Rent Affordability for A Bus Driver in New Mexico

A typical bus driver in New Mexico earns about $46,638 a year, which supports approximately $1,166 a month in rent under the 30% rule. Below, every tracked New Mexico city is ranked by how local rent compares against that affordability ceiling.

As of May 2026. 1 of 17 cities tracked stay within the 30% rule; 16 are rent-burdened on this salary.

CityMedian rent% of incomeAffordability
Portales, NM$862/mo22.2%affordable
Clovis, NM$1,206/mo31%stretched
Farmington, NM$1,341/mo34.5%stretched
Silver City, NM$1,350/mo34.7%stretched
Roswell, NM$1,399/mo36%stretched
Las Cruces, NM$1,424/mo36.6%stretched
Albuquerque, NM$1,486/mo38.2%stretched
Hobbs, NM$1,497/mo38.5%stretched
Alamogordo, NM$1,546/mo39.8%stretched
Carlsbad, NM$1,568/mo40.3%rent-burdened
Santa Teresa, NM$1,598/mo41.1%rent-burdened
Ruidoso, NM$1,700/mo43.7%rent-burdened
Rio Rancho, NM$1,857/mo47.8%rent-burdened
Santa Fe, NM$1,932/mo49.7%rent-burdened
Los Lunas, NM$2,025/mo52.1%severely rent-burdened
Artesia, NM$2,583/mo66.5%severely rent-burdened
Los Alamos, NM$2,645/mo68.1%severely rent-burdened
Methodology: Salary is the BLS-derived state estimate for New Mexico. Rent is the latest ZORI monthly value for each city. Affordability uses the 30% rule (rent ≤ 30% of gross income).