Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 37,120.
South Valley is a solid, middle-of-the-road choice. It grades C overall, 20th of 72 graded towns in New Mexico, with no subject far below average. Its best mark is cost of living: homes are within reach, about $224K for a typical one, or 3.2 years of the Albuquerque metro’s $71K median household income. Its lowest everyday mark is in health: CDC estimates put its residents' health behind 74% of the country. South Valley’s concentration of trails is 1.6 miles per square mile, above both New Mexico’s towns (1.0) and U.S. towns (0.4). Only 10 of New Mexico’s 161 towns score higher on the outdoors. South Valley has 3 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Old Armijo School and Five Points Community Church.
Where South Valley beats most towns.
Where South Valley’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New Mexico), ordered by how far South Valley is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 39,060 in 2000, 38,338 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 2012 and 5 maps from 1934 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Explore the history →Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around South Valley. Close and well known come first.
5 mi Stadium & arenaUniversity Stadium
8 mi National MonumentPetroglyph National Monument311K visitors a year
6 mi TheatreKiMo Theater
8 mi Stadium & arenaTingley Coliseum
9 mi MuseumNational Museum of Nuclear Science & History
21 mi Stadium & arenaRio Rancho Events CenterUniversity Stadium: Kenneth C. Zirkel, CC BY 4.0 · Petroglyph National Monument: Unknown, Public domain · KiMo Theater: Daniel Schwen, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Tingley Coliseum: John Phelan, CC BY 3.0 · National Museum of Nuclear Science & History: AllenS, Public domain · Rio Rancho Events Center: Maryabm2009, CC BY-SA 4.0
South Valley 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.
Ordered by what stands out in South Valley.
49 miles of trail wind through 7 parks and preserves. Valle de Oro National Wildlife Refuge, at 585 acres with 3.9 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Valle de Oro National Wildlife Refuge | 3.9 mi | 585 |
| 2. Durand Open Space | 0.4 mi | 10 |
| 3. Rio Bravo County Park | 0.2 mi | 20 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Of its 15 schools, two are listed below, each with the reason. Its public schools are run by the Albuquerque school district. The 6 public schools in South Valley teach 1,740 students between them.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ernie Pyle MiddleLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 409 | – |
| Rio Grande HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,475 | D− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NM on state tests and graduation
South Valley had 8,590 jobs in 2023, up 1,082 from 2013. Just 7% of the town’s working residents have a job in town. Among residents here, 19% live below the poverty line. The top destinations are Albuquerque (68%), North Valley (3%) and Rio Rancho (3%).
| South Valley | New Mexico towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 19% | 21% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 6.9% | 15% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 26 minutes | 23 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $58,000 | $55,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Against the 8,414 U.S. towns with household incomes like South Valley’s, it is less healthy than 57%, so that grade isn’t only a matter of income.
In South Valley, 32% of adults sleep under 7 hours, below both the New Mexico town median (34%) and the median of U.S. towns (36%). For adults 18 to 64 here, the share who have no health insurance is 23%. Of 32 CDC measures, South Valley beats the New Mexico average on 1 and trails it on 10. Two figures for adults here: 30% say their health is fair or poor, 28% worry about having enough food.
| South Valley | New Mexico towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 23% | 16% | 8.1% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 67% | 69% | 79% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 25% | 19% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 23% | 14% |
| What stands out | South Valley | NM |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 6% | 7.4% |
| More uninsured adults | 23.3% | 15.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Compared with 55% of U.S. communities, expected storm and flood damage in South Valley is higher. Since 1988, 13 flood insurance claims have been paid out here. Expected losses in South Valley break down as 59% from inland flooding and 29% from earthquakes.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
4 within 15 miles of the center of South Valley
About 6 of every 100 South Valley residents are enrolled in college, about the same as New Mexico.
3 places in South Valley on the National Register of Historic Places.
Census-designated place in New Mexico, United States
South Valley is a census-designated place (CDP) and unincorporated community in Bernalillo County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 38,338 at the 2020 Census. It is part of the Albuquerque Metropolitan Statistical Area. The U.S. Postal Service uses "Albuquerque" for all South Valley addresses (ZIP code 87105).
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with South Valley.
| Town | NM rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Valley | #20 | C | B | — | C+ | C |
| Albuquerque | #44 | C− | C− | D− | C+ | B |
South Valley reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare South Valley with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
South Valley grades C overall, better than 28% of U.S. towns and #20 of 72 in New Mexico. It grades C for health and C+ for schools.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B.
