Sandoval County, New Mexico

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Sandoval County, New Mexico
Sandoval County Courthouse in Bernalillo
Seal
Location in the state of New Mexico
New Mexico's location in the U.S.
Founded	1903
Named for	Sandoval family
Seat	Bernalillo
Largest city	Rio Rancho
Area  - Total  - Land  - Water	3,716 sq mi (9,624 km²) 3,711 sq mi (9,611 km²) 5.3 sq mi (14 km²), 0.1%
Population  - (2020)  - Density	148,834 35/sq mi (14/km²)
Congressional districts	1st, 3rd
Time zone	Mountain: UTC-7/-6
Website	www.sandovalcountyNM.gov

Sandoval County is located in the U.S. state of New Mexico. As of the 2020 census, the population was 148,834, making it the fourth-most populous county in New Mexico. The county seat is Bernalillo.

Sandoval County is part of the Albuquerque metropolitan area.

History

Sandoval County was created in 1903 from the northern part of Bernalillo County. Its name comes from one of the large land-holding Spanish families in the area. The original county seat was Corrales, but it was moved to Bernalillo in 1905.

Mormon Battalion Monument (New Mexico) is in the county.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 3,716 square miles (9,620 km²), of which 3,711 square miles (9,610 km²) is land and 5.3 square miles (14 km²) (0.1%) is water. The highest point in the county is the summit of Redondo Peak, at 11,254 feet (3,430 m).

A relatively small portion of the county exists as a geographically separate exclave between Los Alamos County and Santa Fe County. This came about when Los Alamos County was created; the land that became the exclave would have been part of Los Alamos but was excluded owing to its sacred status among the local Indians. Rather than be ceded to neighboring Santa Fe (or Los Alamos) it has remained part of Sandoval.

Adjacent counties

• Rio Arriba County - north
• Los Alamos County - northeast (west of the exclave)
• Santa Fe County - east (in two locations near Los Alamos County including the exclave)
• Bernalillo County - south
• Cibola County - southwest
• McKinley County - west
• San Juan County - northwest

Native American Reservations

Northside of Jemez Pueblo, New Mexico, 1915

Sandoval County has 12 Indian reservations and two joint-use areas lying within its borders. This is the second highest number of reservations of any county in the United States (after San Diego County, California, which has 18 reservations.) Riverside County, California also has 12 reservations, but no joint-use areas.

• Cochiti Pueblo (partly in Santa Fe County)
• Jemez Pueblo
• Jicarilla Apache Indian Reservation (partly in Rio Arriba County)
• Laguna Pueblo (partly in Bernalillo, Cibola and Valencia Counties)
• Navajo Nation (extending into six other counties in New Mexico, plus three in Arizona and one in Utah)
• San Felipe Pueblo
• San Felipe/Santa Ana joint use area
• San Felipe/Santo Domingo joint use area
• San Ildefonso Pueblo (partly in Santa Fe County)
• Sandia Pueblo (partly in Bernalillo County)
• Santa Ana Pueblo
• Santa Clara Pueblo (partly in Rio Arriba and Santa Fe counties)
• Santo Domingo Pueblo (partly in Santa Fe County)
• Zia Pueblo

National protected areas

• Bandelier National Monument (part)
• Cibola National Forest (part)
• El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro National Historic Trail (part)
• Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument
• Santa Fe National Forest (part)
• Valles Caldera National Preserve (part)

Demographics

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1910	8,579		—
1920	8,863		3.3%
1930	11,144		25.7%
1940	13,898		24.7%
1950	12,438		−10.5%
1960	14,201		14.2%
1970	17,492		23.2%
1980	34,799		98.9%
1990	63,319		82.0%
2000	89,908		42.0%
2010	131,561		46.3%
U.S. Decennial Census 1790-1960 1900-1990 1990-2000 2010-2020

2000 census

As of the 2000 census, there were 89,908 people, 31,411 households, and 23,621 families living in the county. The population density was 24 people per square mile (9/km²). There were 34,866 housing units at an average density of 9 per square mile (4/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 65.08% White, 16.28% Native American, 1.71% Black or African American, 0.99% Asian, 0.11% Pacific Islander, 12.37% from other races, and 3.47% from two or more races. 29.40% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 31,411 households, out of which 38.60% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.70% were married couples living together, 12.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.80% were non-families. 19.90% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.90% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.84 and the average family size was 3.29.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 29.60% under the age of 18, 7.50% from 18 to 24, 30.10% from 25 to 44, 22.20% from 45 to 64, and 10.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 95.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.70 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $44,949, and the median income for a family was $48,984. Males had a median income of $36,791 versus $26,565 for females. The per capita income for the county was $19,174. About 9.00% of families and 12.10% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.60% of those under age 18 and 9.20% of those age 65 or over.

