City profile

Albuquerque, New Mexico

Compare Albuquerque, New Mexico with other U.S. cities using verified population data and a transparent roadmap for housing, jobs, safety, schools, weather, taxes, and quality-of-life metrics.

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Population 556,588

July 1, 2025 Census estimate.

Growth -1.39%

Change from the April 1, 2020 estimates base to July 1, 2025.

Region West

Derived from state grouping for filtering and comparison.

Housing Queued

Needs ACS housing cost and HUD rent layers before scoring.

Jobs Queued

Needs BLS market data before scoring.

Safety Queued

Needs FBI CDE or local agency data with caveats.

Move signal stable

Derived from verified population movement only, not a full recommendation.

Relocation read

Should Albuquerque be on your shortlist?

Albuquerque has a lower 2025 estimate than its 2020 estimates base, which deserves a closer look at jobs, housing affordability, migration, and quality-of-life tradeoffs.

Western cities often require especially careful housing, water, wildfire, commute, and salary-adjustment checks before a move. WhereToLive.us keeps those categories separate so a reader can see what is verified and what still needs source review.

For monetization and search quality, this page is built to answer a specific relocation query without inventing unsourced scores. The first release gives a reliable population baseline, then points readers toward the next data checks that usually drive move decisions.

What the current data says

Albuquerque, New Mexico is ranked #32 by July 1, 2025 population among incorporated places of 20,000 or more in the Census ranked file. Its population estimate is 556,588, compared with a 2020 estimates base of 564,428.

The current move signal is stable. This is a narrow population-momentum signal, not a complete recommendation. The next layers need verified housing, job, school, crime, weather, commute, healthcare, tax, internet, and utility datasets before WhereToLive.us should issue stronger guidance.

Cost of living

Pending ACS and price-basket inputs before a score is published.

Data layer queued

Housing

Needs rent, home-value, supply, and vacancy data for Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Data layer queued

Jobs

Needs BLS occupation, unemployment, wage, and industry concentration data.

Data layer queued

Crime and safety

Needs FBI CDE or local agency reporting with methodology caveats.

Data layer queued

Weather

Needs NOAA climate normals and hazard history.

Data layer queued

Schools

Needs NCES and state education records.

Data layer queued

Military

Needs installation proximity, BAH area, VA services, and reserve component data where applicable.

Data layer queued

Healthcare

Needs CMS hospital, HRSA shortage area, and provider access data.

Data layer queued

Taxes and utilities

Needs state/local tax, utility, and broadband provider data.

Data layer queued

Albuquerque research checklist

Compare the 2025 population estimate against nearby cities and the state shortlist.
Check whether population growth matches the local housing supply and commute tradeoffs.
Layer in verified rent, wage, school, healthcare, tax, and safety data before making a move decision.
Use official city, county, Census, BLS, HUD, NOAA, NCES, CMS, FCC, and state tax sources for final confirmation.

Common Albuquerque questions

Is Albuquerque growing?: Albuquerque, New Mexico is relatively stable on the verified population measure, with -1.39% change from the 2020 estimates base to the 2025 estimate.
What should I verify before moving to Albuquerque?: Verify rent or mortgage cost, wage expectations, commute time, school boundaries, crime data, healthcare access, utility costs, taxes, internet availability, and neighborhood fit using primary sources.
Does WhereToLive.us recommend Albuquerque?: Not yet. The current page is a research baseline, not a final recommendation. A recommendation requires verified affordability, job, safety, school, healthcare, tax, weather, and commute layers.

Nearby comparison queue

Use these same-region cities as a fast starting point. The comparison tool keeps the math transparent and avoids hidden scores until each data layer is verified.