Bernalillo County, New Mexico

Bernalillo County
County
Bernalillo County Courthouse in Albuquerque, New Mexico
Seal
Location within the U.S. state of New Mexico
New Mexico's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 35°03′N 106°40′W
Country	United States
State	New Mexico
Founded	1852
Seat	Albuquerque
Area
• Total	1,169 sq mi (3,030 km2)
• Land	1,166 sq mi (3,020 km2)
• Water	3 sq mi (8 km2)
Population
• Estimate  (2010)	662,564
• Density	566.8/sq mi (218.8/km2)
Website	www.bernco.gov

Bernalillo County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of New Mexico. It is located within the Albuquerque, New Mexico Metropolitan Statistical Area and had a population of 556,678 at the 2000 census; The 2010 Census puts the population of the county at 662,564. The county seat is Albuquerque.Template:GR

Geography

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." According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,169 square miles (3,027.7 km²), of which 1,166 square miles (3,019.9 km²) is land and 3 square miles (7.8 km²) (0.22%) is water.

Adjacent counties

• Sandoval County, New Mexico - north
• Santa Fe County, New Mexico - east
• Torrance County, New Mexico - east
• Valencia County, New Mexico - south
• Cibola County, New Mexico - west

National protected areas

• Cibola National Forest (part)
• El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro National Historic Trail (part)
• Petroglyph National Monument

Localities

A local geographical oddity is that the town of Bernalillo, north of Albuquerque, is not actually in Bernalillo County. It is the county seat of Sandoval County.

City

• Albuquerque

Villages

• Los Ranchos de Albuquerque
• Tijeras

Census-designated places

• Carnuel
• Cedar Crest
• Chilili
• Isleta Village Proper
• North Valley
• South Valley

Other communities

• Carpenter
• Isleta Pueblo
• Laguna Pueblo
• San Antonito
• Zuzax

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. 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.

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

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1850	7,751		—
1860	8,769		13.1%
1870	7,591		−13.4%
1880	17,225		126.9%
1890	20,913		21.4%
1900	28,630		36.9%
1910	23,606		−17.5%
1920	29,855		26.5%
1930	45,430		52.2%
1940	69,391		52.7%
1950	145,673		109.9%
1960	262,199		80.0%
1970	315,774		20.4%
1980	419,700		32.9%
1990	480,577		14.5%
2000	556,678		15.8%
2010	662,564		19.0%

2010

According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the racial and ethnic makeup of the county was as follows:

• 69.4% White
• 3.0% Black
• 4.8% Native American
• 2.3% Asian
• 0.1% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander
• 4.4% Two or more races
• 16.0% Other races
• 47.9% Hispanic or Latino (of any race)

2000

As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 556,678 people, 220,936 households, and 141,178 families residing in the county, making Bernalillo the most populous county in the state. The population density was 477 people per square mile (184/km²). There were 239,074 housing units at an average density of 205 per square mile (79/km²). 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.

Politics

County offices

Office	Name	Party	Took office
Sheriff	Dan Houston	Republican	2010
Assessor	Tanya R. Giddings	Democratic	2012
Clerk	Maggie Toulouse–Oliver	Democrat	2006
Treasurer	Manny Ortiz	Democrat	2012

County Commission

District	Name	Party	Took office
1	Debra O'Malley	Democrat	2012
2	Art De La Cruz	Democratic	2006
3	Maggie Hart–Stebbins	Democrat	2010
4	Lonnie C. Talbert	Democrat	2012
5	Wayne A. Johnson	Republican	2010

Congressional

Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) is the representative for the 1st Congressional District.

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Bernalillo County, New Mexico