Cities › NM
Albuquerque
Mayor Tim Keller · Democratic · in office since Dec. 1, 2017
The Executive Summary
Mayor Tim Keller (D) has led Albuquerque since Dec. 2017; on economic outcomes — the only thing this site scores for mayors — Albuquerque ranks No. 8 of 21 big cities. On Keller's watch, unemployment fell 4.4% → 3.9% across 2019–2025. Crime, housing and schools are not in this score, and outcomes are shared with the council and the economy — association, not causation.
| Unemployment 3.9% (2025) | +0.96σ · -8.34%/yr vs peers -4.27%/yr · 2019–2025 (7 pts) |
| Median household income $71,494 (2024 · constant 2024 $) | −0.14σ · +0.97%/yr vs peers +0.45%/yr · 2019–2024 (5 pts) |
| Poverty rate 14.7% (2024) | +0.27σ · -2.12%/yr vs peers -0.91%/yr · 2019–2024 (5 pts) |
| Government form | Strong mayor |
Albuquerque is a strong-mayor city, so day-to-day administration answers to Tim Keller. The score is Albuquerque's economic trend during their tenure, measured against the other 49 largest cities over the same years.
Sources: unemployment — BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics · median household income — Census ACS 1-year, CPI-U deflated · poverty rate — Census ACS 1-year (B17001). Unemployment runs through 2025; income and poverty through 2024. The 2025 unemployment point is an eleven-month average — October 2025 was never collected during the federal shutdown — and it is included and flagged here under the same rule the state pages apply to the same statistic (one statistic, one rulebook, as of v2.6; through v2.5 city pages excluded it instead, and the changelog says so).
Scored on economic outcomes only — unemployment, real median income and poverty. Crime, housing and health are not yet included, so this is a narrower measure than a governor’s. Two denominators. The rank is out of 21 — the mayors with enough scored years to rank. 21 of 50 cities are scored, 0 of those are early reads left unranked, and 29 mayors are not yet scorable. Each σ is measured against all 49 other cities. No 2020 point exists for income or poverty — the Census Bureau never released standard ACS 1-year estimates for 2020, and the gap is not interpolated. That is why a window spanning 2020 carries one point fewer than its span. Government form follows standard reference classifications and was not verified city by city. Methodology
The Rundown
No. 8 of 21 big-city mayors — on economics, and only economics.
Unemployment. Better than the typical big city. 4.4% → 3.9% across 2019–2025.
Poverty rate. About the middle of the pack. 16% → 14.7% across 2019–2024.
Median household income. Worse than the typical big city. $68,180 → $71,494 across 2019–2024.
How this is scored: 60% is where Albuquerque stands against the other 49 largest cities, 40% is which way it moved on Mayor Keller's watch — the same rule governors get. It covers 3 economic outcomes only: crime, housing and schools are not in this grade, so it is narrower than a governor's. Albuquerque is a strong-mayor city, so day-to-day administration answers to the mayor.
Albuquerque sits in NM, whose governor Michelle Lujan Grisham holds a scored statewide record (No. 29 of 29). State outcomes are not the mayor’s grade — a city is not a state — but they’re the nearest verified context today.