8 Cost-Effective Towns In New Mexico For Retirees
Move over, Florida, because New Mexico is becoming the go-to retirement destination! The temperate climate, lower taxes, and stunning blend of mountains and plateaus puts this Western state on the map for one of the best places to spend your golden years. These towns offer all the benefits of living in the Land of Enchantment but with a much lower cost of living. So, if you’re looking for the perfect spot to settle down and live life to the fullest, these 8 cost-effective New Mexico towns will help you live the good life without draining your 401k!
Silver City
In the southwest corner of New Mexico sits Silver City, dubbed “The City of Unconditional Love.” With a population of just under 9,400, it offers a small-town vibe without losing the important amenities that retirees on a budget need. One of the most attractive features of Silver City is the home prices. The average home in Silver City sells for around $365,000, making it affordable for retirees to find a nice home without draining their bank account. Plus, the overall cost of living in the area is lower than the national average.
What’s great about Silver City is that you’re close to everything you’ll ever want or need. The local hospital, Gila Regional Medical Center, is centrally located, and so is the Silver City Recreation Center. If you love getting out in nature, you’ll love the Boston Hill Open Space Trail System. While it was once a mining operation for silver (hence the city’s name), it’s now a dedicated 3.5 million acres of wildland with scenic hiking trails available without straying too far from downtown. With wonderful green spaces, friendly locals, and a low cost of living, Silver City is the perfect place to spend your retirement.
Raton
Situated on the highest point of the Santa Fe Trails (aka the Raton Pass), Raton is a small, tight-knit town that makes for a wonderful home without breaking the bank. Seriously, it’s one of the most affordable little towns in New Mexico, with an average home price of around $182,300 and an average cost of living 23 percent lower than the national average. Thankfully, Raton is within close proximity to the Miners' Colfax Medical Center and its Long-Term Care Facility.
However, the surprisingly low cost of living isn’t the only thing that makes Raton a great place to live (it’s just an added bonus!). Downtown Raton is rich with history, and many of the old salons and gambling halls are repurposed into modern stores like the Pack Rat or the vintage Oasis Restaurant and Motel. For outdoor lovers, New Mexico State Park, formerly the Sugarite Coal Camp, is a scenic spot to hike the desolate trails and travel through the ruins of the mining camp that once housed over 1,000 residents. If you’re looking for a fun and inviting place to retire on a dime, Raton is a great choice for so many reasons!
Alamogordo
Alamogordo is yet another city in New Mexico where the cost of living is low, and the opportunities for adventure are high! According to Realtor.com, the average home price sells for around $251,900. Not only is the average cost of living in Alamogordo 25 percent less than the national average, but it’s around 15 percent less expensive compared to the rest of the state. It’s close proximity to essentials for retirees like the highly rated GCRMC Medical Plaza, CHRISTUS Health, and the Alamogordo Recreation Center; it has everything you need close at hand.
What makes Alamogordo most appealing for retirees, however, is its historic and charming downtown. There, you’ll find the Alameda Park Zoo (founded in 1898), the Alamogordo Public Library (opened in 1900), and the Alamogordo Main Street district lined with quaint, locally-owned shops. Plus, it’s all within 15 minutes from the White Sands National Park!
Belén
With a population of just around 7,400, Belén is a small yet tight-knit community that welcomes newcomers with open arms. With a cost of living 13 percent lower than the national average and an average home price selling for around 251,400, it’s a great location for retirees who need to tighten their purse strings. Its centralized location is south of Albuquerque, and the nearest hospital, First Choice Community Healthcare, is located nearby.
Downtown Belén is bright and colorful, and there are always fun community events 12 months out of the year. The most popular event in the area is Miracle on Main Street, which hosts local crafts, live music, and a parade during the Christmas season. While there’s plenty to do in downtown Belén, there’s just as much adventure outside of the city limits. Nestled along the breathtaking Rio Grande, the nearby Whitfield Wildlife Conservation Area allows residents to hike the flat Whitfield's trail or visit the Rio Abajo Botanical Garden. If the low cost of living wasn’t enough to draw you to Belén, the beautiful scenery and vibrant community will convince you to move there!
