Work & commute · Rio Rancho

Work & commute in Rio Rancho, NM

Most working residents leave Rio Rancho for work: only 19% work in town. The top destinations are Albuquerque (52%), Santa Fe (6%) and Kirtland AFB (3%). Half commute less than 11 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

19%

9,168 of 47,761 working residents

Typical commute

11 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

30 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

16%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 38,593 Rio Rancho residents head out of town to work, 9,168 work right here, and 14,925 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Rio Rancho.

38,593live here, work elsewhere

9,168live and work here

14,925work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Rio Rancho goes to work

Albuquerque12.8 mi away

52%24,720

Rio Rancho (in town)right here

19%9,168

Santa Fe48 mi away

6%2,694

Kirtland AFB18.2 mi away

3%1,246

Bernalillo8.4 mi away

2%1,018

Los Alamos47.9 mi away

2%998

North Valley8.8 mi away

2%886

South Valley19.1 mi away

1%450

Los Lunas33.8 mi away

1%308

Las Cruces204.5 mi away

0%226

Everywhere elseother towns and states

13%6,047

Lines run between town centers; a thicker line means more commuters. The top 10 towns each way.

How far

How far Rio Rancho commutes

Straight-line distance from home to work, for every working resident. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.

41%

42%

41%Under 10 mi

42%10–24 mi

8%25–50 mi

9%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Rio Rancho is a commuter town

0.50jobs per working resident

A commuter town

0.50 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.

The jobs

What the jobs in Rio Rancho are

24,093 jobs are based in Rio Rancho. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Rio Rancho’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Rio Rancho

24,093 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)22%

Trade, transport & utilities14%

Services (health, schools, offices…)63%

$1,250 a month or less13%

$1,251–$3,333 a month30%

Over $3,333 a month57%

Jobs Rio Rancho residents hold

47,761 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)13%

Trade, transport & utilities17%

Services (health, schools, offices…)70%

$1,250 a month or less12%

$1,251–$3,333 a month26%

Over $3,333 a month62%

+10%

Jobs based in Rio Rancho, 2013 → 2023: 21,885 → 24,093. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.

About these numbers

How to read this page

Every worker, home to workThe Census links each worker’s home block to their main job’s block, for jobs covered by unemployment insurance. That’s most jobs, but not the self-employed.

Where the employer saysA job counts where the employer reports it. Some big employers report one address for many sites, which can make a few commutes look longer than they are.

Two surveysFlows, distances and jobs: LEHD 2023. Commute time and working from home: the Census American Community Survey.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs; American Community Survey 5-year estimates.