Bernalillo County, New Mexico

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Bernalillo County (Template:IPAc-en; Template:Langx) is the most populous county in the U.S. state of New Mexico.<ref name="hist">Bernalillo County Template:Webarchive from the website of the New Mexico Office of the State Historian</ref> As of the 2020 census, the population was 676,444.<ref name="QF">Template:Cite web</ref> The county seat, Albuquerque,<ref name="GR6">Template:Cite web</ref> is the most populous city in New Mexico. Bernalillo County is the central county of the Albuquerque, NM Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Bernalillo County was one of seven partidos established during Mexican rule; in 1852, within two years of the creation of the New Mexico Territory, Bernalillo became one of that territory's nine original counties.<ref name="hist"/> Bernalillo County was named for the town of Bernalillo, which is currently no longer part of the county.<ref name="History of Bernalillo County">Template:Cite web</ref> The towns of Los Ranchos de Albuquerque and Bernalillo were previously the county seats, but the capital was finally established in Albuquerque in 1883.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 1876, it absorbed Santa Ana County.

In 1906, years after the Land Revision Act of 1891 provided for the setting aside of forest reserves, the parts of Bernalillo County currently known as Cibola National Forest were established as reserves.<ref>Southwestern Region Initial Forest Reserves and National Forests, from a U.S. Forest Service website</ref>

USS LST-306, a World War II tank landing ship that participated in the Allied invasion of Italy, was renamed as USS Bernalillo County in 1955. Sandia Mountain Wilderness was created in 1978 and the Petroglyph National Monument was established in June 1990.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of Template:Convert, of which Template:Convert is land and Template:Convert (0.5%) is water.<ref name="GR1">Template:Cite web</ref> It is the third-smallest county in New Mexico by area.

Bernalillo County is in central New Mexico, and "stretches from the East Mountain area (just east of the Sandia Mountains) to the Volcano Cliffs on the west mesa."<ref>Bernalillo County Extension Office from a New Mexico State University website</ref>

Adjacent counties

National protected areas

Demographics

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File:Albuquerque Income.png

Median Household Income by Census Tract Block Group across Albuquerque metro.

2000 census

As of the census<ref name="GR2">Template:Cite web</ref> of 2000, there were 556,678 people, 220,936 households, and 141,178 families living in the county, making Bernalillo the most populous county in the state.<ref name="hist"/> The population density was Template:Convert. There were 239,074 housing units at an average density of Template:Convert. The racial makeup of the county was 70.75% White, 2.77% Black or African American, 4.16% Native American, 1.93% Asian, 0.10% Pacific Islander, 16.07% from other races, and 4.22% from two or more races. 41.96% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 220,936 households, out of which 31.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.00% were married couples living together, 12.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.10% were non-families. 28.50% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.90% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 3.06.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 25.30% under the age of 18, 10.30% from 18 to 24, 30.40% from 25 to 44, 22.40% from 45 to 64, and 11.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 95.50 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.90 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $38,788, and the median income for a family was $46,613. Males had a median income of $33,720 versus $26,318 for females. The per capita income for the county was $20,790. About 10.20% of families and 13.70% of the population were below the poverty line, including 17.90% of those under age 18 and 9.10% of those age 65 or over.

2010 census

As of the 2010 United States census, there were 662,564 people, 266,000 households, and 164,104 families living in the county.<ref name="census-dp1">Template:Cite web</ref> The population density was Template:Convert. There were 284,234 housing units at an average density of Template:Convert.<ref name="census-density">Template:Cite web</ref> The racial makeup of the county was 69.4% white, 4.8% American Indian, 3.0% black or African American, 2.3% Asian, 0.1% Pacific islander, 16.0% from other races, and 4.4% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 47.9% of the population.<ref name="census-dp1"/> The largest ancestry groups were:<ref name="census-dp2">Template:Cite web</ref> Template:Div col

27.6% Mexican
18.5% Spanish
11.6% German
8.5% Irish
7.6% English
3.4% Italian
2.6% American
2.3% French
1.9% Scottish
1.7% Scotch-Irish
1.7% Polish
1.3% Norwegian
1.2% Swedish
1.1% Dutch