Carlsbad
Carlsbad is one of those truly unique towns that blends small-town vibes with all the amenities of the bigger cities of New Mexico. It has an average cost of living that is 22 percent lower than the national average and 11 percent lower than the rest of the state. With an average home price of around $315,000, it’s ideal for seniors on a tight budget. Living in Carlsbad feels like a desert oasis with its charming tree-lined streets and local parks, like the local beach nestled along the shores of Lake Carlsbad. Plus, everything you’ll need as a retiree, like the Carlsbad Medical Center, is centrally located and easy to access.
The best feature of Carlsbad, however, isn’t the affordable housing or the vibrant community- it’s the scenery. Located in the Chihuahuan Desert along the Pecos River, the landscape is vast and open and yields some of the most beautiful sunsets! If you love exploring the great outdoors, the Carlsbad Caverns National Park is right in your backyard. If you’re feeling adventurous, you can take a self-guided tour of the caves to enjoy the awe-inspiring cave formation. However, you can also walk more accessible trails above ground via the Walnut Canyon Overlook or the Chihuahuan Desert Nature Trail, just to name a few.
Gallup
The Old West is still alive and well in Gallup! With its vintage shops along the tree-lined streets and friendly locals, it won’t take you long to become a local here. With an average home price of around $239,000 and the cost of living 22 percent lower than the national average, it’s a surprisingly affordable town to call home. Everything seniors need can be found downtown, from highly rated hospitals like Rehoboth Mckinley Christian Health Care Services to the RMCHCS Rehabilitation and Wellness Center.
Take in the magnificent beauty of Red Rock Park and hike the accessible trails that take you through red rock canyons and rock formations, where you can even catch a glimpse of Fort Wingate in the distance. Gallup is also near the Zuni Mountains in Cibola National Forest. There, you can hike over 25 miles of rolling plateaus and flowering meadows. With its senior-friendly facilities, affordability, and natural wonders, there are so many reasons to pick Gallup as your forever home.
Tucumcari
Think you can’t afford New Mexico on a fixed income? Think again! Tucumcari is a small, tight-knit community with one of the most affordable housing markets in the state. The average price of a home in Tucumcari is around $170,000, and the cost of living is 33 percent lower than the national average. With everything seniors need close at hand, like Trigg Memorial Hospital and the Tucumcari Senior Citizens Center, it’s an ideal city, especially for retirees on a tight budget!
The landscape of Tucumcari is composed of vast mesas and rolling hills dotted with lakeside respites like Tucumcari Lake on the east side of town. Tucumcari is also close to Conchas Lake State Park, which is a rare lakeside retreat in the middle of the New Mexico desert! It’s a great spot to launch a boat out on the water to fish for walleye or blue gill. With beautiful scenery and convenient amenities that are important to seniors, Tucumcari is one of the most affordable and delightful places to spend your golden years.
Truth or Consequences
The uniquely named town of Truth or Consequences was once named Hot Springs due to its healing spas famous for their healing properties. With calming hot springs, an average home price selling for around $172,000, and the cost of living eight percent lower than the national average, it makes for a restorative town to spend your retirement. However, soaking in a mineral-rich spring won’t cure everything that ails you, so luckily, Truth or Consequences has the modern Sierra Vista Hospital, which is centrally located downtown.
What’s better than living in a city with easy access to therapeutic hot springs? The T or C Hot Springs offers visitors calming, therapeutic hot springs with natural mineral water that emerges from a rift in the Rio Grande River. Popular hot springs central in Truth or Consequences include Blackstone Hotsprings, the Fire Water Lodge, and Indian Springs, just to name a few. Nestled along the banks of the iconic Rio Grande, downtown Truth or Consequences is home to colorful shops like Dust and Glitter, as well as well-maintained public parks along the river, such as Rotary Park. The close proximity to essentials and tight-knit community coupled with the low cost of living in T or C makes it almost too good to be true!
One of the biggest benefits of retiring in New Mexico is undoubtedly the weather. There’s more than enough sunshine to go around, and the average temperature sits at around the mid-50s in much of the state. The great thing about New Mexico is you don’t have to wipe out your retirement savings to live a life of sunny days and scenic strolls. These towns deliver everything you need in retirement- easy access to amenities, senior-friendly amenities, and a beautiful landscape of open deserts and distant mountain peaks. So, stock up on sunscreen and get ready to call New Mexico your new home!
