0.61% 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 Picacho Hills
Only figures published free for the whole country, each labeled with the area it covers: the Las Cruces, 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 | 90 | 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.
Picacho Hills vs. its neighbors
Zillow publishes no value for Picacho Hills.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Picacho Hills | C | — | $456K | 0.61% | $970 |
| Las Cruces | C | $287K | $232K | 0.68% | $1,120 |
“—” under Zillow: Zillow publishes no value for that town, so it’s left blank rather than mixed with Census figures.
Questions about the cost of living in Picacho Hills
Is Picacho Hills expensive to live in?
Measured against what households in the area earn, Picacho Hills costs more than 69% of U.S. towns: a C for cost of living. The typical home costs 8.0 years of the median household income of the Las Cruces, NM metro area ($57K).
How much is rent in Picacho Hills?
HUD puts a two-bedroom at about $970 a month with utilities, the going rate for someone moving in.
What are property taxes in Picacho Hills?
The median bill is $2,778 a year, 0.61% of the median home value (New Mexico: $1,731, 0.70%), from the Census 2020–24.
Neighbors talk housing
What Picacho Hills 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.