Livable. Workable. Enjoyable.
Las Cruces and the surrounding Mesilla Valley communities that make up Doña Ana County, New Mexico, are the ideal places to live, work and enjoy activities with family and friends.
A rich and diverse heritage along with new developments and opportunities, give the area a link to its history while remaining focused on future growth and prosperity.
Don’t just consider our reasons as to why the communities of the Mesilla Valley are a good place to live and work. Here’s how leading publications and institutions have recently ranked Las Cruces and our surrounding areas:
- Parade Magazine ranked Las Cruces #7 of 25 America’s Hardest Working Cities in 2012.
- Forbes ranked Las Cruces:
- Best Place to Retire – #10, 2012
- 25 Best Places for a Working Retirement– #17
- The Best Small Places for Business and Careers – 30th of 184 small metro areas, 2012.
- Milken Institute ranked Las Cruces #13 of 179 small metro areas in the Best-Performing Cities index, 2011, which looks at jobs, pay and the technology sector to determine which cities are best at creating and sustaining economic growth.
While these rankings bring national awareness to the Mesilla Valley, it is facts like these that bring our newest residents to the place they now call home:
- Our elevation ranges from 3,730 feet along the Rio Grande River to 9,012 feet on the peaks of the Organ Mountains.
- Our average low temperature in January is 28 degrees Fahrenheit and the average high is 96.5 degrees Fahrenheit in June.
- We average 340 days of sunshine annually.
- Our average precipitation is 9.7”, less than 4” of which comes from snowfall, and our average relative humidity is 27%.
- The median age of our residents is 32.4 (Census 2010); with 12.3 percent of the population over the age of 65 (Census 2010).
- Between 2000 and 2011, the Doña Ana County population grew by 22.2 percent—from 174,682 to 213,598 (American Community Survey 2011).
- Our Mesilla Valley communities include:
Public Safety
- Fire and emergency services are provided by the City of Las Cruces and Doña Ana County. The City maintains numerous stations in the metro area and the County maintains a number of volunteer stations in the rural areas. These are augmented by the other incorporated communities’ departments.
- The City’s police department and the County Sheriff’s department are augmented by the New Mexico State Police as well as a number of federal agencies including Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection.
- The county’s crime rate is relatively low. In 2011, the violent crime rate was 367.7 per 100,000 residents.
- Las Cruces is home to New Mexico State University (NMSU), the state’s second largest public university. Total enrollment in its 5 campuses exceeds 29,000 with 17,600 attending the main campus in Las Cruces. Arrowhead Park Early College High School, the state’s first early college high school, is on the NMSU campus.
- Doña Ana Community College has 6 campuses located throughout the county. Its headcount includes 9,900 in credit enrollments and 7,000 in non-credit enrollments.
- The Las Cruces Public School district is the second largest school district in New Mexico. Located 45 miles north of the Mexican border, it encompasses the City of Las Cruces, the villages of La Mesilla and Doña Ana, and covers the middle third of Doña Ana County. It has 38 schools and an enrollment of over 24,000 students.
- The Gadsden Independent School District, covering an area of 1,400 square miles, educates approximately 14,200 students. It reaches from El Paso, Texas on the south to the Las Cruces Public School district on the north.
- The Hatch Valley Public Schools is the northern most district in Doña Ana County. Its enrollment is 1,367.
Cultural Arts
- New Mexico State University’s Center for the Arts opened in February, 2013.
- The $5 million Las Cruces Museum of Nature and Science opened in 2012
- The Pan American Center attracts top music acts and concerts to our area
- We’re known as Broadway of the Southwest with performances at the American Southwest Theatre Company at NMSU, Las Cruces Community Theater and Black Box Theatre/No Strings Theatre Company.
- Las Cruces Symphony Orchestra brings fully staged musical productions to the community as well as the classics and youth and family concerts.
- The Las Cruces Chamber Ballet, Doña Ana Lyric Opera, Lo-Fi Productions, area dance companies, and Boba Café entertain us with unique productions.
- New generations of theatrical talent is being cultivated with the help of NMSU Theater Arts Children’s Theatre Workshop, A Children’s Theatre of the Mesilla Valley, Starlight Children’s Theatre Company of Las Cruces and theater companies at local high schools.
Fiestas, Festivals, and Annual Events
- Mesilla Valley Balloon Rally
- Cowboy Days
- Trinity Site Tour
- La Vina Blues & Jazz Festival
- Cinco de Mayo Fiesta
- Southern New Mexico Wine Festival
- Hatch Chile Festival
- Frontier Days
- Diez & Seis de Septiembre Fiesta
- White Sands Balloon Invitational
- The Whole Enchilada Fiesta
- Southern New Mexico State Fair & Rodeo
- Mesilla Jazz Happening
- La Vina Wine Festival
- Dia de los Muertos
- Renaissance Arts Faire
- International Mariachi Conference & Concert
- Fiesta of our Lady of Guadalupe
- Two community hospitals serve the area with 454 beds.
- A new rehabilitation hospital, an acute care hospital and two psychiatric hospitals are in the area with numerous clinics and other health care facilities distributed throughout the valley.
- The Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso campus offers a professional growth experience like no other, turning out some of the best doctors and health professionals, evident by the number of physicians selected for the Best Docs in America list year after year.
Call us today to find out more about this growing and vibrant community.
