CitytisticsShortlist

Cost of living, pay and housing

32.28° N · 106.75° W · GEOID 3581030

University Park

Doña Ana County, New Mexico · part of the Las Cruces, NM metro

Limited data population under 5,000, core figures borrowed from county or metro: median_home_value

New MexicoUniversity Park, NMUniversity ParkUniversity Park

The short answer

University Park is home to 2,782 people. Median household income is $30,156 a year and median rent is $792 a month, 31.5% of income (a ratio of two medians, not any one household's burden). That is above the usual 30% line for cost burden. The median home is valued at $220,800, about 7.3x annual median household income.

Median gross rent
$792
42% below the median place
Median household income
$30,156
62% below the median place
Median home value
$220,800
31% below the median place
Unemployment
13.9%
185% above the median place

Compared with the median of the 6,645 places we track. The bundle was checked 2026-11-14; each measure may refer to an older release.

What stands out about University Park

  • After the median rent, and with prices for everything else adjusted to the US average, the median household has about $21,600 a year left, less than in 99% of the 1,875 places under 10,000 people we track. It is the lowest of 22 New Mexico places.
  • Between the 2019 and 2024 surveys, household income rose 14.4% a year while rent rose 2.5%, so pay gained on rent more than in 98% of places its size. It is the lowest of 46 New Mexico places.
  • Counting remote workers as zero, the average worker spends about 75 hours a year commuting, less than in 99% of places its size. It is the lowest of 37 New Mexico places.
  • Renters occupy 100% of homes, more than in 99% of places its size. It is the lowest of 46 New Mexico places.
  • The median resident is 20.1 years old, younger than in 99% of places its size. It is the lowest of 46 New Mexico places.
01

Moving to University Park

Doña Ana County gains about 0.3 residents per 1,000 a year to moves between counties.

Moved in8,937
Moved out8,887
Net+50

Where people come from and where they go, top counties

Within New Mexico, other states or abroad

Arrivals
Leavers
Within New MexicoOther statesAbroad

Income per tax return

Arrivals$54K
Leavers$52K

People on tax returns who moved between counties, from IRS migration data, 2022 to 2023. Figures are for all of Doña Ana County; flows under 20 returns are not published.

Who moves here
35.8% of residents arrived from another county in the past year, 15.2% from another state.
Who arrives and who leaves
Households moving into Doña Ana County report $53,800 a year in income on average; those leaving, $52,000.
Income you would need
$31,700 a year to rent the median home at the 30% line. From your city
Rent or buy
Median rent is $792 a month; owners with a mortgage pay $1,442 a month including taxes and insurance, on a median home of $220,800.
Getting to work
12 minutes each way on average; 15.4% work from home.
If it is close but not quite
Athens, OH matches it on character. Compare the two
Moved here in the past year1
35.8%
above the median place (median 5.7%)
Moved from another state1
15.2%
above the median place (median 2.0%)
Income of households moving out7
$51,959
26% below the median place
All 5 moving measures
MeasureUniversity ParkAmong 6,645 placesVs median
Moved here in the past year135.8%above (median 5.7%)
Moved from another state115.2%above (median 2.0%)
Net movers per 1,000 people7County figure0.3above (median -0.6)
Income of households moving in7County figure$53,75924% below
Income of households moving out7County figure$51,95926% below
02

What it costs to live here

Homeownership is 0.0%, below the median place (median 66.4%).

University Park31.5%
Typical place20.4%

Share of the median household income that goes to the median rent. Above 30% is the usual stress line.

Income needed to rent
$31,680
a year, at the 30% line
Rent to income
31.5%
54% above the median place
Home price to income
7.3x
93% above the median place

Could you afford it?

The median rent would take
32%
over the 30% line
Left after rent, in US prices
$21,400
a year
Vs the typical household here
Same
as the median household

Uses the median rent in University Park, $792 a month, and local prices for everything else (95.8 against a US average of 100). It runs in your browser and stores nothing.

Like University Park, but easier on the budget

Close matches on income, rent, home value, education and age, where rent takes a clearly smaller share of income.

PlaceRent to incomeMore left a year
Houghton, MI27.0% vs 31.5%n/aCompare
Geneseo, NY25.0% vs 31.5%$13,700Compare
Edinboro, PA21.8% vs 31.5%$16,900Compare

Moving from somewhere else? Work out the salary you would need in University Park.

