Socorro County, New Mexico

Socorro County is a located in the  of,. As of, the population is 18,078. The county seat is. Socorro was originally the name given to a village (see: ) by Don  in. Having received vitally needed food and assistance from the native population, Oñate named the pueblo Socorro ("succor" in English).

Geography
According to the, the county has a total area of 6,649 (17,220 ). 6,646 sq mi (17,214 km²) of it is land and 2 sq mi (6 km²) of it (0.03%) is water.

Socorro county ranges in elevation from approximately 4528 ft on the banks of the to 10,784 ft at the top of South Baldy peak in the Magdalena mountains. The county contains several mountain ranges of which the Magdalena mountains and the San Mateo mountains are classified as.

Adjacent Counties

 * - northwest
 * - north
 * - northeast
 * - east
 * - south
 * - west

Demographics
As of the of 2000, there were 18,078 people, 6,675 households, and 4,492 families residing in the county. The was 1/km² (3/sq mi). There were 7,808 housing units at an average density of 0/km² (1/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county was 62.87%, 0.64% or , 10.92% , 1.14% , 0.06% , 20.10% from , and 4.28% from two or more races. 48.73% of the population were or  of any race.

There were 6,675 households out of which 33.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.40% were living together, 13.30% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.70% were non-families. 26.80% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.20% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.62 and the average family size was 3.20.

In the county the population was spread out with 28.40% under the age of 18, 12.60% from 18 to 24, 26.10% from 25 to 44, 22.00% from 45 to 64, and 10.90% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 103.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 103.90 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $23,439, and the median income for a family was $29,544. Males had a median income of $28,490 versus $22,482 for females. The for the county was $12,826. About 24.10% of families and 31.70% of the population were below the, including 43.60% of those under age 18 and 24.30% of those age 65 or over.