Retiring to Santa Fe, New Mexico: the town in Census figures
For Americans thinking of retiring to Santa Fe, New Mexico, from another state or instead of a move abroad.
Not a US citizen or resident? The US has no retirement visa, and Medicare and these tax figures assume US residency. What applies to you →
Pros and cons of retiring in Santa Fe, New Mexico
Each figure against its state's published tax rules: a pro is better than most, a con worse than most, and a figure within 5% of the middle gets no verdict. Every figure is sourced and dated.
Pros
No figure for Santa Fe, New Mexico is better than most US states by our rule.
Cons
- Taxes Social Security: New Mexico taxes Social Security benefits above a federal adjusted gross income of USD $150,000; below it they are exempt (2025 rules), one of 8 states that tax Social Security for some or all retirees. New Mexico Taxation and Revenue Department, 2025 PIT-ADJ Instructions, line 25 · 2026-10-26
Santa Fe has 89,019 residents, 23,296 of them aged 65 or older (26.2 %, ± 0.9 points), higher than the US share of 17.2 %, by the Census Bureau's American Community Survey, 2020–2024. US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-year estimates, tables B01001 and B09020, place
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Santa Fe in Census figures
Every figure below is Santa Fe's own — residents inside the Census Bureau's 2024 boundary of Santa Fe. Each comes from the American Community Survey, a sample, so each carries its 90 % margin of error.
| Figure | Santa Fe |
|---|---|
| Residents | 89,019 (± 90) US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-year estimates, table B01001, place · figure for 2020–2024 |
| Residents aged 65 or older | 23,296 (± 819) US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-year estimates, table B09020, place · figure for 2020–2024 |
| Share of residents aged 65 or older | 26.2 % (± 0.9 points) US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-year estimates, table B09020, place · figure for 2020–2024 |
| Residents aged 65 or older who live alone | 8,966 (± 623), 38.5 % of residents aged 65 or older (± 2.3 points) US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-year estimates, table B09020, place · figure for 2020–2024 |
| Median age of residents | 46.3 years (± 0.6) US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-year estimates, table B01002, place · figure for 2020–2024 |
| Residents aged 65 or older living in group quarters (nursing homes and similar) | 487 (± 136) US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-year estimates, table B09020, place · figure for 2020–2024 |
| Median yearly income of households headed by someone aged 65 or older | USD $65,313 ($60,194–$70,432), a year US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-year estimates, table B19049, place · figure for 2020–2024 |
| Median monthly rent, utilities included | USD $1,463 ($1,409–$1,517), a month US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-year estimates, table B25064, place · figure for 2020–2024 |
| Median value of an owner-occupied home, as its owner estimates it | USD $444,900 ($433,300–$456,500) US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-year estimates, table B25077, place · figure for 2020–2024 |
| Median yearly property tax paid by home-owners | USD $2,126 ($2,014–$2,238), a year US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-year estimates, table B25103, place · figure for 2020–2024 |
Where Santa Fe sits
Santa Fe lies in Santa Fe County, New Mexico.
Santa Fe County figures — these describe the whole county, not Santa Fe alone
The Census publishes no safety, healthcare-access, climate or hazard figure for a single town, so these are Santa Fe County's, each against every US county holding the same figure.
| Criterion | Santa Fe County |
|---|---|
| Cost of living BEA price level, all items (US = 100); lower is better |
98.8
Cheaper than 11% of the other 3,142 US counties BEA Regional Price Parities 2024, all items, Santa Fe, NM metropolitan area · figure for 2024
|
| Taxes on a retired couple state and local tax on the example retired couple, USD a year; lower is better |
USD $1,880
Lower than 85% of the other 3,110 US counties The state's published 2025 income-tax rules, the county's own local income tax where one is levied, and the county's Census ACS property-tax ratio, applied to the example household · figure for 2025
|
| Healthcare access share of residents 65+ living in a county with a 4- or 5-star CMS hospital; higher is better |
2 hospitals in the county rated 4 or 5 stars by CMS CMS, Hospital General Information (Care Compare), hospital overall star rating, release of 13 Aug 2026 · figure for 2026 |
| Safety homicides per 100,000 a year, 2020–2024, by state of residence; lower is better |
7.6 per 100,000 a year
Lower than 49% of the other 767 US counties CDC WONDER, Underlying Cause of Death 2018-2024 (Single Race, final), by county of residence · figure for 2024
|
| Climate months a year whose mean daily high is 18–29 °C (64–84 °F), 1981–2010; more is better |
5.0 months a year
More than 39% of the other 3,143 US counties CHELSA V2.1 monthly maximum temperature, 1981-2010 (~1 km), averaged over the county, Karger et al. · figure for 2010
|
| Natural-hazard risk expected yearly loss to buildings from natural hazards, per USD $1,000 of buildings; lower is better |
USD $1.14 per USD $1,000 of buildings
Lower than 65% of the other 3,143 US counties FEMA, National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), county expected annual loss to buildings (EAL_VALB) · figure for 2025
|
What Medicare costs in Santa Fe County, New Mexico
For the published example couple, both 67 and married: what Medicare premiums cost a year for two in Santa Fe County, New Mexico, and the most a bad year can cost. What care itself costs depends on a person's health, so it is not estimated here.
Medicare Advantage, with drug coverage
USD $4,870 a year for two in premiums (from USD $4,870)
At most USD $16,670 in a bad year (from USD $12,470), with each person's in-network out-of-pocket maximum
The middle of the 18 plans offered here; "from" is the lowest premium among them.
Original Medicare, with a drug plan
USD $5,585 a year for two in premiums (from USD $4,997)
Medigap: no federal price list — not in this total.
No yearly maximum on Original Medicare alone.
Part B for two, plus the middle of the 10 standalone drug plans offered in the state.
The 2027 Part B premium is not yet published (CMS usually publishes it in November); 2026's is used.
Source: CMS, Medicare Advantage and Part D Landscape, plan year 2027; CMS, 2026 Medicare Parts A & B Premiums and Deductibles (fact sheet, 14 Nov 2025).
Medicare in New Mexico: its Medigap rule and free counseling
Other places in Santa Fe County
Why Santa Fe has a page
Santa Fe is on ExpatAlmanac because the Census Bureau's 2020–2024 American Community Survey puts at least 20 % of its residents at 65 or older, even at the low end of the survey's 90 % margin, with at least 500 residents aged 65 or older. That share is shown as a Census figure; it ranks nothing and says nothing about why anyone lives there.
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