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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%).

One interesting thing about the economy is that relatively large numbers of people worked from their home: 8.84% of the workforce. While this number may seem small overall, as a fraction of the total workforce this is high compared to the rest of the county. 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 destination for tourists and seasonal residents. So much of the population is seasonal such that the town’s population swells significantly during the vacation season, and drops again when the season ends. Because of this, much of the local economy is centered around tourism; some businesses may be operated only during the high season. During the low season, year-round residents will notice that the city is a substantially quieter place to live.

It is a fairly quiet town because there are relatively few of those groups of people who have a tendency to be noisy. (Children, for example, often can't help themselves from being noisy, and being parents ourselves, we know!) Alto has relatively few families with children living at home, and is quieter because of it. Renters and college students, for their own reasons, can also be noisy. Alto has few renters and college students. But the biggest reason it is quieter in Alto than in most places in America, is that there are just simply fewer people living here. If you think trees make good neighbors, Alto may be for you.

Alto is a small town, and as such doesn't have a public transit system that people use to get to and from their jobs every day.

Demographics

Alto is one of the most well-educated cities in the nation. 42.11% of adults in Alto have at least a bachelor's degree. Compare that to the average community in America, which has just 21.84% with a bachelor's degree or higher.

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

In a nation where 1 out of every 4 children lives in poverty, the neighborhood stands out as being ranked among the lowest 0.0% of neighborhoods affected by this global issue.

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, unpopulated, and rural, the neighborhood is one of the least crowded neighborhoods in all of America. If you like open space, no traffic, and lots of room, this neighborhood may be just what you are looking for. According to NeighborhoodScout's leading research, this neighborhood is less densely populated than 92.0% of the neighborhoods in America. 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.

The old saying "you are what you eat" is true. But it is also true that you are what you do for a living. The types of occupations your neighbors have shape their character, and together as a group, their collective occupations shape the culture of a place.

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

Culture is the shared learned behavior of peoples. Undeniably, different ethnicities and ancestries have different cultural traditions, and as a result, neighborhoods with concentrations of residents of one or another ethnicities or ancestries will express those cultures. It is what makes the North End in Boston so fun to visit for the Italian restaurants, bakeries, culture, and charm, and similarly, why people enjoy visiting Chinatown in San Francisco.

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

Even if your neighborhood is walkable, you may still have to drive to your place of work. Some neighborhoods are located where many can get to work in just a few minutes, while others are located such that most residents have a long and arduous commute. 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.

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Economics & Demographics include:
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Race & Ethnic Diversity
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Crime includes:
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Schools include:
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