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Las CrucesNM

A city of 114,197, settled in 1849. Nearly 34% of it is conserved land.

3 bordering townsMap →
Photo: Terry Umbenhaur · CC BY-SA 3.0
Population
114,197
+14.1% since 2010
Typical home
$290K
−0.7% in a year
Household income
$55K
median
Median age
33.0
years
Jobs based here
47,828
Balanced

What makes Las Cruces stand out

The 3 things Las Cruces does most differently from other towns.

Picked automatically from the data
Advert for WIA program in Las Cruces, 30 September 1898
1898 · Advert for WIA program in Las Cruces, 30 September 1898 · Wikimedia Commons
Las Cruces’s story

177 years in pictures

6 postcards, papers and photographs from public archives, and 11 places on the National Register.

Aerial view of Las Cruces, New Mexico
Explore the history →
College town

12% of Las Cruces is in college

3 colleges in town.

College Scorecard · IPEDS

Las Cruces’s report card

See the data ↓

Now in Las Cruces

Be the first to start the conversation.

Be the first neighbor to joinJoin Las Cruces →
Residents weigh in
Las Cruces is #21 of 21 in NM for “Rent easiest to afford”. Fair?
Your answer becomes a post in Las Cruces’s Town Square.
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The data

Ordered by what stands out in Las Cruces. Another town gets a different order.

Outdoors

Nearly a third of Las Cruces is conserved land

117 miles of trails across 58 parks and preserves.

#19for trails in NM
Map of Las Cruces: conserved land, trails and the top places to walk
Green: conserved land · dashed: trails · numbers: the places below
34%
conserved · 16,718 of 49,139 acres
117 mi
of trails · 1.5 per sq mi
#7
most conserved land in NM
#24
most walkable in NM
Biggest places to walkTrailsAcres
1. Sonoma Ranch Golf Course4.9 mi170
2. Young Park1.6 mi21
3. Veteran's Park0.6 mi10
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-USParks & trails →
Schools

Las Cruces’s public schools outperform 87% of New Mexico districts

The public schools Las Cruces’s kids attend, from kindergarten through graduation, outperform 87% of New Mexico’s districts on state tests and graduation. Among towns with similar incomes, they rank near the top.

ASchool Grade
SchoolGradesStudentsGrade
Monte Vista ElementaryPK–5706Not graded
Highland ElementaryPK–5704Not graded
Sonoma ElementaryPK–5660Not graded
Desert Hills ElementaryPK–5502Not graded
Cesar Chavez ElementaryPK–2492Not graded
Loma Heights ElementaryPK–5450Not graded
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NM on state tests and graduationAll 41 schools →
Housing

A typical Las Cruces home is worth about $290K

The typical Las Cruces home is worth about $290,000, down 0.7% in a year, 9% below the New Mexico typical home.

$290KZillow home value

Typical home value

Las Cruces$290K
New Mexico$318K
Market temperature
BalancedA seller's marketBuyer’sSeller’s
45
days on market
97.7%
sale-to-list price
−0.7%
value change, 1 year
136
homes sold in May
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data CenterHousing market →
Safety

Less crime per resident than 4% of U.S. towns

Las Cruces reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 96% report less.

D−Safety Grade

Violent crime per 1,000 residents

Las Cruces4.9
New Mexico6.5
U.S.3.3

Property crime per 1,000 residents

Las Cruces36.4
New Mexico23.5
U.S.15.5
4th
percentile among U.S. towns we grade
21st
percentile among NM towns
584
violent crimes reported in 2025
4,314
property crimes reported in 2025
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to policeFull safety report →
Health

Healthier than 49% of U.S. towns

Las Cruces beats the New Mexico average on 1 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 0.

B−Health Grade
32 measures vs. New Mexico
1 better31 too close to call0 worse
What stands outLas CrucesNM
Fewer adults who have had cancer6.7%7.4%
Three Crosses Regional Hospital
0.9 mi away · emergency room
3 of 3
care shortages: primary care, dental, mental health
67th
percentile among NM towns
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSAFull health report →
Work & commute

About half of working residents work right in Las Cruces

60% of Las Cruces’s working residents work right in town. The top destinations are University Park (6%), El Paso (5%) and Albuquerque (4%). Half commute less than 4 miles.

60%work in town

Where working residents work

In Las Cruces60%
University Park6%
El Paso5%
Albuquerque4%
Mesilla1%
4 mi
median commute distance
47,828
jobs based in Las Cruces
Balanced
jobs vs. working residents
Census LEHD 2023 · ACSCommute map →
Climate

Mild winters, hot summers

Las Cruces has mild winters and hot summers, with very little rain. A typical July afternoon reaches 96°, a January night drops to 28°, and about 1 inches of snow falls in a normal winter.

1″snow a winter

Typical low → high °F

Winter30–60°
Spring45–79°
Summer66–95°
Fall48–78°
Nov 13
typical first frost
Mar 12
typical last frost
+1.8°
vs. the 20th-century average
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020Full climate →
Natural hazards

Low risk, with inland flooding at the top

Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 39% of U.S. communities.

39risk score of 100
FEMA risk score
39Low riskLowerHigher
Inland flooding
32
paid flood claims since 1978
2
federal disasters paid out here
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMANatural hazards →
A growing town

Las Cruces has grown 14.1% since 2010

97,618 people in 2010; 114,197 today.

97,6182010
111,3852020
114,197Today

U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 · ACS

Landmarks

11 places in Las Cruces on the National Register of Historic Places.

All landmarks →

Famous people from Las Cruces

38 notable people were born in Las Cruces.

See all 38 →

About Las Cruces

City in New Mexico, United States

Official town website ↗

Las Cruces (; Spanish: [las 'kruses]; lit. 'the crosses') is a city in Doña Ana County, New Mexico, United States, and its county seat. The population was 111,385 at the 2020 census, making it the second-most populous city in New Mexico, and the largest in both Doña Ana County and southern New Mexico. It is the principal city of the Las Cruces metropolitan statistical area, which encompasses all of Doña Ana County and had an estimated 230,000 residents in 2024. The city is also part of the larger El Paso–Las Cruces combined statistical area. Las Cruces is the economic and geographic center of the Mesilla Valley, the agricultural region on the floodplain of the Rio Grande, which extends from…

From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)

Established
1849
Population
111,385
Area
77 sq mi
Elevation
3,907 ft
ZIP code
88001, 88003, 88004
Area code
575

Las Cruces’s neighbors

3 towns share a border with Las Cruces.

Explore the map →

More about Las Cruces

Still missing for Las Cruces:upcoming events

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Photo of Las Cruces

Las Cruces, NM · Photo: Terry Umbenhaur · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source ↗