Sponsored · exampleMoving to University Park? Compare quotes from licensed movers. No partner is signed yet. Sponsored offers are always labelled and never change the data.
Homeownership1
0.0%
below the median place (median 66.4%)
Vacant homes1
71.1%
above the median place (median 7.1%)
Property tax rate1
0.7%
26% below the median place
All 16 cost and housing measures
MeasureUniversity ParkAmong 6,645 placesVs median
Median gross rent1$79242% below
Rent to income131.5%54% above
Property tax rate10.7%26% below
Home price to income17.3x93% above
Prices vs US average2Metro figure90.211% below
Fair market rent, 2 bedrooms3County figure$1,07334% below
HUD area median income4County figure$79,90026% below
Property tax paid (median)1County figure$1,48055% below
Median home value1County figure$220,80031% below
Home prices, 1-year change5County figure1.9%41% below
Home prices, 5-year change5County figure51.3%0% below
Homeownership10.0%below (median 66.4%)
Renters paying 30%+148.1%5% below
Owner costs with a mortgage1County figure$1,44223% below
Vacant homes171.1%above (median 7.1%)
Median year built119730% below
03

Work and pay

Income per person is $8,341, 79% below the median place.

Income per person1
$8,341
79% below the median place
Median household income1
$30,156
62% below the median place
Mean commute1
12 min
52% below the median place

More on work and pay, against the typical place

Unemployment13.9% 2.9×
Poverty rate30.2% 2.8×
Works from home15.4% +24%
All 10 work and pay measures
MeasureUniversity ParkAmong 6,645 placesVs median
Median household income1$30,15662% below
Income per person1$8,34179% below
Unemployment113.9%185% above
Average annual pay6County figure$52,23621% below
Pay growth, 1 year6County figure4.5%22% above
Jobs6County figure81,83446% below
Poverty rate130.2%181% above
Mean commute112 min52% below
Works from home115.4%24% above
Commutes by transit1County figure0.5%38% below
04

Who lives here

High school or higher is 100.0%, 8% above the median place.

High school or higher1
100.0%
8% above the median place
Median age1
20.1
48% below the median place
Homes with broadband1
77.8%
16% below the median place

More about who lives here, against the typical place

Household size2.0 −20%
Bachelor's or higher63.6% +98%
Born abroad4.6% −48%
No health insurance5.8% −9%
All 8 people measures
MeasureUniversity ParkAmong 6,645 placesVs median
Population12,7826646th largest
Median age120.148% below
Bachelor's or higher163.6%98% above
High school or higher1100.0%8% above
Household size12.020% below
Born abroad14.6%48% below
No health insurance15.8%9% below
Homes with broadband177.8%16% below
05

Life in University Park

Out the door, against the typical place

Parks per 10k residents14.4 +41%
Playgrounds per 10k14.4 +53%
Grocery stores per 10k0.0 −100%
Restaurants, cafes and bars per 10k0.0 −100%
Libraries per 10k18.0 20.7×
Named paths and bike trails0 km −100%
Bus and rail stops per sq mi15.6 74.5×

Mapped by volunteers in OpenStreetMap inside the city limits (Census boundaries), so coverage is fuller in some places than others. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL.

Businesses per 10,000 residents (county figures)

Restaurants and bars14.5 −30%
Shops23.8 −21%
Arts, recreation and fitness1.7 −59%
Doctors' offices and clinics18.9 −6%
Child care centers2.5 +9%

Counts businesses with paid staff, so small owner-run shops are not included.

Arts, recreation and fitness per 10k8
1.7
59% below the median place
Restaurants and bars per 10k8
14.5
30% below the median place
Shops per 10k8
23.8
21% below the median place
All 15 schools and local life measures
MeasureUniversity ParkAmong 6,645 placesVs median
Public schools10County figure78above (median 9)
Public school students10County figure36,561above (median 4,897)
Students per teacher10County figure14.28% below
Restaurants and bars per 10k8County figure14.530% below
Shops per 10k8County figure23.821% below
Arts, recreation and fitness per 10k8County figure1.759% below
Doctors' offices and clinics per 10k8County figure18.96% below
Child care centers per 10k8County figure2.59% above
Parks per 10k914.441% above
Playgrounds per 10k914.453% above
Grocery stores per 10k90.0below (median 2.1)
Restaurants, cafes and bars per 10k90.0below (median 11.2)
Libraries per 10k918.0above (median 0.9)
Named paths and bike trails90.0below (median 2.0)
Transit stops per sq mi915.6above (median 0.2)
06

Safety, weather and risk

Annual precipitation is 9.9 in, 77% below the median place.

No crime figure yet. Either the city police department did not report to the FBI for the latest year, or our monthly fetch has not reached University Park. Larger places are fetched first.