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Of the 266,000 households, 31.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.4% were married couples living together, 14.1% had a female householder with no husband present, 38.3% were non-families, and 30.4% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 3.07. The median age was 35.8 years.<ref name="census-dp1"/>

The median income for a household in the county was $47,481 and the median income for a family was $59,809. Males had a median income of $42,189 versus $34,432 for females. The per capita income for the county was $26,143. About 11.8% of families and 15.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 22.8% of those under age 18 and 9.8% of those age 65 or over.<ref name="census-dp3">Template:Cite web</ref>

Politics

County Commission

District	Name	Party	Took office
1	Barbara Baca	Democratic	2023
2	Steven Michael Quezada	Democratic	2017
3	Adriann Barboa	Democratic	2021
4	Walt Benson	Republican	2021
5	Eric C. Olivas	Democratic	2023

County offices

Office	Name	Party	Took office
Sheriff	John Allen	Democratic	2023
Assessor	Damian Lara	Democratic	2023
Clerk	Linda Stover	Democratic	2017
Treasurer	Nancy M. Bearce	Democratic	2017
Probate Judge	Cristy J. Carbón-Gaul	Democratic	2019

New Mexico Senate

District	Name	Party	Took office
9	Brenda McKenna	Democratic	2021
10	Katy Duhigg	Democratic	2021
11	Linda M. Lopez	Democratic	1997
12	Jerry Ortiz y Pino	Democratic	2005
13	Bill B. O'Neill	Democratic	2013
14	Michael Padilla	Democratic	2013
15	Daniel Ivey-Soto	Democratic	2013
16	Antoinette Sedillo Lopez	Democratic	2019
17	Mimi Stewart	Democratic	2009
18	Bill Tallman	Democratic	2017
19	Gregg Schmedes	Republican	2021
20	Martin Hickey	Democratic	2021
21	Mark Moores	Republican	2013
22	Benny Shendo	Democratic	2013
23	Harold Pope Jr.	Democratic	2021
26	Moe Maestas	Democratic	2022
29	Gregory A. Baca	Republican	2021
39	Liz Stefanics	Democratic	2017

Congressional

Melanie Stansbury (D) is the representative for the 1st Congressional District.

Gabe Vasquez (D) is the representative for the 2nd Congressional District.

Presidential

In presidential elections prior to 1992, Bernalillo County primarily voted for Republican Party candidates, only supporting three Democratic candidates in six elections total. (Franklin D. Roosevelt four times, Harry S. Truman and Lyndon B. Johnson once each). From 1992 on, the county has backed Democratic Party candidates in every presidential election. While the margins were relatively narrow from 1992 to 2004, since then the county has tilted strongly Democratic similar to many urban counties nationwide. The region around Nob Hill and Downtown, which includes the University of New Mexico, is where the greatest Democratic strength in the county lies, with parts of the North Valley near the river also contributing. The Isleta Reservation in the southern strip of the county is also a highly Democratic region. The heavily Hispanic South Valley, as well as Atrisco and Armijo, which have long been Democratic strongholds, have been recently trending heavily toward the Republican party, with several precincts flipping in the 2024 election. Republican strength in the county lies east of Tijeras, in parts of the southeast near Kirtland Air Force Base, and for a long time in much of the Northeast Heights region, although this area showed a Democratic trend in the 2024 election.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Communities

File:Map of Bernalillo County New Mexico.svg

A local toponymic oddity is that the town of Bernalillo, north of Albuquerque, is not actually in Bernalillo County. When established in 1852, the county was named for the town of Bernalillo, which was incorporated into Sandoval County in 1903.<ref name="History of Bernalillo County"/><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Bracketed number refers to location on map, right

Cities

Albuquerque (3) (county seat)
Rio Rancho (partial)

Town

Edgewood (partial)

Villages

Los Ranchos de Albuquerque (1)
Tijeras (6)

Census-designated places

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Unincorporated communities

Education

There are three school districts in the county:<ref>Template:Cite web - Text list</ref>

Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) schools:

Isleta Elementary School
Albuquerque Indian School (closed)

Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute (SIPI), a BIE community college, is in an unincorporated area in the county.<ref>Template:Cite web - also seen in: Template:Cite web</ref>

References

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External links

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