This is a small community in a single neighborhood.
As throughout the site, some neighborhood-level data are reserved for subscribers.
What do we mean by a neighborhood?
NeighborhoodScout® uses the official government designation for neighborhoods - the census tract.
Census tracts are small, relatively permanent subdivisions of a county that are defined by the U.S. Census Bureau in conjunction with local authorities all across the country to define real neighborhoods that are bounded to contain areas with homogeneous population characteristics (including economic status, lifestyle, and living conditions). Census tracts usually have 4,000 persons, but can range between 1,500 and 8,000 persons. This is the most fine-grained area for which detailed information is made available from the government, to protect the individual privacy of each of us. Because census tracts are based on population, they vary in size depending on the density of settlement. In urban areas, they are small, and in rural areas they can cover an entire small town or even a few small towns in very rural areas.
Since census tracts are subdivisions of a county, we did a spatial overlay of the census tracts onto city and town boundaries using a geographic information system to properly assign each census tract to its appropriate city or town. Then we named each census tract to the local colloquially recognized neighborhood name for that spot (e.g., Boston, MA (Dorchester). If there was not a name available, we named the census tract by the largest street intersection in the census tract (e.g., Worcester, MA (Lincoln St/Plantation St)
Why we don't use Zip Codes as neighborhoods
Zip codes were developed by the Postal Service for the purpose of delivering mail, but were never intended to define coherent neighborhoods. In addition, Zip Codes can have as many as 10 distinctly different census tracts contained within them. When distinct census tracts are blended together in a single Zip Code, the data reflects their average conditions and often gives a false sense of the area. The result is that potentially great matching neighborhoods can be missed, and erroneous matches can also be produced and delivered to you.
Using census tracts makes great matches possible, and helps people find the areas that are best for them and their families. Because we are committed to providing the highest possible quality and finding the neighborhoods that best meet your criteria, we use census tracts. And, as always, we show you the actual street map of the neighborhood so you know exactly where your best matching neighborhood is located.
What is a Condition Alert?
A condition alert is a condition in the neighborhood that triggers an alert. NeighborhoodScout contains condition alerts to highlight conditions that are extreme, whether good or bad. This helps answer crucial questions about the state of the neighborhood being evaluated, such as:
What are the risks of violent crime here?
Is the risk of home break-ins or other property crimes increasing?
Does real estate here hold its value?
Are the trends in local vacancies or unemployment concerning?
...and dozens more.
Information at a glance that you need to know to invest, appraise or finance a property.
Chama is a tiny village located in the state of New Mexico. With a population of 912 people and just one neighborhood, Chama is the 115th largest community in New Mexico.
Occupations and Workforce
Unlike some villages, Chama isn’t mainly white- or blue-collar. Instead, the most prevalent occupations for people in Chama are a mix of both white- and blue-collar jobs. Overall, Chama is a village of service providers, managers, and sales and office workers. There are especially a lot of people living in Chama who work in management occupations (16.80%), office and administrative support (11.29%), and maintenance occupations (10.47%).
Of important note, Chama is also a village of artists. Chama has more artists, designers and people working in media than 90% of the communities in America. This concentration of artists helps shape Chama’s character.
Telecommuters are a relatively large percentage of the workforce: 7.71% of people work from home. While this number may seem small overall, as a fraction of the total workforce it is high relative to the nation. These workers are often telecommuters who work in knowledge-based, white-collar professions. For example, Silicon Valley has large numbers of people who telecommute. Other at-home workers may be self-employed people who operate small businesses out of their homes.
Setting & Lifestyle
The overall crime rate in Chama is one of the lowest in the US. This makes it one of the safer places to live in the country in terms of crime.
It is a fairly quiet village because there are relatively few of those groups of people who have a tendency to be noisy. (Children, for example, often can't help themselves from being noisy, and being parents ourselves, we know!) Chama has relatively few families with children living at home, and is quieter because of it. Renters and college students, for their own reasons, can also be noisy. Chama has few renters and college students. But the biggest reason it is quieter in Chama than in most places in America, is that there are just simply fewer people living here. If you think trees make good neighbors, Chama may be for you.
Compared to the rest of the country, citizens of Chama spend much less time in their cars: on average, their commute to work is only 12.16 minutes. This also means that noise and pollution levels in the village are less than they would otherwise be.
As is often the case in a small village, Chama doesn't have a public transportation system that people use for their commute.
Demographics
The education level of Chama citizens, measured as those with bachelor's degrees or advanced degrees, is similar to the national average for all American cities and towns. 17.13% of adults 25 and older in Chama have a college degree.
The per capita income in Chama in 2022 was $35,384, which is upper middle income relative to New Mexico, and middle income relative to the rest of the US. This equates to an annual income of $141,536 for a family of four. However, Chama contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.
Chama is an extremely ethnically-diverse village. The people who call Chama home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. People of Hispanic or Latino origin are the most prevalent group in Chama, accounting for 76.20% of the village’s residents (people of Hispanic or Latino origin can be of any race). The greatest number of Chama residents report their race to be White. Important ancestries of people in Chama include English, German, Scots-Irish, Norwegian, and Swedish.
The most common language spoken in Chama is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Native American languages.
Notable & Unique Neighborhood Characteristics
When you see a neighborhood for the first time, the most important thing is often the way it looks, like its homes and its setting. Some places look the same, but they only reveal their true character after living in them for a while because they contain a unique mix of occupational or cultural groups. This neighborhood is very unique in some important ways, according to NeighborhoodScout's exclusive exploration and analysis.
Real Estate
Unpopulated, and rural, the neighborhood is one of the least crowded neighborhoods in all of America. If you like open space, no traffic, and lots of room, this neighborhood may be just what you are looking for. According to NeighborhoodScout's leading research, this neighborhood is less densely populated than 99.0% of the neighborhoods in America.
