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Best Public Schools in Zip Code 87002


At a glance
10
Schools
3,500
Students
Top rankedDennis Chavez Elementary42nd of 346 New Mexico elementary schools
Biggest riser
La Promesa Elementary up 70 spots statewide this year
Smallest classes
Central Elementary 11.4 students per teacher
SchoolDigger ratings
4★
3★
2★
1★
3 schools without a SchoolDigger rating (too few tested students)
Summary:

Zip code 87002 covers Belen, New Mexico, where 10 schools — six elementary, two middle, and two high schools enrolling about 3,500 students — all belong to Belen Consolidated Schools, a district ranked 52 of 87 in the state (about the 40th percentile, 2 stars). Belen High is the largest school with 958 students, roughly 27% of the total, while Belen Infinity High is the smallest with 112. Free/reduced lunch rates run 99.4% to 100% at every school, and student-teacher ratios range from 11.4 at Central Elementary to 29.0 at Belen Family School.

Several schools stand out positively. Dennis Chavez Elementary is the strongest current performer, ranking 42 of 346 elementary schools (88th percentile, 4 stars), with ELA at 63.53%, math at 50.59%, and 5th grade science at 56.82% — far above district and state. Belen Family School, with 154 students in grades 1–8, ranks 71 of 346 (79th percentile, 4 stars) with ELA 57.94%, math 43.93%, and science 53.33%, despite its very high student-teacher ratio. Gil Sanchez Elementary ranks 119 of 346 (66th percentile, 3 stars), with ELA 51.79% and math 38.10%, both above state. Rio Grande Elementary earned 4 stars and high percentiles in 2021-2022 and 2023-2024, while Belen Infinity High improved to the 56th percentile (3 stars) in 2024-2025, with 11th grade science at 41.94%, slightly above the state's 41.69%.

Other schools need attention. Belen High ranks 112 of 132 (15th percentile, 1 star), with 11th grade math at 6.28% and SAT math at 3.55%, and a 73.6% graduation rate. Belen Middle fell from the 40th to the 26th percentile, with all-grade math at 17.49%. Central Elementary sits at the 16th percentile with 1 star, and La Merced Elementary shows a steep grade-level drop, from 3rd grade ELA of 60% to 6th grade ELA of 20.55%. Some state-reported values are suppressed or given only as bounds — La Promesa Elementary's all-grade science is suppressed, and Belen Infinity's ELA and math are reported only as under 20%, which is not the same as zero.

Ranking:
Map legend
E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private




Cities Near Zip Code 87002

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SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the New Mexico Public Education Department.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.

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