Ruidoso, NM

The affordability dashboard for Ruidoso, NM aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 2 ZIP codes covering 8,874 residents, then layers in county-level federal data to produce an overall grade of D (49/100). The headline inputs are median household income of $53,971, median home value of $263,700, median rent of $917 per month, and 38.3% of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher. These four metrics alone explain most of the variance between city dashboards.

Cross-agency feeds widen the picture beyond Census demographics. HUD publishes a Fair Market Rent for a 2-bedroom in this county at $999 per month (studio $815, 1BR $820, 3BR $1,305, 4BR $1,611).

Reading the overall grade requires reading all seven dimensions together. The score weights Income 20%, Safety 20%, Housing 15%, Rent 15%, Education 10%, Commute 10%, and Childcare 10%, with each sub-score benchmarked against national percentiles rather than state averages — so the grade is genuinely comparable across any city in the country. Pressure points are housing. Unemployment currently reads 3.2% and poverty 19.7% — numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.