The very land of Las Cruces is written with history: ancient Mogollon petroglyphs within and around the city date back as far as 200 AD. The sun shines 320 days a year here, earning Las Cruces ( “the crosses” in Spanish) the #4 spot for Weather among America’s small cities. That’s just one subcategory that helped it rank high overall in our Place category, at #23. It was also #18 for Neighborhoods. Several stunning hiking, mountain biking and horseback riding trails are found within 10 miles of the city center. The home of New Mexico State University excelled in our People category too, ranking #21 overall, with #15 for Foreign Born Residents (just over 12% of citizenry). Agriculture and defense/aerospace are among its key industries, while a highlight of the city’s Economic Development Plan is a major renovation to Las Cruces International Airport to accommodate an additional 20,000 passengers annually by 2022, sure to improve its already impressive #11 Connectivity ranking.