Albuquerque Profile

The moment you step into Albuquerque’s beautiful, Southwest-style airport, you begin to experience its unique sense of place. Add to that the dramatic Sandia Mountains and the volcanic escarpment, which frame Albuquerque to the east and west and the blue sky overhead, and you understand why Albuquerque’s growth rate has exceeded the national average for decades.

The city’s history begins with Pueblo Indian people who farmed here for centuries before Spanish explorers arrived in 1540. Founded in 1706, Albuquerque was for decades a quiet villa named for a Spanish duke. By the time the railroad arrived in 1880, the “Duke City” was already a boom town.

Albuquerque really took off after World War II. The city in 1939 invited the federal government to establish an aviation installation, which became Kirtland Air Force Base. Now occupying 80 square miles and employing some 25,000 employees, Kirtland has been an anchor of the Albuquerque economy, along with its tenant, Sandia National Laboratories.

Albuquerque boomed again in the 1980s, when such companies as Intel Corp. took advantage of a favorable business climate, an appealing quality of life and competitive incentives. The city’s technology sector continues to be robust and growing. (See Technology and Albuquerque)

Today Albuquerque is an economically robust city that has met the challenges of growth and provides a wealth of amenities – all while sticking to its budget and managing prudently. As a result the City has maintained high bond ratings. (The airport’s bond rating is among the nation’s highest.) And it’s drawn favorable notice in rankings of Forbes, Expansion Management Magazine, Inc. Magazine and the Milken Institute. Studies generally cite affordable labor, housing and real estate; work force quality; incentives; and ease of working with local officials. (See Rankings)

Albuquerque – the Affordable City

For its reasonable costs of doing business, Albuquerque has few equals:

• A Forbes magazine survey of the Best Places for Business and Careers ranked the Albuquerque metro area first in cost of doing business among 150 cities because of its low labor costs, low taxes and low costs for office space.
• Albuquerque’s business costs are 25 percent lower than the national average, according to Economy.com.
• Operating costs were a factor in Albuquerque’s ranking of 45th “Hottest City” out of 370 metro areas in Expansion Management Magazine's 2004 survey.
• Inc. Magazine in 2004 cited affordability – housing costs and costs of living – in naming Albuquerque the 7th best medium-size city in which to do business.
• Forbes publisher Richard Karlgaard included Albuquerque in his compilation of 150 communities where it’s possible to live lavishly at a modest cost.

The same is true statewide. New Mexico was 51st in a cost of doing business index calculated in 2004 by Economy.com, with the lowest cost of labor. And in 2004 the California Business Roundtable did a case study comparing profits of small manufacturing companies in several states. The study revealed a potential for increasing profits up to 9.5 times by moving from California to another state. If New Mexico had been included, the potential profits would have increased 13 times.

Quality of Life

For its wealth of activities and gentle weather, it’s hard to beat Albuquerque.

• Sandia Mountains: Flanking the city to the east, the 10,678-foot mountains offer skiing, hiking, biking and picnic spots.
• The Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta: This popular event, the largest in the world, draws 800,000 visitors each year to enjoy watching hundreds of hot-air balloons rising in beautiful fall weather.
• The Albuquerque Bio Park: This imaginative and well planned park includes the Rio Grande Zoo, the Albuquerque Aquarium and the Rio Grande Botanic Garden.
• Museums: Albuquerque museums include such diverse facilities as the Anderson-Abruzzo Albuquerque International Balloon Museum, Maxwell Museum of Anthropology, the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, the Museum of Natural History and Science, the Albuquerque Museum, and Explora Science Center and Children’s Museum. The spectacular National Hispanic Cultural Center includes art galleries and a performing arts center
• Recreation: Albuquerque offers 800 parks, more than 80 miles of running and biking trails, 220 outdoor tennis courts, 23 ball fields and year-round golf on 15 golf courses.
• Sports: Games of the University of New Mexico Lobos are legendary for their color and fan devotion. The city also has a professional hockey team, the Scorpions, and Triple-A baseball, with the Isotopes in a new stadium.

Albuquerque and the Arts

Albuquerque is flourishing as an arts center:

• The New Mexico Symphony Orchestra thrives at a time when other cities are struggling to maintain their symphonies.
• Albuquerque has more than 40 art galleries.
• The city and county have in the last 20 years added more than 550 pieces of public art valued at $8.8 million.
• Some 250 arts organizations serve the metro area. Of those, 45 are guilds.
• More than 400 artisan manufacturing companies produce furniture, jewelry, pottery, clothing and textiles. Albuquerque is one of six jewelry-producing centers in the nation.

What Executives Say About Albuquerque

Robert Trussell Jr., CEO of Tempur-Pedic International Inc.: “We found that Albuquerque and New Mexico rated best among the various factors that we studied, including quality of labor, operating costs, electric reliability, transportation and leadership support.”

 

The online edition of Central New Mexico Economic Guide takes an informed look at residential and business life in the greater Albuquerque area. You can read a virtual copy of the Central New Mexico Economic Guide magazine on your computer screen by clicking on the link.