Ponderosa PineNM
A town of 1,442.
Is Ponderosa Pine a good place to live?
The best of Ponderosa Pine’s subject grades is an A− for the outdoors; the weakest is a D− for walkability. Only 7 of New Mexico’s 159 towns score lower on walkability. FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 85% of U.S. communities, with wildfire at the top. Of the 74 New Mexico towns we compare, none has a lower share of working residents who work in town than Ponderosa Pine. 35% of the land in Ponderosa Pine is conserved, above both New Mexico’s towns (3.9%) and U.S. towns (4.3%). Cibola National Forest, at 1,362 acres with 10.5 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve. Ponderosa Pine has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
What makes Ponderosa Pine stand out
Where Ponderosa Pine beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
1,442 people, and everyone knows the way
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
How Ponderosa Pine grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New Mexico), ordered by how far Ponderosa Pine is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
University Stadium and 24 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Ponderosa Pine. Close and well known come first.
18 mi Stadium & arenaUniversity Stadium
13 mi MuseumNational Museum of Nuclear Science & History
24 mi National MonumentPetroglyph National Monument311K visitors a year
15 mi Stadium & arenaTingley Coliseum
19 mi TheatreKiMo Theater
17 mi Ski areaSandia Peak Ski Area66 runs · 1,599 ft verticalPhoto credits
University Stadium: Kenneth C. Zirkel, CC BY 4.0 · National Museum of Nuclear Science & History: AllenS, Public domain · Petroglyph National Monument: Unknown, Public domain · Tingley Coliseum: John Phelan, CC BY 3.0 · KiMo Theater: Daniel Schwen, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Sandia Peak Ski Area: Skoch3, CC BY-SA 3.0
Moving to Ponderosa Pine: who provides what
Ponderosa Pine is unincorporated, so Bernalillo County and regional agencies provide most services.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Aug 27, 2026.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Ponderosa Pine.
Nearly a third of Ponderosa Pine is conserved land
12 miles of trail in 3 parks and preserves. Ponderosa Pine’s trail density is 1.4 miles per square mile, above both the New Mexico town median (1.0) and the median of U.S. towns (0.4).
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Cibola National Forest | 10.5 mi | 1,362 |
| 2. Sunflower Meadow Park | 0.2 mi | 3 |
| 3. Oak Flat Picnic Sites | — | 2 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Wildfire leads a very high hazard risk in Ponderosa Pine
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
More than half of Ponderosa Pine’s working residents commute to Albuquerque
Most working residents leave Ponderosa Pine for work: only 0% work in town. The average trip to work in Ponderosa Pine is 32 minutes. The top destinations are Albuquerque (59%), Kirtland AFB (8%) and Los Lunas (2%).
| Ponderosa Pine | New Mexico towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 32 minutes | 23 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 11% | 21% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $87,000 | $55,000 | $80,000 |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Fewer middle-aged adults than New Mexico overall
Adults 35 to 64 are 24% of residents (37% statewide); people 65 and older are 30% of residents (19% statewide). 36% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Ponderosa Pine.
| Ponderosa Pine | New Mexico towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 36% | 23% | 29% |
| Median age | 42.4 years | 37.2 years | 40.5 years |
Ages · share of residents
Education · adults 25 and older
Women and men · all residents
57% women, 43% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±7.7 points. Across New Mexico, 50.3% of residents are women. Among residents 18 to 24, 100% are men (NM 52%).
| Ponderosa Pine | NM | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 16.8% | 11% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 7.5% | 10.7% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 4.6% | 9.3% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 17.2% | 13.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 7.3% | 12.8% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 9.4% | 11.2% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 7.7% | 12.5% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 20% | 11.5% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 9.5% | 7.8% | 7% |
| No diploma | 8.7% | 12% | 10.4% |
| High school | 19% | 25.7% | 26% |
| Some college | 29.5% | 22.2% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 6.3% | 9.2% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 25.6% | 17.1% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 10.8% | 13.9% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 1,400, single groups can be off by several points
Ponderosa Pine stands out in New Mexico and nationally, with a typical July afternoon cooler than most
Ponderosa Pine’s July high is 82°F. Ponderosa Pine has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers, with very little rain.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
On CDC estimates, Ponderosa Pine is healthier than 55% of U.S. towns
Ponderosa Pine beats the New Mexico average on 13 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 5. 28% of Ponderosa Pine adults sleep under 7 hours. Among 74 New Mexico towns, just 2 have a higher share of adults who have high blood pressure than Ponderosa Pine.
| Ponderosa Pine | New Mexico towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 34% | 36% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 42% | 35% | 35% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 35% | 33% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 13% | 16% |
| What stands out | Ponderosa Pine | NM |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 8.5% | 15.6% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 12.7% | 20.9% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 11.1% | 7.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Everything we know about Ponderosa Pine
Colleges nearby
None within 15 miles of Ponderosa Pine; the nearest are
About 4 of every 100 Ponderosa Pine residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across New Mexico.
100% of working residents leave Ponderosa Pine for work
Where Ponderosa Pine’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
About Ponderosa Pine
Census-designated place in New Mexico, United States
Ponderosa Pine is a census-designated place (CDP) in Bernalillo County, New Mexico, United States. As of the 2020 census, Ponderosa Pine had a population of 1,092. It is part of the Albuquerque Metropolitan Statistical Area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 8.1 sq mi
- Elevation
- 7,440 ft
Questions about Ponderosa Pine
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Ponderosa Pine, NM expensive?
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C−.