How dark is the sky in Las Cruces, NM?

Las Cruces reads as suburban edge on this dataset's scale. A noticeable glow near the horizon. Brighter stars and constellations are easy to pick out; the Milky Way is washed out. That's brighter than 34.2% of the 3,206 US cities in this dataset.

Worth remembering: this is satellite radiance, not a ground observation. A true Bortle rating needs a human eye at night, this is the closest large-scale substitute.

The nearest darker sky to Las Cruces

Carlsbad, NM, about 149 miles away as the crow flies, measures in the rural band, one step darker than Las Cruces. Actual driving distance will run longer than that straight-line figure.

Carlsbad, NM is itself still a measured city, not a designated dark-sky park, this only compares against the 3,206 places this dataset covers.

Las Cruces against the rest of the dataset

About 116,998 people live in Las Cruces, NM, sized enough to appear in this dataset of 3,206 incorporated US cities. Among all 3,206 cities here, Las Cruces ranks 1,092 from darkest to brightest, 1 being the darkest measured.