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Taos plaza la fonda

TaosNM

A town of 6,458, settled in 1795. Home to 15 places on the National Register of Historic Places.

2 bordering townsMap →
Photo: Zeality · CC BY 2.5
Population
6,458
+13.3% since 2010
Typical home
$437K
−0.9% in a year
Household income
$47K
median
Median age
53.7
years
Jobs based here
5,349
A job hub

What makes Taos stand out

The 3 things Taos does most differently from other towns.

Picked automatically from the data
South Town at
c. 1871 · South Town at · Wikimedia Commons
Taos’s story

231 years in pictures

6 postcards, papers and photographs from public archives, and 15 places on the National Register.

Dick Wootton, Ceran St. Vrain, José Maria Valdez 1865 - croppedDick Wootton, Ceran St. Vrain, José Maria Valdez 1865South Town at
Explore the history →
Dick Wootton, Ceran St. Vrain, José Maria Valdez 1865 - cropped1865
From the archive · today’s picture

161 years ago in Taos

Dick Wootton, Ceran St. Vrain, José Maria Valdez 1865 - cropped

Photo · Wikimedia Commons. A different picture from Taos’s archive appears here every day.

See all 6 archive items →

Taos’s report card

See the data ↓

Now in Taos

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Live in Taos? Is a D− for safety right?
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The data

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

Outdoors

1.3% of Taos is conserved land

4.3 miles of trails across 5 parks and preserves.

1.3%conserved
Map of Taos: conserved land, trails and the top places to walk
Green: conserved land · dashed: trails · numbers: the places below
1.3%
conserved · 51 of 3,924 acres
4.3 mi
of trails · 0.7 per sq mi
#9
most walkable in NM
Biggest places to walkTrailsAcres
1. Red Willow Park1 mi20
2. Taos Eco Park0.1 mi24
3. Filemon Sanchez Fairground Park—10
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-USParks & trails →
Work & commute

About half of working residents work right in Taos

50% of Taos’s working residents work right in town. The top destinations are Albuquerque (10%), Taos Ski Valley (5%) and Santa Fe (4%). Half commute less than 2 miles.

50%work in town

Where working residents work

In Taos50%
Albuquerque10%
Taos Ski Valley5%
Santa Fe4%
Taos Pueblo2%
2 mi
median commute distance
5,349
jobs based in Taos
A job hub
jobs vs. working residents
Census LEHD 2023 · ACSCommute map →
Safety

Less crime per resident than 2% of U.S. towns

Taos reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 98% report less.

D−Safety Grade

Violent crime per 1,000 residents

Taos6.7
New Mexico6.5
U.S.3.3

Property crime per 1,000 residents

Taos34.9
New Mexico23.5
U.S.15.5
2nd
percentile among U.S. towns we grade
10th
percentile among NM towns
43
violent crimes reported in 2025
225
property crimes reported in 2025
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to policeFull safety report →
Health

Healthier than 49% of U.S. towns

Taos beats the New Mexico average on 5 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 6.

B−Health Grade
32 measures vs. New Mexico
5 better21 too close to call6 worse
What stands outTaosNM
Fewer adults facing housing insecurity13.1%16.5%
Fewer adults without reliable transportation9.3%11%
More adults who have had cancer9.6%7.4%
Holy Cross Hospital A Div of Taos Health Systems
3.1 mi away · emergency room
3 of 3
care shortages: primary care, dental, mental health
69th
percentile among NM towns
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSAFull health report →
Schools

Taos’s public schools outperform 16% of New Mexico districts

The public schools Taos’s kids attend, from kindergarten through graduation, trail 84% of New Mexico’s districts on state tests and graduation. Among towns with similar incomes, they rank near the bottom.

C−School Grade
SchoolGradesStudentsGrade
Enos Garcia ElementaryPK–5348D−
Taos Municipal CharterK–8216D−
Taos Integrated School of ArtsK–8215B+
Taos International SchoolK–8179Not graded
Taos Middle6–8337D−
Taos High9–12749B+
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NM on state tests and graduationAll 10 schools →
Housing

A typical Taos home is worth about $437K

The typical Taos home is worth about $437,000, down 0.9% in a year, 37% above the New Mexico typical home.

$437KZillow home value

Typical home value

Taos$437K
New Mexico$318K
Market temperature
Buyer’s marketA buyer's marketBuyer’sSeller’s
144
days on market
−0.9%
value change, 1 year
8
homes sold in May
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data CenterHousing market →
Climate

Four seasons, pleasant summers

Taos has cold winters and warm summers, with very little rain. A typical July afternoon reaches 84°, a January night drops to 11°, and about 28 inches of snow falls in a normal winter.

28″snow a winter

Typical low → high °F

Winter13–44°
Spring29–63°
Summer48–83°
Fall31–65°
Oct 3
typical first frost
May 19
typical last frost
+1.5°
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 floodingLightningWildfire
1
federal disasters paid out here
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMANatural hazards →
A growing town

Taos has grown 13.3% since 2010

5,716 people in 2010; 6,458 today.

5,7162010
6,4742020
6,458Today

U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 · ACS

Landmarks

15 places in Taos on the National Register of Historic Places.

All landmarks →

Famous people from Taos

21 notable people were born in Taos.

See all 21 →

About Taos

City in New Mexico, United States

Official town website ↗

Taos () is a town in Taos County, in the north-central region of New Mexico. Situated between the Rio Grande Gorge and the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, it is located roughly 50 miles (80 km) south of the Colorado border. Taos serves as the county seat of Taos County, of which it is the largest municipality, with an estimated population of 6,567 as of 2021. The town of Taos was incorporated in 1934, although humans have lived in the adjacent Taos Pueblo—a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the town's namesake—for roughly a millennium; the town's name derives from the native Taos language meaning "(place of) red willows". Initially founded by Spanish colonists in 1615 as Don Fernando de Taos, it w…

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

Established
1795
Population
6,474
Area
5.7 sq mi
Elevation
6,969 ft
ZIP code
87571
Area code
575

Taos’s neighbors

2 towns share a border with Taos.

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More about Taos

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Photo of Taos

Taos, NM · Photo: Zeality · CC BY 2.5 · Source ↗