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Moving to
Chaparral.
Chaparral is an unincorporated community in Doña Ana County, NM. It has no city government: the county runs it, and the Census counts it as its own place.
What it's like to live in Chaparral
Chaparral is an unincorporated community in New Mexico with rent below the national average, home prices that remain within reach, and schools with class sizes near the national average. Those factors carry real weight for anyone weighing where to move next.
The tradeoffs are worth naming plainly. Chaparral deals with household incomes below the national average, commute times longer than most cities, college degree attainment below the national average, and a poverty rate above the national average.
The good
- Rent below the national average
- Affordable home prices
- Average class sizes
The not so good
- Below-average household incomes
- Above-average commute times
- Low college degree attainment
- High poverty rate
- Hot summers
- Car-dependent — few commuters use transit
How Chaparral compares
Median household income
Median rent (per month)
Median home value
What it takes to move to Chaparral
Based on Chaparral's median rent, home value and household income
To rent
$1,706
up front: first month plus a typical one-month deposit
- Income to keep rent under 30%: $34,120 a year
- 30% of Chaparral renters spend 30% or more of their income on rent
To buy
$21,860
a 20% down payment on the median home
- With 10% down: $10,930
- Homes cost 2.4× the typical local household income (US: 4.1×)
Moving costs, closing costs and taxes not included.
The details
Cost of living▼ 40% below US
$853/mo median rent
Rent here is genuinely low, with median rent around $853 a month. Factoring in local incomes, the value gets even better. Money stretches further here than in most of the country. Home prices here are genuinely accessible, with a median around $109,300. That kind of affordability is rare in today's market.
Median home value $109,300 · 30% of renters cost-burdened
Job market
4.9% county unemployment
Unemployment in Doña Ana County is 4.9%, somewhat above the national average of 4.3%. Lining up work before the move is the safer route. That's the county-wide rate; BLS doesn't measure a place this size on its own.
Doña Ana County (county-wide)
Getting around▲ 15% above US
30 min average commute
Commutes run about average, at 29.9 minutes. Fine day to day, but it adds up over a year, and where someone lives relative to where they work starts to matter. 9 in 10 workers drive to work.
How workers get to work
Climate
Summers are hot and humid, with highs regularly hitting 94°F, and winters are chilly but manageable, with lows around 36°F. It's a dry climate with limited rainfall.
Average month
30-year averages, 1991–2020
Education & workforce▼ 71% below US
11% bachelor's degree or higher
This is a working-class city, and college degree rates reflect that. Trades, manufacturing, and service industries tend to dominate the local economy, which is a strength for some fields and a real constraint for others.
Schools
7 public schools inside the boundary
There are 7 public schools inside the boundary. The student-to-teacher ratio is 15:1, close to the national average of 16:1. Smaller class sizes are generally a positive sign for a district.
Parks & recreation
The nearest national park or historic site is Chamizal National Memorial (18 miles away). There are 4 national parks and sites within a day's drive.
Bottom line
Chaparral's strongest points are rent below the national average and home prices that remain within reach; the main tradeoffs are household incomes below the national average and commute times longer than most cities. A year of median rent ($853/mo) equals 22% of the median household income here, about the same as the 21% typical nationwide. It tends to suit people watching their budget.
Other places near Chaparral
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