Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 2,406, settled in 1884.
Valencia’s best subject grade is a B+ for cost of living; its weakest is a D for hazard risk. 29% of residents live below the poverty line in Valencia, where New Mexico’s towns sit at 21% and U.S. towns at 9.6%. Only 4 of the 74 New Mexico towns we compare have a lower share of working residents who work in town than Valencia. Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 69% of U.S. towns. On the outdoors, just 8 of New Mexico’s 161 towns do worse. Valencia has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Valencia’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 Valencia is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 3,917 in 1990, 2,052 in 2020. The archive holds 5 old photos and papers going back to 1933 and 3 maps from 1952 on.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Valencia. Close and well known come first.
18 mi Stadium & arenaUniversity Stadium
21 mi National MonumentPetroglyph National Monument311K visitors a year
19 mi TheatreKiMo Theater
20 mi MuseumNational Museum of Nuclear Science & History
20 mi Stadium & arenaTingley Coliseum
35 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 · National Museum of Nuclear Science & History: AllenS, Public domain · Tingley Coliseum: John Phelan, CC BY 3.0 · Rio Rancho Events Center: Maryabm2009, CC BY-SA 4.0
Valencia is unincorporated, so Valencia 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 Valencia.
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 86% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Its public schools are run by the Los Lunas school district. One of its 2 schools is below, with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Valencia ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 370 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NM on state tests and graduation
Most working residents leave Valencia for work: only 1% work in town. Valencia’s average trip to work is 30 minutes, above both New Mexico’s towns (23 minutes) and U.S. towns (25 minutes). Since 2013, Valencia has lost 61 jobs, to 125 in 2023.
| Valencia | New Mexico towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 30 minutes | 23 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $55,000 | $55,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Valencia has chilly winters and hot summers, with very little rain. The July high in Valencia is 94°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Valencia beats the New Mexico average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 71% of Valencia adults had a checkup this year.
| Valencia | New Mexico towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 71% | 69% | 79% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 14% | 12% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 13% | 16% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 26% | 19% |
| What stands out | Valencia | NM |
|---|---|---|
| More adults with diabetes | 15.6% | 13.2% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
1 within 15 miles of the center of Valencia
About 7 of every 100 Valencia residents are enrolled in college, about the same as New Mexico.
CDP in New Mexico, United States
Valencia is a census-designated place (CDP) in Valencia County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 2,192 according to the 2010 census. It is part of the Albuquerque Metropolitan Statistical Area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
3 towns share a border with Valencia.
| Town | NM rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Valencia | — | — | B+ | — | B− | C |
| Los Lunas | #53 | D | C | D | B− | B− |
| Peralta | #15 | C+ | C+ | B− | B− | B |
| El Cerro | #6 | B− | B+ | — | B− | B− |
Valencia has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Valencia and El Cerro report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Valencia with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Not for the area. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B+.
