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Tularosa, NM

2,597 people · typical household income $52,375 · typical home price $150,600 · typical rent $1,081 a month

Compare towns All towns in New Mexico · County: Otero County

At a glance

  • Stronger than most towns on: Property taxes, Diversity & community and Short commute.
  • Weaker than most towns on: Dining and entertainment, Jobs and income and Safety.
  • The 71st largest of the 346 towns we track in New Mexico.
  • Typical household income is 9% below the typical town in New Mexico.
  • 21st of 131 in New Mexico for towns with the lowest property taxes.

A score of 60 or more is stronger than most towns. Under 40 is weaker than most.

Quick answers about Tularosa

Where is Tularosa?

Tularosa is in Otero County, New Mexico. Nearby towns include La Luz, Mescalero and Alamogordo.

What is the ZIP code for Tularosa?

Tularosa has one ZIP code: 88352 . ZIP codes are mail delivery areas, not town borders, so check an address with the US Postal Service lookup.

How many people live in Tularosa?

About 2,597 people live in Tularosa , the 71st largest of the 346 towns we track in New Mexico. This is a US Census Bureau estimate.

Is Tularosa safe?

Tularosa scores 21 out of 100 for safety, which is weaker than most towns we track. A higher score means lower crime. That includes 6.8 homicides per 100,000 people in the county. The state figure is 792 violent crimes per 100,000 people across the whole state.

How expensive is it to live in Tularosa?

Tularosa has everyday prices of 97.7 (100 is typical for the US), typical rent of $1,081 a month and a typical home price of $150,600. Its cost of living scores 44 out of 100 (a higher score means cheaper), which is close to the middle of the towns we track.

We compare this town with all 27,850 towns we track. A higher score is always better.

Cost of living 44 out of 100

What we measuredThis townBeats this share of towns
Everyday prices (100 = typical for the US) 97.7 45%
Typical rent $1,081 44%

Jobs and income 19 out of 100

What we measuredThis townBeats this share of towns
Typical household income $52,375 24%
Unemployment 20.2% 2%
Poverty rate 15.4% 32%

A place that is growing 32 out of 100

What we measuredThis townBeats this share of towns
Change in population (5 years) -11.8% 21%
Change in income (5 years) +26.9% 49%

Home internet and working from home 52 out of 100

What we measuredThis townBeats this share of towns
Homes with fast internet (whole county) 88.0% 54%
People who work from home 8.4% 49%

State taxes 24 out of 100

What we measuredThis townBeats this share of towns
State taxes per resident $7,046 2%
State income tax per resident $1,188 66%
State sales tax per resident $2,138 4%

Property taxes 91 out of 100

What we measuredThis townBeats this share of towns
Property tax as a share of home price 0.47% 91%
Typical property tax paid $702 90%

Housing affordability 43 out of 100

What we measuredThis townBeats this share of towns
Home price compared with yearly income 2.9× 52%
Share of income spent on rent 24.8% 16%
Typical home price $150,600 66%

Space and yard size 29 out of 100

What we measuredThis townBeats this share of towns
Typical rooms per home 5.3 27%
Stand-alone houses 58.6% 18%
People per square mile 921 45%

Schools 39 out of 100

What we measuredThis townBeats this share of towns
High-school students in AP or IB classes 8.8% 51%
High-school students taking college classes 11.1% 50%
Students who miss 15+ days a year 32.4% 29%
Graduation rate (class of 2018 or 2019) 77.0% 11%
Students per teacher 13.3 57%
Children in poverty (context, not scored) 26.2% 8%

Diversity & community 71 out of 100

What we measuredThis townBeats this share of towns
Variety of backgrounds (0 to 100) 58 89%
Residents born outside the US 1.1% 34%

Health and medical care 39 out of 100

What we measuredThis townBeats this share of towns
Family doctors per 100,000 people (whole county) 45 33%
Dentists per 100,000 people (whole county) 51 43%
Mental-health providers per 100,000 people (whole county) 293 65%
Hospitals in town 0 43%
People without health insurance 11.6% 22%

Long, healthy lives 23 out of 100

What we measuredThis townBeats this share of towns
Life expectancy (years) (whole county) 74.9 31%
Early deaths (before age 75) (whole county) 11,128 22%
Adults in fair or poor health 27.1% 11%
Adults who had a checkup this year 68.2% 7%

Safety 21 out of 100

What we measuredThis townBeats this share of towns
Homicides per 100,000 people (whole county) 6.8 32%
Violent crime per 100,000 people (whole state) 792 1%

Clean air and low disaster risk 59 out of 100

What we measuredThis townBeats this share of towns
Fine-particle air pollution (whole county) 5.8 89%
Risk of floods, storms and other disasters (0 to 100) (whole county) 85 36%

Short commute 61 out of 100

What we measuredThis townBeats this share of towns
Average commute 23 min 61%

Walkability 49 out of 100

What we measuredThis townBeats this share of towns
Walkability (1 = car needed, 20 = very walkable) 6.1 52%
People who walk, bike or ride to work 0.5% 33%

