Photo: B575 · CC BY-SA 3.0More than half of Santa Teresa’s working residents commute to El Paso
Only 4% stay in Santa Teresa for work; outside it, El Paso is the main destination (55%, 14 miles). The two grades for Santa Teresa are B− for jobs and income and D for walkability. For 2% of workers, the job is at home, next to 12% for New Mexico as a whole.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Santa Teresa apart on work
Many Santa Teresa workers cross into Texas
69% of Santa Teresa workers work outside New Mexico, most of them in Texas, the Census survey finds. The commute map ↓
Many of the people who work in Santa Teresa live in another state
El Paso, TX (48%), Canutillo, TX (3%) and Westway, TX (2%) are among the top places Santa Teresa’s workers come from. Counting only the top ten home towns, 54% of the jobs here are held by people from out of state. The commute map ↓
Santa Teresa makes and builds things
74% of the jobs based in Santa Teresa are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Santa Teresa residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 11%. The jobs ↓
Santa Teresa trades workers with the towns around it
Santa Teresa has about as many jobs (1,733) as working residents (1,649), but they are mostly different people: 1,590 residents leave for work each day while 1,674 people come in. Only 3% of the jobs in Santa Teresa are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
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.
The four measures behind Santa Teresa’s grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Santa Teresa is better than 50% of U.S. towns, #15 of 72 in New Mexico. Unemployment holds Santa Teresa’s grade up (1.9%, U.S. 5.2%); the poverty rate pulls it down (23.9%, U.S. 12.5%). It also does well on job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Santa Teresa could be anywhere from C to B+.
The towns that employ Santa Teresa’s residents
Where Santa Teresa clocks in
55% of workers
7% 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.
Santa Teresa works in goods: 74% of its jobs
1,733 jobs are based in Santa Teresa.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Santa Teresa, 2013 → 2023: 947 → 1,733. 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 Santa Teresa’s own residents hold wherever they work.
In and out of Santa Teresa on a workday
On a workday 1,590 residents head out to work, 59 work right here, and 1,674 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.05 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Santa Teresa’s commute takes about 29 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Santa Teresa workers work from home, vs 12% across New Mexico. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,426 commuters (the 2% 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.
The distance from Santa Teresa to work
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.
Most trips from Santa Teresa start in a car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Santa Teresa is more walkable than 7% of U.S. towns, #69 of 73 in New Mexico. Both inputs place Santa Teresa near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 2,467 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 0.3 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 47% 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). 1.7% of Santa Teresa households have no vehicle (New Mexico 5.6%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Santa Teresa’s commuters take a bus or train.
Santa Teresa next to U.S. towns of 4,200 to 8,200: 1,930th of 3,444 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Ho-Ho-Kus NJ | 4,313 | $250K | 0.0% | 1.7% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 558 | White Rock NM | 5,716 | $157K | 2.5% | 0.2% | 4% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 726 | Placitas NM | 4,223 | $110K | 3.2% | 3.5% | 3% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 788 | Los Ranchos de Albuquerque NM | 5,790 | $73K | 8.8% | 0.8% | 3% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,928 | Ilion NY | 7,488 | $63K | 14.5% | 2.2% | 13% | B− |
| 1,929 | Long View NC | 5,387 | $47K | 11.3% | 2.5% | 3% | B− |
| 1,930 | Santa Teresa NM | 6,041 | $63K | 23.9% | 1.9% | 4% | B− |
| 1,931 | Barling AR | 5,452 | $54K | 15.1% | 1.8% | 2% | B− |
| 1,932 | Algona IA | 5,309 | $56K | 6.9% | 2.0% | 55% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,444 | Medina TX | 4,226 | $22K | 53.8% | 10.1% | 4% | 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 Santa Teresa, the top three, the last and three more from New Mexico.
Around Santa Teresa: the bordering towns
The biggest share goes to Sunland Park (6%).
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Santa Teresa workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Santa Teresa | – | B− | D | 29 min | $63,161 |
| Sunland Park | 6% | C+ | B | 32 min | $62,814 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Santa Teresa’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 Santa Teresa: questions
What is the median household income in Santa Teresa?
$63,161 (±$7,728) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $64,059 across New Mexico and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Santa Teresa?
23.9%, against 17.8% across New Mexico and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Santa Teresa?
29 minutes each way on average, against 24 across New Mexico and 26 nationally. 2% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Santa Teresa work?
4% work in town.
Is Santa Teresa walkable?
Santa Teresa is more walkable than 7% of U.S. towns (Walkability D): an EPA walkability index of 4.9 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Santa Teresa without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Santa Teresa, from the people who make the trip.
More of Santa Teresa
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.