What is the cost of living in Farmington?

Farmington has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) of 87.7, where 100 represents the national average. Housing costs index at 56.6, which is below the national average. The average 2-bedroom rent is $1,085/month.

What is the median salary in Farmington?

The median salary in Farmington is $59,097 annually (mean: $62,274). Top occupations include Home Health and Personal Care Aides, Fast Food and Counter Workers, Retail Salespersons.

How safe is Farmington?

The violent crime rate in the Farmington area is 697 per 100,000 population (state-level data). Property crime rate is 2706 per 100K.

What are the schools like in Farmington?

The state of NM has 873 schools (state-level data, no metro-level federal count exists) with an average student-teacher ratio of 14:1. Charter schools make up 11.6% of all schools.

How much does childcare cost in Farmington?

Childcare cost data is not currently available for Farmington.

Is Farmington a good place to relocate?

Farmington has a Life Score of 53.5/100 (D), based on 6 of 7 available dimensions among cost of living, wages, rent, crime, schools, childcare, and environment (missing dims omitted, weights renormalized). This is a middle-of-the-pack score, where the composite lands for most US metros; look at individual dimensions to see the real trade-offs.

Where does Farmington sit among US metros on LiveAbility?

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite, Farmington ranks #170 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). That ordinal matches the /rankings/livability listing. See /methodology#corpus-placement for the exact sort basis.

Relocation profile · Federal data

Farmington, NM

BEA RPP 87.7 ranks #45 of 387 scored metros for lower prices (cheaper third).

Compiled by PlainRelocate · June 15, 2026

87.7
Cost index (US=100): $1,085
2BR rent / mo: $59,097
Median salary: 52.7
LiveAbility Score

The verdict

As of June 2026, Farmington ranks #170 of 387 US metros on the LiveAbility Score (52.7/100), with its strongest marks in cost of living and housing.

#170
of 387 US metros · Above median: 2,130,256
metro-area population: 697
violent crimes per 100K (state-level): 873
schools in the state (NCES)

Weakest dimension: safety (1/100). Weigh every dimension against your own priorities, use the City Finder to re-rank by what matters to you.

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite (BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, EPA, NOAA, and FEMA inputs), Farmington ranks #170 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). Cost-of-living index 87.7 (100 = national average), median 2-bedroom rent $1,085/mo, median salary $59,097; LiveAbility Score 52.7/100, strongest in cost of living and housing.

Signature: BEA RPP 87.7 ranks #45 of 387 scored metros for lower prices (cheaper third).

Purchasing power opens up: BEA RPP 87.7 lands in the cheaper third of scored metros (cuts at 91.5 / 97.0). Median 2BR rent $1,085/mo.

LiveAbility 52.7/100 keeps Farmington in the middle third (#170 of 387).

BLS OEWS total employment in the Farmington area is 41,940.

Farmington vs all US metros by LiveAbility Score

Where this metro's LiveAbility Score falls among every scored US metro (composite placement, not a desirability verdict)

53 Top 44% higher than 56% of 387 US metros

Metros banded by LiveAbility Score (0–100)

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US metros. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source PlainRelocate LiveAbility Score · June 2026

Farmington housing and rent

HUD Fair Market Rents for the Farmington MSA; housing RPP 56.6 (100 = national average); 2BR $1,085/mo.

Studio

$882

/month

1 Bedroom

$885

/month

2 Bedroom

$1,085

/month

3 Bedroom

$1,509

/month

4 Bedroom

$1,630

/month

Farmington wages and employment

Farmington posts 41,940 total employment with median salary $59,097 against a cheaper-than-average RPP.

Median Salary

$59,097

Mean Salary

$62,274

Total Employment

41,940

Top Occupations by Employment

Occupation	Median Salary
Home Health and Personal Care Aides	$27,290
Fast Food and Counter Workers	$27,420
Retail Salespersons	$31,530
Construction Laborers	$38,150
Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive	$45,860

Schools & Education

State-level education data for the Farmington area from NCES.

Schools

873

Enrollment

305,112

Student:Teacher

14:1

Title I %

Life Score Breakdown

Farmington's composite Life Score is 53.5/100 (D), computed across 6 of 7 dimensions (missing dims omitted; remaining weights renormalized).

Cost

89/100

Elite

Wages

24/100

Weak

Rent

85/100

Elite

Crime

1/100

Bottom decile

Schools

29/100

Weak

Environment

99/100

Elite

LiveAbility Score

View full rankings →

Farmington ranks #170 out of 387 metros with a LiveAbility Score of 52.7/100 - a composite of 8 of 8 quality-of-life dimensions from federal data. Customize the weights to match your priorities →

Strongest dimension: Cost of living (89/100)

Cost of living

89
Housing

85
Schools

71
Low hazard

69
Air quality

29
Climate

26
Job market

24
Safety

1

What this shows Farmington's strongest dimensions are cost of living and housing; its weakest among scored dims is safety at 1/100. Default weights: cost 18%, jobs & housing 15% each, safety & schools 12%, air & hazard 10%, climate 8%.

Compare Farmington to

Charlottesville Chattanooga Cheyenne Chicago-Naperville-Elgin Chico Cincinnati

Metros near Farmington on cost, LiveAbility, or wages

Nearest out-of-state neighbors to Farmington on BEA RPP, LiveAbility, or BLS median salary, a different lens than the size-ranked list.

Similar cost of living (BEA RPP)

Similar LiveAbility score

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, HUD Fair Market Rents, BLS OES, FBI UCR, NCES, DOL, EPA June 2026

Farmington cost figures follow BEA Regional Price Parities and HUD Fair Market Rents; Farmington wages and LiveAbility inputs follow BLS OEWS plus the federal sources listed in methodology. This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Scores are federal-data percentiles, not a move recommendation. How this data is sourced.

Verify with BEA → · Verify with BLS → · Verify with HUD → · Verify with NOAA → · Verify with FEMA → · Verify with Census →

Thinking about Farmington?

Farmington runs a $59,097 median salary at a 87.7 cost index, ranking #170 of 387 nationally on LiveAbility.

See exactly what Farmington's pay and cost figures mean for your own budget. Salary calculator
Put Farmington head-to-head against another city on the same dimensions. Compare Farmington
Abilene is the closest related metro in this corpus -- see how it stacks up. Abilene profile
A cheaper cost index and a higher LiveAbility score don't always point the same direction -- here's how to weigh the trade-off. Cost vs quality guide

Cost, salary and score figures are federal-data percentiles, not a move recommendation.