Measured against area pay, Rio Communities costs less to live in than 54% of U.S. towns
It ranks #34 of 72 in New Mexico for affordability. Up 2.4% in a year, 15% below the New Mexico typical home.
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
The grade compares costs with what households across the Albuquerque metro earn ($71K, Census 2020–24). The typical home costs 2.9 years of metro income, and 55% of renters pay 30% or more of income for housing.
In dollars
- $267Ktypical home, 15% below the New Mexico typical homeZillow, September 2026
- $1,200a 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
- 2.9 yrsof area income buys the typical home; the typical U.S. town: 3.3$71K, Albuquerque-area income
- 18%of area income goes to the median rent; the typical U.S. town: 18%Census 2020–24
- 55%of renters pay 30%+ of income for housing; across New Mexico: 50%Census 2020–24
- 30%of owners do; the typical U.S. town: 20%Census 2020–24
What Rio Communities’ housing numbers say
Values rose faster than New Mexico’s over five years
The typical Rio Communities home is up 44% in five years, against 25% across New Mexico. Since October 2016 it has more than doubled, from $108K to $267K. Price trend ↓
Written from the data on this page. Home values are the Zillow Home Value Index, through September 2026; sales and supply are Redfin’s for September 2026; permits are Census figures through 2025 (2025 partly estimated); incomes, rents paid, taxes and ownership come from the Census American Community Survey.
What’s behind Rio Communities’ grade
Measured against what households in the area earn, Rio Communities is more affordable than 54% of U.S. towns, #34 of 72 in New Mexico. The share of households paying 30%+ for housing pulls the grade down most; property tax holds it up.
Values have outpaced New Mexico: the typical Rio Communities home is up 43.9% in five years, against 25.1% statewide (Zillow).
Up 43.9% in five years
Faster than New Mexico (25.1%).
Show as a table
| January | Rio Communities | New Mexico |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | $109,000 | $177,000 |
| 2018 | $118,000 | $183,000 |
| 2019 | $129,000 | $191,000 |
| 2020 | $140,000 | $203,000 |
| 2021 | $162,000 | $228,000 |
| 2022 | $196,000 | $261,000 |
| 2023 | $214,000 | $285,000 |
| 2024 | $238,000 | $299,000 |
| 2025 | $260,000 | $310,000 |
| 2026 | $263,000 | $313,000 |
| September 2026 | $267,000 | $316,000 |
A typical Rio Communities home worth $108K in October 2016 is worth about $267K today.
Zillow Home Value Index: the typical value of all homes (middle third), smoothed and seasonally adjusted, through September 2026.
Too few sales to read the market
Only 5 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 2.9 years of area income
The calculator starts from the area income the grade uses. Switch to Rio Communities’s own median, or type yours.
That covers a typical Rio Communities home, with $23K to spare.
A two-bedroom rents for about $1,200 a month here, $330 less than owning.
An estimate, not a loan offer: payments of up to 28% of income, a 30-year fixed loan, Rio Communities’s typical property tax (0.56% 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 $1,200
Renters already here pay a median of $1,055, 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.
10 new homes permitted in 2025
Builders were permitted 10 new homes in Rio Communities in 2025, all single-family houses, worth about $1.5 million to build. That's 2 per 1,000 residents, slower than across New Mexico (5.2). Over the past 10 years, Rio Communities has permitted 23 homes in all.
Every year as a table
| Year | New homes | Single-family | 2+ per building | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 (Jan–Aug) | 7 | 7 | 0 | $1 million |
| 2025 | 10 | 10 | 0 | $1.5 million |
| 2024 | 12 | 12 | 0 | $1.8 million |
| 2023 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2022 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2021 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2020 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2019 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2018 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2017 | 1 | 1 | 0 | $265,000 |
| 2016 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2015 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
Rio Communities's permit office didn't report to the Census in 2025, so the 2025 figures are Census estimates.
Homes authorized by building permits, counted in the year the permit was issued. U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey.
Property tax runs below the New Mexico norm
The median bill is $1,160 (New Mexico: $1,731), 0.56% 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 Rio Communities
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.
Rio Communities and its neighbors
One source per column.
Cost next door · one source per column
| Town | Cost | Typical home Zillow, September 2026 | Median value Census 2020–24 | Tax rate bill ÷ value | 2-bed rent HUD 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rio Communities | B− | $267K | $206K | 0.56% | $1,200 |
Questions about the cost of living in Rio Communities
Is Rio Communities expensive to live in?
Measured against what households in the area earn, Rio Communities costs less than 54% of U.S. towns: a B− for cost of living, #34 of 72 in New Mexico. The typical home costs 2.9 years of the median household income of the Albuquerque, NM metro area ($71K).
How much does a house cost in Rio Communities?
About $267K, Zillow’s typical value for September 2026, up 2.4% in a year. The New Mexico typical home is $316K.
What salary do you need to live in Rio Communities?
To buy the typical home with 20% down at 6.3%, about $65,000 a year, keeping the payment (about $1,530 a month with tax and insurance) at 28% of income. To rent a two-bedroom at 30% of income, about $48,000.
How much is rent in Rio Communities?
HUD puts a two-bedroom at about $1,200 a month with utilities, the going rate for someone moving in. Renters already here pay a median of $1,055 (Census 2020–24).
What are property taxes in Rio Communities?
The median bill is $1,160 a year, 0.56% of the median home value (New Mexico: $1,731, 0.70%), from the Census 2020–24.
Are home prices in Rio Communities going up?
Yes: up 2.4% in the past year and 43.9% in five years, against 25.1% across New Mexico (Zillow).
Neighbors talk housing
What Rio Communities buyers, sellers and renters are saying.
Home values: Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI), Zillow Research, September 2026. Sales, days on market and supply: Redfin Data Center, September 2026. Income, ownership, taxes and rent: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey. New homes: U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey. 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.