How dark is the sky in Rio Rancho, NM?

Rio Rancho's sky measures suburban edge here. A noticeable glow near the horizon. Brighter stars and constellations are easy to pick out; the Milky Way is washed out. Only 20.1% of the 3,206 cities measured here read darker than Rio Rancho.

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.

Where to go for a darker sky near Rio Rancho

34 miles from Rio Rancho, straight-line, sits Los Lunas, NM, the nearest city here with a darker sky than Rio Rancho's own suburban edge band.

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

Rio Rancho against the rest of the dataset

Rio Rancho, NM has a population of about 112,524, one of 3,206 US cities of 10,000 or more residents in this dataset. Among all 3,206 cities here, Rio Rancho ranks 640 from darkest to brightest, 1 being the darkest measured.