In addition, despite all of the residential real estate here in the neighborhood, NeighborhoodScout has discovered that much of it is vacant. In resort or second-home vacation areas, this naturally occurs because homes and apartments are seasonally occupied, and empty for a portion of the year. In non-vacation or resort areas, however, this can be an indicator of property abandonment or a weak real estate market. The vacancy rate here is 51.2%, which is higher than 98.9% of all U.S. neighborhoods.
Length of Commute
Whether walking, biking, riding, or driving, the length of one's commute is an important factor for one's quality of life. The neighborhood stands out for its commute length, according to NeighborhoodScout's analysis. Residents of the neighborhood have the pleasure of having one of the shortest commutes to work of any neighborhood in America. 62.5% of the residents have a commute time from home to work (one way) of less than fifteen minutes. This is a higher proportion of residents enjoying a short trip to work than NeighborhoodScout found in 96.8% of U.S. neighborhoods. Less time commuting means more time for other things in life.
People
There is an especially high percentage of incarcerated people (1.1%) living in the neighborhood.
In addition, the neighborhood stands out within New Mexico for its college student friendly environment. NeighborhoodScout's analysis reveals that this neighborhood is home to a number of college students, is relatively walkable, and above average in safety. In combination, this makes it stand out for a good place for college students to consider. Because a number of college students live here, this neighborhood may be close to a college campus and offer certain amenities nearby geared towards the student body. While it's not an environment for everyone, ambitious scholars can enjoy seasonal excitement between semesters and school breaks, and parents can rest easy knowing that the area has an above average safety rating. For each of these reasons, the neighborhood is rated among the top 6.9% of college-friendly places to live in NM. In addition to being an excellent choice for college students, this neighborhood is also a very good choice for active retirees.
Diversity
Did you know that the neighborhood has more Czechoslovakian and Native American ancestry people living in it than nearly any neighborhood in America? It's true! In fact, 1.4% of this neighborhood's residents have Czechoslovakian ancestry and 4.2% have Native American ancestry.
is also pretty special linguistically. Significantly, 1.9% of its residents five years old and above primarily speak Native American languages at home. While this may seem like a small percentage, it is higher than 98.9% of the neighborhoods in America.
The Neighbors
How wealthy a neighborhood is, from very wealthy, to middle income, to low income is very formative with regard to the personality and character of a neighborhood. Equally important is the rate of people, particularly children, who live below the federal poverty line. In some wealthy gated communities, the areas immediately surrounding can have high rates of childhood poverty, which indicates other social issues. NeighborhoodScout's analysis reveals both aspects of income and poverty for this neighborhood.
The neighbors in the neighborhood in Chama are middle-income, making it a moderate income neighborhood. NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis reveals that this neighborhood has a higher income than 40.7% of the neighborhoods in America. With 31.9% of the children here below the federal poverty line, this neighborhood has a higher rate of childhood poverty than 83.6% of U.S. neighborhoods.
The old saying "you are what you eat" is true. But it is also true that you are what you do for a living. The types of occupations your neighbors have shape their character, and together as a group, their collective occupations shape the culture of a place.
In the neighborhood, 43.1% of the working population is employed in executive, management, and professional occupations. The second most important occupational group in this neighborhood is manufacturing and laborer occupations, with 22.6% of the residents employed. Other residents here are employed in clerical, assistant, and tech support occupations (20.4%), and 13.9% in sales and service jobs, from major sales accounts, to working in fast food restaurants.
Languages
The most common language spoken in the neighborhood is English, spoken by 70.4% of households. Some people also speak Spanish (27.8%).
Ethnicity / Ancestry
Boston's Beacon Hill blue-blood streets, Brooklyn's Orthodox Jewish enclaves, Los Angeles' Persian neighborhoods. Each has its own culture derived primarily from the ancestries and culture of the residents who call these neighborhoods home. Likewise, each neighborhood in America has its own culture – some more unique than others – based on lifestyle, occupations, the types of households – and importantly – on the ethnicities and ancestries of the people who live in the neighborhood. Understanding where people came from, who their grandparents or great-grandparents were, can help you understand how a neighborhood is today.
In the neighborhood in Chama, NM, residents most commonly identify their ethnicity or ancestry as Spanish (18.5%). There are also a number of people of German ancestry (8.4%), and residents who report Mexican roots (7.3%), and some of the residents are also of English ancestry (4.3%), along with some Native American ancestry residents (4.2%), among others.
Getting to Work
Even if your neighborhood is walkable, you may still have to drive to your place of work. Some neighborhoods are located where many can get to work in just a few minutes, while others are located such that most residents have a long and arduous commute. The greatest number of commuters in neighborhood spend under 15 minutes commuting one-way to work (62.5% of working residents), one of the shortest commutes across America. However, there is also a significant group of residents (16.3%) who commute over an hour in each direction.
Here most residents (81.0%) drive alone in a private automobile to get to work. In addition, quite a number also carpool with coworkers, friends, or neighbors to get to work (10.3%) . In a neighborhood like this, as in most of the nation, many residents find owning a car useful for getting to work.
SCOUT’s patented match algorithm identifies the most similar neighborhoods to a subject location, and quantifies the similarity to the subject location. This allows analysts to identify the most similar neighborhoods in a local market area for appraisals, investments, and research.
The algorithm uses 273 neighborhood conditions, identifies the dominant dimensions underlying the conditions and calculates the similarity. This captures the true culture and character of locations, economic conditions, and trends.
The closer to 100% means the locations are nearly identical. 80% is a very good, but not excellent match, and so forth.
