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Alto, NM

This is a small community in a single neighborhood. As throughout the site, some neighborhood-level data are reserved for subscribers.



Overview

Alto is a very small town located in the state of New Mexico. With a population of 1,127 people and just one neighborhood, Alto is the 105th largest community in New Mexico.

Occupations and Workforce

Alto is a decidedly white-collar town, with fully 85.69% of the workforce employed in white-collar jobs, well above the national average. Overall, Alto is a town of professionals, service providers, and sales and office workers. There are especially a lot of people living in Alto who work in food service (17.88%), healthcare (13.73%), and office and administrative support (11.16%).

Telecommuters are a relatively large percentage of the workforce: 8.84% of people work from home. While this number may seem small overall, as a fraction of the total workforce it is high relative to the nation. These workers are often telecommuters who work in knowledge-based, white-collar professions. For example, Silicon Valley has large numbers of people who telecommute. Other at-home workers may be self-employed people who operate small businesses out of their homes.

Setting & Lifestyle

Another notable thing is that Alto is an extremely popular vacation destination. A significant portion of the population is seasonal. During the vacation season, the town experiences a large influx of people who take up residence in second homes they own in the area. As the vacation season ends, the population drops again, leaving behind a substantially quieter and smaller town.

Residents will find that the town is relatively quiet. This is because it is not over-populated, and it has fewer college students, renters, and young children - all of whom can be noisy at times. So, if you're looking for a relatively peaceful place to live, Alto is worth considering.

Being a small town, Alto does not have a public transit system used by locals to get to and from work.

Demographics

The citizens of Alto are among the most well-educated in the nation: 42.11% of adults in Alto have a bachelor's degree or even advanced degree, whereas the average US city has 21.84% holding at least a bachelor's degree.

The per capita income in Alto in 2022 was $48,090, which is wealthy relative to New Mexico and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $192,360 for a family of four. However, Alto contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.

Alto is an extremely ethnically-diverse town. The people who call Alto home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Alto residents report their race to be White. Alto also has a sizeable Hispanic population (people of Hispanic origin can be of any race). People of Hispanic or Latino origin account for 37.49% of the town’s residents. Important ancestries of people in Alto include English, German, Italian, Irish, and Scots-Irish.

The most common language spoken in Alto is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Italian.

Notable & Unique Neighborhood Characteristics

Many things matter about a neighborhood, but the first thing most people notice is the way a neighborhood looks and its particular character. For example, one might notice whether the buildings all date from a certain time period or whether shop signs are in multiple languages. This particular neighborhood in Alto, the neighborhood, has some outstanding things about the way it looks and its way of life that are worth highlighting.

People

Of note is NeighborhoodScout's research finding that the neighborhood has some of the lowest rates of children living in poverty of any neighborhood in the United States. In a nation where approximately 1 in 4 children are living in poverty, the community truly stands out from the rest in this regard.

In addition, if you are planning to retire in New Mexico, this neighborhood should be on your must-see list. For many reasons, may be considered a retiree's dream neighborhood. According to NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis and metrics, it's peaceful and quiet, has above average safety from crime compared to other neighborhoods in New Mexico, while also offering a diverse range of housing options. This, along with the vibrant mix of very educated seniors and other age groups who choose to live here, makes the neighborhood more retiree-friendly than 95.6% of neighborhoods in NM. If a New Mexico retirement is in your future, this neighborhood should be one of the places you visit.

Modes of Transportation

Our research shows that more people carpool to work here in the (32.0%) than in 99.1% of the neighborhoods in America.

Real Estate

Despite all of the residential real estate here in the neighborhood, NeighborhoodScout has discovered that much of it is vacant. In resort or second-home vacation areas, this naturally occurs because homes and apartments are seasonally occupied, and empty for a portion of the year. In non-vacation or resort areas, however, this can be an indicator of property abandonment or a weak real estate market. The vacancy rate here is 50.3%, which is higher than 98.9% of all U.S. neighborhoods.

In addition, uncrowded roads, rural America and space to be the individual you are. If you like these characteristics, this neighborhood may fit you. With just 34 residents per square mile, is less crowded than 92.0% of all U.S. neighborhoods. One of the notable things about is that it is one of the quietest neighborhoods in America, according to NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis and quantitative rating of quietness. When you are here, you will find it to be very quiet. If quiet and peaceful are your cup of tea, you may have found a great place for you.

