The promise of Rio Rancho is the promise suburbia has offered Americans for 70 years. A chance to escape “the city” and buy a home where you feel safe the schools are good and there is room for the kiddos to run and play. Setting aside the occasionally misguided sense of greater safety in suburbs than in cities, we can tell you that homes are generally more affordable in Rio Rancho and the schools are excellent.

The most common complaint about Rio Rancho is how much it remains, most purely a suburb and not developed downtown enough. That's changing though as more restaurants/cafes and entertainment creeps in and improves the social scene. 

The Promise of Suburbia

LookyLOO Review of Rio Rancho

So all the basics of a suburb happen here. Blocks lined with relatively affordable homes, filled with families that appreciate the sidewalks, parks, great schools, and for the most part safe streets. For commercial experiences, you have to go into Albuquerque which has a lot happening but there are no walkable social experiences so your local lifestyle is about your kids and the schools. 

If you want to see what's happening in Rio Ranch check out the [calendar of events](https://rrnm.gov/4003/Activities-and-Events).

We highly recommend visiting Rio Rancho and staying in the community in a [VRBO](https://vrbo.com/affiliate/p4JS4ZC) rather than a hotel to get a feel for living among the locals. You can receive discounted fares on travel via our [partnership with Expedia](expedia.com/affiliate/9NZ8LBQ) as well.


Lifestyle 

Rio Rancho is truly a bedroom community with little in-town industry with the exception of the Intel manufacturing facility. If you scan the boards of people talking about actually working within the city limits then 9 out of 10 will be talking about working at Intel.  If you aren’t working for the chip giant and you aren’t a WFH’er then you’ll likely be doing a commute into Albuquerque. Locals claim that is a drag as traffic is brutal but that’s where the bucks are made, primarily in mining, gas and oil extraction, and quarrying. 


Worklife

Rio Rancho is called Little New York because so many retirees from New York ended up here and the NY license plates are on cars throughout the city. There are also growing numbers of Texas plates as the cost of living in North Dallas and other popular suburbs has grown young families desperate to buy a home move to Rio Rancho to find that little suburban paradise. 

Buying a Home

Why You Should Move Here Now?

**darthsmolin**
2y ago
🦉🦉🦉

Moved to RR about six months ago from Seattle and can confirm it as a good place for that suburban family vibe. Much younger than Santa Fe with a lot less culture, but the amenities are good, housing is cheaper, it's safer than Albuquerque, and schools are among the best in the state. It's nice having both Santa Fe and Albuquerque be a short highway drive away, so even if RR is kinda boring it's easy to get out and go find the culture you're looking for. It's less the vibe I was looking for in my late 20's before I had kids, but the living is easy and great for young families. My family and I really like it and are glad we moved here.

For more reviews of what living in Rio Rancho is like from locals, check out [The Reviews](https://lookyloomove.com/locations/rio-rancho/reviews).

Reviews of Rio Rancho from Locals

Cabezon is a popular neighborhood for families. It’s appeal starts with the big Cabezon Park that sits in the center of the area. The Park is also a Community Center with kids camps and activities, pet events, playgrounds, pool, football field, picnic and grill spaces and overall just plenty of room for the kiddos to play. The neighborhood also has plenty of affordable homes and excellent schools. 

Chamiza is another popular choice, a bit more upscale than Cabezon. Bigger homes, bigger yards and an extremely safe area where the kids play outside (except in the heat of the summer) and the families have quick and easy access to the walkable grocery stores and restaurants. 
- Cabezon
- Chamiza
- Enchanted Hills


Families

Cabezon

Much of the traditional housing options in Rio Rancho draws retirees. Single story homes and retirement facilities are aplenty here. If instead you’re looking for more of a retirement community/neighborhood then check out The Neighborhood in Rio Rancho https://www.neighborhoodriorancho.com/. They refer to it as a Life Plan Community and it has a lot of services if you’re looking for more than just a retirement home. Library, Art Galleries, Media Center, Dog Park, Fitness Center, Indoor Pool and Hot Tub, Beauty Shop and even a Gardening Area for residents to grow what they like. 
- The Neighborhood in Rio Rancho


Retirees

The Neighborhood in Rio Rancho

Rio Rancho

**darthsmolin**
2y ago
🦉🦉🦉

Moved to RR about six months ago from Seattle and can confirm it as a good place for that suburban family vibe. Much younger than Santa Fe with a lot less culture, but the amenities are good, housing is cheaper, it's safer than Albuquerque, and schools are among the best in the state. It's nice having both Santa Fe and Albuquerque be a short highway drive away, so even if RR is kinda boring it's easy to get out and go find the culture you're looking for. It's less the vibe I was looking for in my late 20's before I had kids, but the living is easy and great for young families. My family and I really like it and are glad we moved here.

**Classic_Interest3641**
2y ago
🦉🦉🦉🦉

We moved here from southern Colorado. We really enjoy it. Our bills were cut in half and coming from northern Colorado this will be even more true. It’s a very good place to raise a family and the state has universal childcare at no cost for 0-5 if you make under 120k a year for a family of four.

**Theopholus**
2y ago
🦉🦉🦉

We have a really incredible state, amazing food, near constant sun, hot summers, mild to cold dry winters, and relatively easy traffic. Drivers can be kind of wild, and of course there's a decent amount of petty crime in ABQ. If you protect yourself by lot leaving stuff in your car, that'll prevent most crime that happens here. And in RR it's even better than ABQ.

We have a lot of outdoors.

Have you visited? May be worth taking a trip and checking out our city before committing.

**RRLibertarian69**
2y ago
🦉🦉🦉

It’s an arid climate that’s fairly dry and the with the altitude makes for pretty tame summers and tame winters. If you enjoy small populations and outdoor activities it’s great. I love shooting, off-roading, dirt biking, fishing, hiking and other activities of the like. I travel for a living, I’ve been to all 50 states multiple times in multiple cities in each state. NM is a gem if you can appreciate what you’re looking at. Crime is pretty much non existent, especially in northern RR. It’s the second lowest crime in the state next to corralles, a village that boarders the city. Montana, Idaho, Wyoming all have similar summers but the winters is where we shine… unless you enjoy bone chilling cold. We’re not Phoenix like that one Jack hole was mouthing off on about only three months of hot, I was stationed at Luke AFB and can promise it’s far longer then three months of misery, it’s five months of hell followed by a few months not quite hell but fucking hot then a couple of not too bad.

For families, I just had my first child and RR is a family oriented town. It’s not a big city but it’s growing and fun family activities are making their way here. Cute Christmas parade, small and cute pumpkin patch there’s some neat shopping centers in development as we speak. It’ll only get better while having a small town feel.

Rio Rancho, New Mexico

Little New York

Looklyloo Score: 88

Reviews

What's it like to live in Rio Rancho?