Retirement Communities in Santa Fe, New Mexico

CaringScore for Santa Fe, NM

CaringScore was designed to help millions of Americans find the best places to retire, age in place, or receive eldercare. The CaringScore for retirement communities in Santa Fe was based on more than 50 factors in three key categories: health, cost, and livability. By compiling and analyzing this data, Caring.com is able to rate the quality of life you or a loved one might expect should you choose retirement communities in Santa Fe.

CaringScore can range from 1 (worst) to 10 (best), and provides a quick way to compare cities, counties, and even specific zip codes. With a CaringScore of 6.4, Santa Fe rates above average for those seeking retirement communities.

The charts below highlight a few of the factors we used to calculate the CaringScore for Santa Fe. Choose a category score to learn more.

Physicians Per Capita

Cost of Healthcare Index

Sunny Days Per Year

HealthScore for Santa Fe, NM

HealthScore, a component of the overall CaringScore for retirement communities in Santa Fe, rates a region on a scale of 1 (less healthful) to 10 (more healthful). It's specifically tailored to anyone looking for retirement communities. The HealthScore for Santa Fe is based on the availability of healthcare resources, air and water quality, the overall health of the local population, and other key factors. With a HealthScore of 7.9, Santa Fe rates above average for those seeking retirement communities.

Easy access to physicians -- especially geriatricians and other key specialists -- is important to older adults seeking retirement communities. At 281.3 physicians per capita, Santa Fe scores 27.6 percent better than the national average. Santa Fe trails the national average in geriatricians per capita by 46.2 percent, with 0.7, and scores 15.9 percent below the national average in specialists per capita, with 16.4. These medical specialists include cardiologists, oncologists, and orthopedists. The average life expectancy from birth in Santa Fe is 80.5 years -- 3.3 percent higher than most of the country. Air quality in Santa Fe -- one factor in gauging the healthfulness of a region -- is 16.9 percent above average, and water quality -- another key measure of Santa Fe's environmental health -- is 32.7 percent above average.

Doctors Per Capita	Santa Fe, NM	Nat'l Avg
Physicians	281.3	220.5
Geriatricians	0.7	1.3
Cardiologists	3.4	7.7
Oncologists	6.1	3.5
Orthopedists	6.1	7

Average Life Expectancy

CostScore for Santa Fe, NM

CostScore, part of the overall CaringScore for retirement communities in Santa Fe, rates the cost of living for older adults on a scale of 1 (more expensive) to 10 (less expensive). It's specifically tailored to people looking for retirement communities. The CostScore for Santa Fe is based on data such as the average monthly cost of retirement communities in the region, the cost of housing and healthcare, regional tax rates, and other key factors. With a CostScore of 4.8, Santa Fe is on par with the national average for retirement communities.

Because of the broad range of housing, service, and healthcare options available at retirement communities, no average monthly cost data is available for Santa Fe. The entry fee or purchase price for an independent living community can range from $50,000 to $500,000 or more, and typically requires an additional monthly service fee of $1,000 to $3,000 on average. The cost of living indices below provide the best proxy for comparing costs of retirement communities in Santa Fe to the rest of the country. Overall, the cost of living for Santa Fe indexes at 18.0 percent higher than the national average. Average healthcare costs are 4.0 percent more expensive than the national average, and the cost of housing is 71.0 percent more expensive than average.

Cost of Living	Santa Fe, NM
Aggregate Index	118
Healthcare Index	104
Housing Index	171
Food Index	94
Utilities Index	97
Transportation Index	93

Cost of Healthcare Index

LivabilityScore for Santa Fe, NM

LivabilityScore makes up part of the overall CaringScore for retirement communities in Santa Fe. On a scale of 1 (less livable) to 10 (more livable), it's a rating of the quality of life in a region, specifically tailored to those looking for retirement communities. The LivabilityScore for Santa Fe is based on weather, crime rates, economic factors, average age of the population, and other key demographics. With a LivabilityScore of 6, Santa Fe rates above average for retirement communities.

Weather is an important factor in choosing the best place for retirement communities. The sun shines an average of 283 days each year in Santa Fe, 38.0 percent more sunny days than the rest of the U.S. sees. With an average temperature of 19°F in January, winters in Santa Fe tend to be similar to other parts of the country, and summers are often more temperate than other places, averaging 82°F in July.

Local crime rates are another important indicator. The violent crime rate in Santa Fe is 25.0 percent higher than the national average, and the property crime rate is 25.0 percent higher than average. At $50,393 per year, the population of Santa Fe earns a median household income on par with the national average. Santa Fe has an unemployment rate of 5.50 percent, roughly 39.6 percent lower than the national average. And about 17.27 percent of the population in Santa Fe is of retirement age -- 65 or older -- which exceeds the national average by 31.2 percent.

Sunny Days Per Year

Avg Temperature (°F)

Property Crime Index

Amenities Per Capita	Santa Fe	Nat'l Avg
Parks	0.8	136.1
Libraries	5.5	18.8
Places of Worship	71.2	220.5
Public Transit	97.6	110.4
Grocery Stores	129.1	97.7
Pharmacies	20.8	13.8

Percent of Population Over Age 65