Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 18,268, settled in 1960.
Sunland Park grades C− overall, 32nd among New Mexico's 72 graded towns, with clear strengths and some subjects that lag. On the other side, CDC estimates put its residents' health behind 86% of the country. It also does better than most on schools: its schools outperform 60% of the state's. Its lowest everyday mark is in cost of living: the typical home is worth about $223K, 3.9 years of the Las Cruces metro’s $57K median household income. Sunland Park's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) trails 99% of U.S. towns. Only 1 of the 73 New Mexico towns we compare have a higher January low than Sunland Park.
14,106 counted in 2010 and 16,702 in 2020; an estimated 18,268 in 2025.
Growth hasn’t slowed: 9.3% since 2020, after 18.4% in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New Mexico), ordered by how far Sunland Park is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 8,179 in 1990, 16,702 in 2020. The archive holds 8 old photos and papers going back to 2014 and 4 maps from 1955 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Sunland Park. Close and well known come first.
6 mi Stadium & arenaSun Bowl Stadium
7 mi State parkFranklin Mountains State Park
in town Theme parkWestern Playland
9 mi National MemorialChamizal National Memorial8K visitors a year
33 mi Ancient siteHueco Tanks
8 mi TheatrePlaza TheatreSun Bowl Stadium: Quintin Soloviev, CC BY 4.0 · Franklin Mountains State Park: Larry D. Moore, CC BY 4.0 · Western Playland: Dimples915, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Chamizal National Memorial: Original uploader was Mosamiazaz at en.wikipedia, Public domain · Hueco Tanks: Brian Stansberry, CC BY 3.0 · Plaza Theatre: Donitza Marie, CC BY-SA 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Sunland Park, and how to reach them.
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 Sunland Park.
Sunland Park has milder winter nights than almost anywhere else in New Mexico, sends many workers across the state line to Canutillo and has seen reported crime fall by a fifth or more.
34% of Sunland Park adults say their health is fair or poor, against 25% in New Mexico’s towns and 19% across U.S. towns. 38% of Sunland Park adults worry about having enough food. Sunland Park beats the New Mexico average on 2 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 14.
| Sunland Park | New Mexico towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 34% | 25% | 19% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 38% | 23% | 14% |
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 16% | 8.1% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 36% | 27% | 25% |
| What stands out | Sunland Park | NM |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 4.3% | 7.4% |
| Fewer adults with arthritis | 22.3% | 25.6% |
| More uninsured adults | 28.8% | 15.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its public schools are run by the Gadsden school district. Two of its 5 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Santa Teresa High, with 1,154 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Riverside ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 550 | – |
| Santa Teresa HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,154 | C+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NM on state tests and graduation
12 miles of trail in 3 parks and preserves. At 0.8 miles per square mile, Sunland Park’s trail density is close to New Mexico’s towns (1.0) and above U.S. towns (0.4).
| Sunland Park | New Mexico towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.8 miles per square mile | 1.0 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 2% | 4% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. City Of Sunland Sports Complex | — | 18 |
| 2. William Clark Snow Park | — | 10 |
| 3. Mender Park | — | 2 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
61% of working residents cross a state line to work, Canutillo among the top destinations. The average commute for its 6,807 working residents takes 31.9 minutes, against 23.5 across New Mexico.
Most working residents leave Sunland Park for work: only 8% work in town. 22% of residents live below the poverty line in Sunland Park. The top destinations are El Paso (54%), Las Cruces (6%) and Anthony (6%).
| Sunland Park | New Mexico towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 32 minutes | 23 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 22% | 20% | 9.6% |
| Work from home | 4.9% | 8.4% | 11% |
| Median household income | $63,000 | $55,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The typical Sunland Park home is worth about $223,000, up 1.1% in a year, 29% below the New Mexico typical home.
| Sunland Park | New Mexico towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 80% | 70% | 73% |
| Median rent | $920 a month | $944 a month | $1,185 a month |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Sunland Park’s median age is 30.9 years. Sunland Park has grown 9.3% since 2020, to 18,268 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 22% never finished high school.
| Sunland Park | New Mexico towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 30% | 23% | 22% |
| Median age | 30.9 years | 37.5 years | 40.5 years |
| Aged 65 or older | 11% | 18% | 18% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 22% | 23% | 29% |
54% women, 46% men
About 85 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±2.8 points). Across New Mexico, 50.3% of residents are women.
| Sunland Park | NM | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 16.5% | 11% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 13% | 10.7% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 11.9% | 9.3% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 13.8% | 13.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 16.6% | 12.8% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 10.3% | 11.2% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 7.1% | 12.5% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 7% | 11.5% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 3.7% | 7.8% | 7% |
| No diploma | 22% | 12% | 10.4% |
| High school | 28.9% | 25.7% | 26% |
| Some college | 19.8% | 22.2% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 7.5% | 9.2% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 15.5% | 17.1% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 6.3% | 13.9% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
January nights average 32.2°, the #2 highest of 528 New Mexico places with climate records; July afternoons average 96.1°. The Santa Teresa Ap weather station, 7 miles away, records that about 107 days a year reach 90°, more than in 96% of U.S. towns.
The July high in Sunland Park is 96°F. Sunland Park has mild winters and hot summers, with very little rain. About 2 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 58% of U.S. communities. Since 2010, 2 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Sunland Park.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Reported crimes fell from 206 to 161 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Within New Mexico, it does better than 86% of towns.
| Sunland Park | New Mexico towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 5.9 per 1,000 residents | 16.4 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2.7 per 1,000 residents | 4.4 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
5 within 15 miles of the center of Sunland Park
About 8 of every 100 Sunland Park residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across New Mexico.
Where Sunland Park’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
City in New Mexico, United States
Sunland Park is a city in southeastern Doña Ana County, New Mexico, United States, on the borders of Texas and the Mexican state of Chihuahua, with Ciudad Juárez adjoining it on the south and El Paso, Texas, on the east. The community of Santa Teresa adjoins it on the northwest. As of the 2020 census, Sunland Park had a population of 16,702. It was estimated at 17,978 by the United States Census Bureau in 2019. Though it lies adjacent to El Paso, being in Doña Ana County makes it a part of the Las Cruces metropolitan statistical area. Las Cruces is 42 miles (68 km) to the north. The city is at the foot of Mount Cristo Rey, next to the Rio Grande, and is named for Sunland Park Racetrack & Ca…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with Sunland Park.
| Town | NM rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunland Park | #32 | C− | C | B− | B | D |
| Santa Teresa | #36 | C− | C− | — | B | C+ |
Santa Teresa reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare Sunland Park with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Sunland Park grades C− overall, better than 21% of U.S. towns and #32 of 72 in New Mexico. It grades D for health, B− for safety and B for schools. Health is its weak spot, with a D.
Within New Mexico, it does better than 86% of towns.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C.
