PlainZIP

Neighborhood Scorecard

Source:

87544 — Los Alamos, NM

The neighborhood scorecard for ZIP 87544 in Los Alamos, NM blends seven federal datasets into a single letter grade of A- (82/100). The underlying inputs pulled for this ZIP include a median household income of $138,583, a median home value of $488,300, 69.3% of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher, and an average commute of —. Every value comes directly from Census ACS 5-Year Estimates tied to ZIP 87544, not a national average mapped onto the ZIP.

Cross-agency inputs extend the score beyond Census demographics. If any of these feeds is missing for 87544, the scorecard transparently drops that dimension rather than inventing a score.

Reading the grade means reading the dimensions together. The overall A- score for 87544 reflects a weighted blend — Income (20%), Safety (20%), Housing (15%), Rent (15%), Education (10%), Commute (10%), and Childcare (10%) — and each dimension is benchmarked against national percentiles rather than in-state-only comparisons. Strengths visible in the raw data include income, education, rent. Areas pulling the overall grade down are housing.

A-
Overall Score
82/100
87544 — Los Alamos, NM
Income A+
$138,583
Median household income
Education A+
69.3%
Bachelor's degree or higher
Housing D
3.5x
Home value $488,300 vs income
Commute N/A
N/A
Average commute time
Rent A
$1,740/mo
2BR fair market rent (15% of income)
Safety N/A
N/A
Violent crime rate (county)
Childcare N/A
N/A
Center-based infant care cost

Score Breakdown

Income

A+
$138,583

Median household income

Score: 94/100

Education

A+
69.3%

Bachelor's degree or higher

Score: 97/100

Housing

D
3.5x

Home value $488,300 vs income

Score: 49/100

Commute

N/A
N/A

Average commute time

Rent

A
$1,740/mo

2BR fair market rent (15% of income)

Score: 90/100

Safety

N/A
N/A

Violent crime rate (county)

Childcare

N/A
N/A

Center-based infant care cost

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Neighborhood Scorecard for ZIP 87544 — Los Alamos, NM: Grade A-, Score 82/100
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What This Means

Los Alamos, NM (87544) receives an overall grade of A- based on publicly available data from the Census Bureau, HUD, FBI, and Department of Labor. This area performs well in income and education and rent. Data was unavailable for commute, safety, childcare — these dimensions were excluded from the overall score.

Full ZIP Code Data
Demographics, housing, income, and more for 87544
View Details →

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the overall score for ZIP 87544?▼
ZIP 87544 (Los Alamos, NM) has an overall neighborhood score of 82/100, earning a grade of A-. This score combines 7 dimensions: income, education, housing affordability, commute, rent, safety, and childcare costs.
Is 87544 a good place to live?▼
Based on Census, HUD, FBI, and DOL data, 87544 scores A- overall. Strengths include income, education, rent. Areas that score lower: housing.
How is the neighborhood scorecard calculated?▼
The scorecard evaluates 7 dimensions weighted by importance: Income (20%), Safety (20%), Housing affordability (15%), Rent (15%), Education (10%), Commute (10%), and Childcare (10%). Each metric is compared against national benchmarks to produce a percentile score.

Official Data Resources

HUD Fair Market Rents → FBI Crime Statistics → NCES School Data →

Data as of 2024. Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates. Source: HUD Fair Market Rents. Source: FBI Uniform Crime Report. Source: DOL Childcare Costs. Verify with HUD →

Read our methodology to see how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.