Public transit 40 out of 100

What we measuredThis townBeats this share of towns
Buses and trains per hour 0.0 39%
Distance to the nearest stop (meters) 5,000 41%

Airport access 34 out of 100

What we measuredThis townBeats this share of towns
Miles to major airport 90 34%

Dining and entertainment 8 out of 100

What we measuredThis townBeats this share of towns
Restaurants and bars per 1,000 residents (whole county) 1.2 7%
Entertainment and recreation businesses per 1,000 residents (whole county) 0.19 8%

Weather 43 out of 100

What we measuredThis townBeats this share of towns
Average temperature 66°F —
January low 34°F —
July high 94°F —
Yearly rain 7 in —
Yearly snow 2 in —

Pleasant weather for being outdoors 60 out of 100

What we measuredThis townBeats this share of towns
Comfortable days per year 99 40%
Sunshine hours per year 4,115 99%

Other facts

Typical age25.8
Adults with a college degree22.5%
Hot days per year (90°F+)104
Freezing days per year (low 32°F or less)16
Residents who belong to a religious group (whole county)32.4%

More towns to explore

Nearby towns in New Mexico

Largest towns in Otero County

Free tools for Tularosa

Each calculator opens with this town's figures filled in. You can change any of them.

How we score towns, and where the figures come from

How we score

  • Cost of living: How expensive everyday life is compared with the rest of the US, adjusted for local rent, plus the typical rent.
  • Jobs and income: Typical household income, how many people are out of work, and how many live in poverty.
  • A place that is growing: How much the number of people and the typical income have grown between the two most recent Census survey periods (each covers five years).
  • Home internet and working from home: How many homes in the county have fast internet, and how many people work from home.
  • State taxes: Taxes each state government collects per resident: all taxes, income tax and sales tax (US Census). These are amounts collected, not what you would personally pay.
  • Property taxes: The typical property tax homeowners pay, and that tax as a share of the typical home price (US Census).
  • Housing affordability: Home prices compared with income, rent as a share of income, and the typical home price.
  • Space and yard size: Rooms per home, how many homes are stand-alone houses, and how spread out people are. We do not have yard or lot sizes from free sources.
  • Schools: The public schools located in the town: how many high-school students take AP/IB or college classes, how many students miss a lot of school, the graduation rate (older data) and class size. Child poverty is shown for context and is not scored. Towns with no high school or too little data are not rated. We do not have test scores yet.
  • Diversity & community: The mix of racial and ethnic backgrounds, and the share of residents born outside the US.
  • Health and medical care: Open hospitals in each town, family doctors, dentists and mental-health providers per person (county), and how many people have no health insurance.
  • Long, healthy lives: How long people live and how many die early (county), and how many residents report fair or poor health or get regular checkups (CDC).
  • Safety: Homicides in the county (County Health Rankings) and the state rate of violent crime (FBI, when available).
  • Clean air and low disaster risk: Fine-particle air pollution (county) and the risk of floods, storms, fires and other disasters (county, from FEMA).
  • Short commute: Average commute time of people who travel to work.
  • Walkability: How easy it is to get around on foot near the town center (connected streets, shops close to homes), and how many people walk or bike to work.
  • Public transit: How often buses and trains run near the town center, and how far the nearest stop is.
  • Airport access: Distance in a straight line to the nearest large airport with passenger flights.
  • Dining and entertainment: Restaurants, cafes and bars for every 1,000 residents, and arts, entertainment and recreation businesses for every 1,000 residents, across the whole county (US Census).
  • Weather: How close the average temperature and seasons are to the climate you pick, plus comfortable days.
  • Pleasant weather for being outdoors: Days that are 65–85°F and dry, and hours of sunshine.

The religious group figure counts members and regular attendees of congregations (US Religion Census 2020). It comes from congregations, not a survey, so every town in a county shows the same figure.

Where the figures come from

  • Population, income, housing and jobs: American Community Survey (US Census), 2024, five-year estimates
  • Walkability and public transit: EPA Smart Location Database (neighborhoods near the town center)
  • County health figures: County Health Rankings 2025 (Otero County)
  • Disaster risk: FEMA National Risk Index (county)
  • Hospitals: US Homeland Security hospital list (HIFLD)
  • Nearest airport: OurAirports: nearest is El Paso International Airport (ELP)
  • Health of residents: CDC local health estimates
  • Cost of living: US Bureau of Economic Analysis regional prices 2024 (state), adjusted by local rent
  • Safety: FBI crime data 2023 (state level)
  • State taxes: Census State Tax Collections FY2025 (state level, per resident)
  • Dining and entertainment: Census County Business Patterns 2023 (county, for every 1,000 residents)
  • Religious groups: US Religion Census 2020 (county level: members divided by population)
  • Schools: US school district records (NCES) 2023 (4 public schools in town), US Education Department Civil Rights Data Collection (AP/IB, college classes, absences) 2021-22, graduation rates 2019, Census child poverty estimates 2024
  • Weather: Open-Meteo archive 2024

These are estimates. Please check current listings and official sources before you decide.

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