Length of Commute

Regardless of the means by which residents commute, this neighborhood has a length of commute that is notable. Long commutes can be brutal. They take time, money, and energy, leaving less of you for yourself and your family. The residents of the neighborhood unfortunately have the distinction of having, on average, a longer commute than most any neighborhood in America. 13.6% of commuters here travel more than one hour just one-way to work. That is more than two hours per day. This percentage with two-hour + round-trip commutes is higher than NeighborhoodScout found in 98.2% of all neighborhoods in America.

Diversity

Did you know that the neighborhood has more Scots-Irish ancestry people living in it than nearly any neighborhood in America? It's true! In fact, 2.9% of this neighborhood's residents have Scots-Irish ancestry.

The Neighbors

How wealthy a neighborhood is, from very wealthy, to middle income, to low income is very formative with regard to the personality and character of a neighborhood. Equally important is the rate of people, particularly children, who live below the federal poverty line. In some wealthy gated communities, the areas immediately surrounding can have high rates of childhood poverty, which indicates other social issues. NeighborhoodScout's analysis reveals both aspects of income and poverty for this neighborhood.

The neighbors in the neighborhood in Alto are lower-middle income, making it a below average income neighborhood. NeighborhoodScout's research shows that this neighborhood has an income lower than 75.8% of U.S. neighborhoods. In addition, 0.0% of the children seventeen and under living in this neighborhood are living below the federal poverty line, which is a lower rate of childhood poverty than is found in 100.0% of America's neighborhoods.

A neighborhood is far different if it is dominated by enlisted military personnel rather than people who earn their living by farming. It is also different if most of the neighbors are clerical support or managers. What is wonderful is the sheer diversity of neighborhoods, allowing you to find the type that fits your lifestyle and aspirations.

In the neighborhood, 39.5% of the working population is employed in executive, management, and professional occupations. The second most important occupational group in this neighborhood is sales and service jobs, from major sales accounts, to working in fast food restaurants, with 35.1% of the residents employed. Other residents here are employed in manufacturing and laborer occupations (14.3%), and 11.2% in clerical, assistant, and tech support occupations.

Languages

The most common language spoken in the neighborhood is English, spoken by 83.0% of households. Some people also speak Spanish (17.0%).

Ethnicity / Ancestry

Boston's Beacon Hill blue-blood streets, Brooklyn's Orthodox Jewish enclaves, Los Angeles' Persian neighborhoods. Each has its own culture derived primarily from the ancestries and culture of the residents who call these neighborhoods home. Likewise, each neighborhood in America has its own culture – some more unique than others – based on lifestyle, occupations, the types of households – and importantly – on the ethnicities and ancestries of the people who live in the neighborhood. Understanding where people came from, who their grandparents or great-grandparents were, can help you understand how a neighborhood is today.

In the neighborhood in Alto, NM, residents most commonly identify their ethnicity or ancestry as Mexican (31.3%). There are also a number of people of English ancestry (14.6%), and residents who report German roots (10.2%), and some of the residents are also of Italian ancestry (7.9%), along with some Irish ancestry residents (3.0%), among others.

Getting to Work

How you get to work – car, bus, train or other means – and how much of your day it takes to do so is a large quality of life and financial issue. Especially with gasoline prices rising and expected to continue doing so, the length and means of one's commute can be a financial burden. Some neighborhoods are physically located so that many residents have to drive in their own car, others are set up so many walk to work, or can take a train, bus, or bike. The greatest number of commuters in neighborhood spend between 15 and 30 minutes commuting one-way to work (43.1% of working residents), which is shorter than the time spent commuting to work for most Americans. However, there is also a significant group of residents (13.6%) who commute over an hour in each direction.

Here most residents (59.2%) drive alone in a private automobile to get to work. In addition, quite a number also carpool with coworkers, friends, or neighbors to get to work (32.0%) . In a neighborhood like this, as in most of the nation, many residents find owning a car useful for getting to work.

Real Estate includes:
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Economics & Demographics include:
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Migration & Mobility
Race & Ethnic Diversity
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Crime includes:
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Schools include:
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