Annual precipitation11
9.9 in
77% below the median place
Good air days13
27.4%
60% below the median place
Median air quality index13
61
42% above the median place
All 11 weather and risk measures
MeasureUniversity ParkAmong 6,645 placesVs median
July average high11County figure94°F9% above
January average low11County figure29°F13% above
Average temperature11County figure62°F13% above
Annual precipitation11County figure9.9 in77% below
Natural hazard risk12County figure96.14% above
Hurricane risk12County figure36.548% below
Tornado risk12County figure20.575% below
Wildfire risk12County figure86.641% above
Heat wave risk12County figure94.65% above
Median air quality index13Metro figure6142% above
Good air days13Metro figure27.4%60% below
08

University Park in 2030: where the trends point

If recent trends hold, the median rent will take about 30% of the median income in 2030, down from 32% now.

Citytistics projections to 2030: each figure's own trend, blended with the typical trend across the places we rate, eased toward long-run US growth and carried forward from the latest release. The range is where 80% of places landed when we tested the same method on past releases.

MeasureLatest2030 projectionLikely rangeAvg. per year
Median rent$792/mo (2024)$1,000/mo$820 to $1,220/mo+4.0%
Median household income$30,156 (2024)$39,500$33,500 to $46,500+4.6%

A projection of recent trends, not a prediction of the economy or advice to buy or sell. How we project.

09

Places like University Park

The closest matches on income, rent, home value, education and age, and the places nearby.

PlaceRentIncome
Athens, OH$1,011$38,204Compare
Oxford, OH$997$40,764Compare
Houghton, MI$978$43,456Compare
Geneseo, NY$971$46,589Compare
Geneseo, NYHoughton, MIOxford, OHAthens, OHUniversity Park, NMUniversity ParkAthensOxfordHoughtonGeneseoUniversity ParkAthensOxfordHoughtonGeneseo

Common questions

Is University Park a good place to live?

It depends on what you need, so here is what the numbers say. After the median rent, and with prices for everything else adjusted to the US average, the median household has about $21,600 a year left, less than in 99% of the 1,875 places under 10,000 people we track. It is the lowest of 22 New Mexico places. Between the 2019 and 2024 surveys, household income rose 14.4% a year while rent rose 2.5%, so pay gained on rent more than in 98% of places its size. It is the lowest of 46 New Mexico places. On cost, space and class size it scores 0 out of 100 for families. See how it ranks with your own weights.

Is University Park expensive to live in?

The median rent takes 31.5% of the median household income, against 20.4% in the typical place we track. Housing is a heavier load here than usual. The median home is valued at $220,800.

What salary do you need to live in University Park?

To rent the median home without spending more than 30% of income on rent, a household needs about $31,680 a year. Work it out from your current city.

What places are similar to University Park?

On income, rent, home value, education and age, the closest matches are Athens, OH, Oxford, OH, Houghton, MI and Geneseo, NY.

Sources and methods

The small numbers beside each measure point here. Every dataset is public; links go to the publisher.

  1. American Community Survey 5-year estimates · US Census Bureau · 2020 to 2024 estimatesTables B01002, B01003, B05002, B07003, B08013, B08301, B15003, B17001, B19013, B19301, B23025, B25002, B25003, B25010, B25035, B25064, B25070, B25077, B25088, B25103, B28002, S2701
  2. Regional Price Parities · US Bureau of Economic Analysis · Latest release, retrieved 2026-11-14
  3. Fair Market Rents · US Department of Housing and Urban Development · Fiscal year 2027
  4. Income Limits · US Department of Housing and Urban Development · Fiscal year 2026
  5. House Price Index · Federal Housing Finance Agency · Latest release, retrieved 2026-11-14
  6. Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages · US Bureau of Labor Statistics · 2025 annual averages
  7. SOI Tax Stats, county-to-county migration · Internal Revenue Service · Tax years 2022 to 2023Counts tax returns and the people on them; flows under 20 returns are suppressed.
  8. County Business Patterns · US Census Bureau · 2023 data
  9. OpenStreetMap · © OpenStreetMap contributors, available under the Open Database License (ODbL) · Map data as of 2026-11
  10. Common Core of Data · National Center for Education Statistics · 2024 release
  11. 1991-2020 climate normals · NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information · Series updated 2026-11-05Averages for 1991 to 2020 computed from NOAA's county climate series (nClimDiv).nClimDiv county series
  12. National Risk Index · Federal Emergency Management Agency · Latest release, retrieved 2026-11-14NRI data and maps
  13. Air Quality System, annual AQI by county · US Environmental Protection Agency · 2025 dataAirData download files

Derived by Citytistics from the tables above: rent to income (B25064, B19013); property tax rate (B25103, B25077); home price to income (B25077, B19013).

What stands out compares University Park with places of a similar size, using only figures measured for University Park itself; county and metro figures never count. Survey figures are estimates with margins of error. Formulas and definitions: methodology. API: /api/v1/places/university-park-new-mexico

Citytistics. “University Park, New Mexico.” Data as of 2026-11-14. https://www.citytistics.com/city/university-park-new-mexico/

This product uses the Census Bureau Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.