Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities

Census more than simple headcount

Buried beneath the hyper-political year we’re about to have is something else that will shape our future. It’s time once again for a U.S. Census count.

The U.S. Constitution requires a count every 10 years. More than a simple headcount, all sorts of demographic information is collected. And while the population counts are used to redraw the U.S. House of Representatives district lines every 10 years, other Census data are used in divvying up billions in federal dollars among the nation’s counties, municipalities and states.

It’s a national count, but it’s supremely important to local and state governments that depend on federal dollars to serve their residents. And in New Mexico, with our national laboratories, air bases and high rate of poverty, federal money is a major contributor to our economy.

As a source for official demographic information, nothing beats the U.S. Census — or, more specifically, a feature on the U.S. Census website called QuickFacts.

In addition to the physical census count every decade, the U.S. Census Bureau is able to extrapolate annual and biennial demographic estimates, which are used in QuickFacts. So, even though we’re nine years out from the last actual census count, the estimates give us more up-to-date readings, so we can see where things are going.

For example, the April 1, 2010, census count found New Mexico’s population at 2,059,179. But as of July 1, 2019, it’s an estimated 2,095,199 — which tells us the state’s population grew by 36,020. And if you figure in that Albuquerque grew by 14,366 people (to 560,218), Rio Rancho by 10,502 (to 98,023), Santa Fe by 16,665 (to 84,612) and Las Cruces by 5,308 (to 102,926), while most other areas of the state declined in population, then you’ve got a picture of what’s going on: New Mexicans are moving to the cities, and the state is growing mostly up and down the Rio Grande Corridor.

Here are a few other interesting tidbits gleaned from U.S. Census data:

• New Mexico’s population growth is weak compared to surrounding states. Between 2010 and 2019, New Mexico’s 1.8% growth was considerably less than Arizona’s 13.9% increase, Colorado’s 14.5% and Texas’ 15.3%.

And in case you’re wondering, the Census also shows the entire nation has grown by 6.3%, to 328.2 million people, over the previous nine years.

• New Mexico has the highest percentage of Hispanics and Native Americans among its population than any other state in the nation. The Census categorizes us as 49.1% “Hispanic or Latino” and 10.9% “American Indian or Alaska Native alone” — the highest state percentages I found in those categories.

• New Mexico has 19.5% of its population living in poverty. Nationally, 11.8% live in poverty. Colorado has one of the lower poverty rates in our region of the country, with 9.6%, while most of our other neighbors are slightly higher than the national average.

I guess this is a “Thank God for Mississippi” moment, since that state’s Census data show 19.7% of its population in poverty — a whole two-tenths higher than we are.

Tom McDonald is editor of the New Mexico Community News Exchange. Contact him at:

[email protected]

 
 
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