Photo: AllenS · Public domainFor more than half of its working residents, Rio Rancho is a commute to Albuquerque
The trip to work takes 30 minutes on average, where New Mexico has 24 and the U.S. 26. Jobs and income earn Rio Rancho B+; getting around on foot earns it B+. About one in five work in Rio Rancho; the top destination outside it is Albuquerque (52%, 13 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in Rio Rancho: the gist
More than half of Rio Rancho works in Albuquerque
24,720 working residents, 52%, have their main job in Albuquerque, 13 miles away across the town line. That’s 3 times as many as work in Rio Rancho itself. The commute map ↓
Rio Rancho workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 30 minutes each way, against 24 across New Mexico. Over a year that’s about 230 hours of commuting, 46 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.
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in Rio Rancho
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Rio Rancho is better than 67% of U.S. towns, #7 of 72 in New Mexico. Household income holds Rio Rancho’s grade up ($89,596, U.S. $80,734); unemployment pulls it down (4.6%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on the poverty rate and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Rio Rancho could be anywhere from B to A−.
Where the trip to work from Rio Rancho ends
Where Rio Rancho clocks in
52% of workers
6% of workers
3% 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 30 minutes each way, longer than most of New Mexico
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Rio Rancho workers work from home, vs 12% across New Mexico. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 42,990 commuters (the 16% 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.
Who works in Rio Rancho, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 38,593 residents head out to work, 9,168 work right here, and 14,925 people come in from elsewhere.
About 91,000 people are in Rio Rancho on a workday afternoon, 21% fewer than live here.
0.50 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.
The kinds of work in Rio Rancho
24,093 jobs are based in Rio Rancho.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Rio Rancho, 2013 → 2023: 21,885 → 24,093. 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’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Where in the region Rio Rancho works
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.
Driving is how Rio Rancho gets around
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Rio Rancho is more walkable than 65% of U.S. towns, #30 of 73 in New Mexico. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 2.2% of 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 50,894 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 19% 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 0.5 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 49% 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). 2.7% of Rio Rancho households have no vehicle (New Mexico 5.6%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Rio Rancho’s commuters take a bus or train.
These are town averages; neighborhoods differ.
Among U.S. towns of 80,000 to 154,000, Rio Rancho ranks 156th of 365 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | South Jordan UT | 87,614 | $134K | 3.7% | 2.4% | 10% | A+ |
| 2 | Carmel IN | 105,634 | $142K | 3.9% | 2.7% | 23% | A+ |
| 3 | Clay Township IN | 104,932 | $142K | 3.9% | 2.7% | 23% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 154 | Midland TX | 147,615 | $90K | 12.4% | 3.5% | 52% | B+ |
| 155 | Leyden Township IL | 90,402 | $80K | 8.2% | 5.7% | 13% | B+ |
| 156 | Rio Rancho NM | 114,419 | $90K | 7.4% | 4.6% | 19% | B+ |
| 157 | Pasadena CA | 135,804 | $105K | 13.3% | 5.6% | 20% | B+ |
| 158 | Vacaville CA | 103,850 | $111K | 8.2% | 5.8% | 21% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 275 | Santa Fe NM | 89,837 | $73K | 12.9% | 5.1% | 58% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 361 | Las Cruces NM | 116,978 | $55K | 22.6% | 7.0% | 60% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 365 | Lawton OK | 90,503 | $54K | 21.1% | 8.1% | 55% | 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, the top three, the last and three more from New Mexico.
54% of Rio Rancho works in a town next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Rio Rancho workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rio Rancho | – | B+ | B+ | 30 min | $89,596 |
| Rio Rancho Estates | under 1% | B− | D | 43 min | $91,635 |
| Corrales | under 1% | B+ | C+ | 29 min | $102,307 |
| Albuquerque | 52% | C+ | A | 22 min | $68,317 |
| Bernalillo | 2% | C | A− | 27 min | $63,880 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Albuquerque. Darker towns draw more of Rio Rancho’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: questions
What is the median household income in Rio Rancho?
$89,596 (±$3,533) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $64,059 across New Mexico and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Rio Rancho?
7.4%, against 17.8% across New Mexico and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Rio Rancho?
30 minutes each way on average, against 24 across New Mexico and 26 nationally. 16% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Rio Rancho work?
19% work in town.
Is Rio Rancho walkable?
Rio Rancho is more walkable than 65% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 8.4 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Rio Rancho without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Rio Rancho, from the people who make the trip.
More of Rio Rancho
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.