This is Santa Fe County

Read About Santa Fe County

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Population

As of the US Census American Community Survey of 2005, there were 137,758 people, 52,482 households, and 32,801 families residing in Santa Fe County. It is the 3rd fastest-growing county in New Mexico behind Sandoval and San Juan. It is also the 3rd largest county, behind Bernalillo and Dona Ana.

Density

The population density was 68 people per square mile. There were 57,701 housing units at an average density of 30 units per square mile. (Point of reference - City of Santa Fe: population density is 1,666.1 people per square mile and 30,533 housing units at an average density of 817.8/sq. mi.)

Race

The racial makeup of the County is:

73.52% White*
49.04% Hispanic or Latino of any race*
17.74% other races
4.07% two or more races
3.08% Native American
0.88% Asian
0.64% Black or African American
0.07% Pacific Islander

*Race and ethnicity were considered separate and distinct identities, with Hispanic or Latino origin asked as a separate question.

Family

There were 52,482 households out of which 30.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.5% were married couples living together, 11.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.5% were non-families. 29.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.42 and the average family size was 3.01.

Age

29.7% from 25 to 44
27.3% from 45 to 64
24.1% under 18
10.8% who were 65+
8.1% from 18 to 24
Median age is 38

Gender

The median income for a household in the County is $42,207, and the median income for a family is $50,000. Males have a median income of $33,287 versus $27,780 for females. The per capita income for the County is $23,594. About 9.4% of families and 12% of the population are below the poverty line, including 15.2% of those under age 18 and 9.7% of those age 65 or over.

Geography

Santa Fe County has a total area of 1,911 square miles (twice as large as the state of Rhode Island and as large as Delaware). Approximately 1,909 square miles of it (99.92%) is land and 2 square miles of it (0.08%) is water. The highest point in the County is the summit of Santa Fe Baldy (12,622 ft.).

History

First established by Mexico in 1844, Santa Fe County was reestablished in 1852 as one of the first counties in the United States New Mexico Territory.

Santa Fe County Government

Elected Officials: Oversight is provided by publicly elected officials – Board of 5 County Commissioners, County Clerk, County Assessor, Treasurer, and the Sheriff.

Staff

Santa Fe County employs over 1000 people organized in four departments:

Administrative Services – responsible for the administrative support functions of County government – Finance, Information Technology, GIS, Purchasing, and General Services.
Growth Management – which consists of the Land Use, Roads, Projects/Engineering, and Utilities departments.
Community Services – including the Health and Fire departments, Teen Court, various Community Projects, and the Housing Authority.
Corrections – responsible for the Jail and Juvenile Detention facilities

These departments are given direction and resources through the Human Resources and Legal departments and the Office of the County Manager.