Albuquerque draws about half of Rio Rancho Estates’ working residents
The trip to work takes 43 minutes on average; New Mexico averages 24, the U.S. 26. For jobs and income Rio Rancho Estates is better than 47% of U.S. towns (B−); for walkability it is more walkable than 10% of U.S. towns (D). Hardly any stay in Rio Rancho Estates for work; outside it, Albuquerque is the main destination (46%, 16 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Rio Rancho Estates at work: what stands out
Rio Rancho Estates is a place people come home to
There are 37 jobs based in Rio Rancho Estates, about one for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Rio Rancho Estates has about 840 people in it, 47% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Rio Rancho Estates workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 43 minutes each way, against 24 across New Mexico. Over a year that’s about 330 hours of commuting, 146 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey; with 773 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in Rio Rancho Estates
Household income holds Rio Rancho Estates’ grade up ($91,635, U.S. $80,734); the poverty rate pulls it down (19.6%, U.S. 12.5%). It also does well on job access by car.
Unemployment (3.7%) is left out: Rio Rancho Estates’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Rio Rancho Estates could be anywhere from D to A.
In and out of Rio Rancho Estates on a workday
On a workday 771 residents head out to work, 2 work right here, and 35 people come in from elsewhere.
About 840 people are in Rio Rancho Estates on a workday afternoon, 47% fewer than live here.
0.05 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Where people from Rio Rancho Estates work
Where Rio Rancho Estates clocks in
46% of workers
19% of workers
7% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
About 43 minutes each way for Rio Rancho Estates’ commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 13.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Rio Rancho Estates workers work from home, vs 12% across New Mexico. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 801 commuters (the 13% who work from home are left out). Across New Mexico: 84% drive alone, 1% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
65% of the jobs in Rio Rancho Estates pay over $3,333 a month
37 jobs are based in Rio Rancho Estates.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Rio Rancho Estates, 2013 → 2023: 428 → 37. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.
Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2023.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Rio Rancho Estates’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Miles to work from Rio Rancho Estates
About 21% show a job over 50 miles away. Some of that is real, and some is employers that report every worker at a head office, so a few long commutes are on paper only.
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
The commute in Rio Rancho Estates is mostly behind the wheel
The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: hardly any commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 3.4% across New Mexico.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 923 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about under 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 20% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 5.0% of Rio Rancho Estates households have no vehicle (New Mexico 5.6%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Rio Rancho Estates’ commuters take a bus or train.
Rio Rancho Estates places 2,312th of 5,794 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 1,100 to 2,100
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Somerset MD | 1,151 | $250K | 1.9% | 2.3% | <1% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Bellerose NY | 1,169 | $232K | 1.6% | 6.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 618 | Picacho Hills NM | 2,002 | $121K | 5.6% | 1.7% | 2% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 795 | Tres Arroyos NM | 1,926 | $88K | 2.2% | 5.1% | 2% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 948 | Little Walnut Village NM | 1,445 | $125K | 2.8% | 0.0% | 1% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,310 | Jefferson Township PA | 1,403 | $76K | 6.6% | 5.3% | 2% | B− |
| 2,311 | Pray MT | 1,129 | $96K | 6.9% | 0.0% | 2% | B− |
| 2,312 | Rio Rancho Estates NM | 1,571 | $92K | 19.6% | 3.7% | <1% | B− |
| 2,313 | Avoca IA | 1,661 | $73K | 7.0% | 1.3% | 16% | B− |
| 2,314 | Spring Valley WI | 1,443 | $70K | 6.6% | 5.4% | 7% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 5,794 | Paraje NM | 1,333 | $33K | 61.7% | 0.0% | 0% | D− |
Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Rio Rancho Estates, the top three, the last and three more from New Mexico.
Bordering towns draw 19% of Rio Rancho Estates’ workers
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Rio Rancho Estates workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rio Rancho Estates | – | B− | D | 43 min | $91,635 |
| Rio Rancho | 19% | B+ | B+ | 30 min | $89,596 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Rio Rancho. Darker towns draw more of Rio Rancho Estates’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs, where the employer reports them. Income, poverty, unemployment, commute time and how people travel: Census ACS 2020–24 averages.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Rio Rancho Estates: questions
What is the median household income in Rio Rancho Estates?
$91,635 (±$49,974) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $64,059 across New Mexico and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Rio Rancho Estates?
19.6%, against 17.8% across New Mexico and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Rio Rancho Estates?
43 minutes each way on average, against 24 across New Mexico and 26 nationally. 13% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Rio Rancho Estates work?
<1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Albuquerque (46%, 16 mi), Rio Rancho (19%, 6 mi), Santa Fe (7%, 52 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Rio Rancho Estates walkable?
Rio Rancho Estates is more walkable than 10% of U.S. towns (Walkability D): an EPA walkability index of 5.5 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Rio Rancho Estates without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Rio Rancho Estates, from the people who make the trip.
More of Rio Rancho Estates
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer. Walkability index, job access and transit service: U.S. EPA Smart Location Database. The two grades are our own summaries of these figures, not official ratings.