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 131,561 people, 47,602 households, and 34,548 families living in the county. The population density was 35.5 inhabitants per square mile (13.7 /km²). There were 52,287 housing units at an average density of 14.1 per square mile (5.4 /km²). The racial makeup of the county was 68.0% white, 12.9% American Indian, 2.1% black or African American, 1.5% Asian, 0.1% Pacific islander, 11.5% from other races, and 3.9% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 35.1% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 13.2% were German, 9.3% were Irish, 8.7% were English, and 3.3% were American.

Of the 47,602 households, 37.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.9% were married couples living together, 12.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 27.4% were non-families, and 22.0% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.75 and the average family size was 3.22. The median age was 37.9 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $57,158 and the median income for a family was $65,906. Males had a median income of $48,967 versus $35,101 for females. The per capita income for the county was $25,979. About 8.3% of families and 11.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.0% of those under age 18 and 10.8% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

City

• Rio Rancho

Town

• Bernalillo (county seat)

Villages

• Corrales
• Cuba
• Jemez Springs
• San Ysidro

Census-designated places

• Algodones
• Cañon
• Cochiti Pueblo
• Cochiti Lake
• Jemez Pueblo
• La Cueva
• La Jara
• Peña Blanca
• Placitas
• Ponderosa
• Pueblo of Sandia Village
• Regina
• San Felipe Pueblo
• San Luis
• Santa Ana Pueblo
• Santo Domingo Pueblo
• Torreon
• Zia Pueblo

Unincorporated community

• Counselor

Politics

Since New Mexico obtained statehood in 1912, Sandoval county has been remarkably accurate in predicting the winner of each presidential race. The only elections where Sandoval county failed to back the overall winner was in 1912 (Theodore Roosevelt won the state on the Bull Moose ticket), 1944, 1968, and 2016. Hillary Clinton did manage to win a slight plurality of votes in Sandoval county, but that was likely because of Gary Johnson (who served as Governor of New Mexico) winning an abnormally high number of votes.

United States presidential election results for Sandoval County, New Mexico

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2020	34,174	44.64%	40,588	53.01%	1,800	2.35%
2016	25,905	41.99%	27,707	44.91%	8,078	13.09%
2012	24,387	45.10%	27,236	50.36%	2,455	4.54%
2008	25,193	42.97%	32,669	55.72%	768	1.31%
2004	22,628	50.80%	21,421	48.09%	492	1.10%
2000	15,423	48.57%	14,899	46.92%	1,433	4.51%
1996	11,015	41.65%	13,081	49.46%	2,352	8.89%
1992	8,491	36.02%	10,951	46.45%	4,132	17.53%
1988	9,411	49.50%	9,332	49.09%	268	1.41%
1984	9,005	55.43%	7,080	43.58%	161	0.99%
1980	6,762	53.74%	4,740	37.67%	1,080	8.58%
1976	4,110	44.34%	5,072	54.72%	87	0.94%
1972	3,507	50.25%	3,293	47.18%	179	2.56%
1968	1,959	41.43%	2,609	55.18%	160	3.38%
1964	1,077	24.37%	3,332	75.38%	11	0.25%
1960	1,447	35.13%	2,672	64.87%	0	0.00%
1956	1,979	55.68%	1,574	44.29%	1	0.03%
1952	1,795	52.06%	1,647	47.77%	6	0.17%
1948	1,675	47.33%	1,851	52.30%	13	0.37%
1944	1,439	51.48%	1,354	48.44%	2	0.07%
1940	1,990	49.12%	2,060	50.85%	1	0.02%
1936	1,800	46.18%	2,094	53.72%	4	0.10%
1932	1,562	46.24%	1,808	53.52%	8	0.24%
1928	1,700	59.44%	1,159	40.52%	1	0.03%
1924	1,587	58.52%	1,096	40.41%	29	1.07%
1920	1,194	57.46%	884	42.54%	0	0.00%
1916	611	45.43%	734	54.57%	0	0.00%
1912	211	22.93%	126	13.70%	583	63.37%

See also

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