The 10 New Mexico Cities With The Largest Black Population For 2024


The most African American cities in New Mexico are Clovis and Alamogordo for 2024 based on Saturday Night Science.

Most African American cities in New Mexico research summary. We used Saturday Night Science to analyze New Mexico’s most recent Census data to determine the blackest cities in New Mexico based on the percentage of Black residents. Here are the results of our analysis:

  • The city with the largest African American population in New Mexico is Clovis based on the most recent Census data.

  • Clovis is 5.2% Black.

  • The least African American city in New Mexico is Aztec.

  • Aztec is 0.0% Black.

  • New Mexico is 1.8% Black.

  • New Mexico is the 42nd blackest state in the United States.

Cities With Highest Black Population In New Mexico Map


Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table


The Black community is one of the fastest-growing communities in America this decade.

Roughly 42 million people identifying as Black or African American live in the United States, making up 12% of the total population. According to the most recent American Community Survey, the Black population in New Mexico is 37,996 – at 1.8% of the total population of New Mexico.

The percentage growth of Blacks in America is the third largest percentage change for any race according to the Census’s race and ethnicity definition. Most scholars and historians agree that increasing diversity in America is a good thing.

We agree.

But how has the increase in the black population impacted New Mexico? Which cities and towns in New Mexico have seen the greatest increase in its Black population?

We broke down the most recent census data to determine the cities in New Mexico with the largest African American population in 2024:

What’s the blackest city in New Mexico? The city with the largest Black population in New Mexico for 2024 is Clovis. See if Clovis ranked as one of the most african american places in America.

And if you already knew these places were Black, check out the best places to live in New Mexico or the most diverse places in New Mexico.

The 10 Blackest Cities In New Mexico For 2024

1. Clovis

Clovis, NM

Source: Wikipedia User Wordbuilder | GFDL
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 38,453
% African American: 5.2%
# Of African American Residents: 1,998
Percent Change Since 2010: -18.38%
More on Clovis: Data | Cost Of Living

2. Alamogordo

Alamogordo, NM

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 30,996
% African American: 5.18%
# Of African American Residents: 1,607
Percent Change Since 2010: 0.63%
More on Alamogordo: Data | Cost Of Living

3. Hobbs

Hobbs, NM

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 39,782
% African American: 5.1%
# Of African American Residents: 2,029
Percent Change Since 2010: -1.65%
More on Hobbs: Data | Cost Of Living

4. Lovington

Lovington, NM

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 11,495
% African American: 4.26%
# Of African American Residents: 490
Percent Change Since 2010: 3.59%
More on Lovington: Data | Cost Of Living

5. Ruidoso

Ruidoso, NM

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 7,696
% African American: 3.16%
# Of African American Residents: 243
Percent Change Since 2010: inf%
More on Ruidoso: Data | Cost Of Living

6. Tucumcari

Tucumcari, NM

Source: Wikipedia User Wordbuilder | CC BY 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 5,206
% African American: 2.98%
# Of African American Residents: 155
Percent Change Since 2010: 216.33%
More on Tucumcari: Data

7. Portales

Portales, NM

Source: Wikipedia User Wordbuilder | CC BY 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 12,085
% African American: 2.93%
# Of African American Residents: 354
Percent Change Since 2010: 71.01%
More on Portales: Data | Cost Of Living

8. Rio Rancho

Rio Rancho, NM

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 104,351
% African American: 2.64%
# Of African American Residents: 2,755
Percent Change Since 2010: 16.84%
More on Rio Rancho: Data | Cost Of Living

9. Albuquerque

Albuquerque, NM

Source: Wikipedia User John Phelan | CC BY 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 562,551
% African American: 2.59%
# Of African American Residents: 14,591
Percent Change Since 2010: -4.11%
More on Albuquerque: Data | Cost Of Living

10. Las Cruces

Las Cruces, NM

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 111,273
% African American: 2.45%
# Of African American Residents: 2,721
Percent Change Since 2010: 70.06%
More on Las Cruces: Data | Cost Of Living

Methodology: How We Determined The Cities In New Mexico With The Largest Black Population For 2024

We still believe in the accuracy of data — especially from the Census. So that’s where we went to get the race breakdown across New Mexico.

That leads us to the Census’s most recently available data, the 2018-2022 American Community Survey data from the US Census.

Specifically, we looked at table B03002: Hispanic OR LATINO ORIGIN BY RACE. Here are the category names as defined by the Census:

  • Hispanic or Latino
  • White alone*
  • Black or African American alone*
  • American Indian and Alaska Native alone*
  • Asian alone*
  • Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone*
  • Some other race alone*
  • Two or more races*
* Not Hispanic or latino

Our particular column of interest was the number of people who identified as Black or African American.

We limited our analysis to non-CDPs with a population greater than 5,000 people in New Mexico. That left us with 32 cities.

We then calculated the percentage of residents that are Black or African American. The percentages ranked from 5.2% to 0.0%.

Finally, we ranked each city based on the percentage of the Black population, with a higher score being more Black than a lower score. Clovis took the distinction of being the most Black, while Aztec was the least African American city.

We updated this article for 2024. This is our tenth time ranking the cities in New Mexico with the largest African American population.

Read on for more information on how the cities in New Mexico ranked by population of African American residents or, for a more general take on diversity in America, head over to our ranking of the most diverse cities in America.

Summary: Black Populations Across New Mexico

If you’re looking for a breakdown of African American populations across New Mexico according to the most recent data, this is an accurate list.

The blackest cities in New Mexico are Clovis, Alamogordo, Hobbs, Lovington, Ruidoso, Tucumcari, Portales, Rio Rancho, Albuquerque, and Las Cruces.

If you’re curious enough, here are the least African American places in New Mexico:

  1. Aztec
  2. Taos
  3. Truth or Consequences

For more New Mexico reading, check out:

African American Population By City In New Mexico

Rank City Population African American Population % African American
1 Clovis 38,453 1,998 5.2%
2 Alamogordo 30,996 1,607 5.18%
3 Hobbs 39,782 2,029 5.1%
4 Lovington 11,495 490 4.26%
5 Ruidoso 7,696 243 3.16%
6 Tucumcari 5,206 155 2.98%
7 Portales 12,085 354 2.93%
8 Rio Rancho 104,351 2,755 2.64%
9 Albuquerque 562,551 14,591 2.59%
10 Las Cruces 111,273 2,721 2.45%
11 Corrales 8,495 183 2.15%
12 Carlsbad 31,755 607 1.91%
13 Socorro 8,605 149 1.73%
14 Roswell 48,035 831 1.73%
15 Gallup 21,672 316 1.46%
16 Las Vegas 13,194 178 1.35%
17 Los Ranchos De Albuquerque 5,894 79 1.34%
18 Los Lunas 17,452 230 1.32%
19 Grants 9,177 108 1.18%
20 Santa Fe 87,617 910 1.04%
21 Deming 14,756 149 1.01%
22 Sunland Park 16,773 131 0.78%
23 Silver City 9,650 71 0.74%
24 Farmington 46,457 323 0.7%
25 Bloomfield 7,430 35 0.47%
26 Bernalillo 9,286 41 0.44%
27 Belen 7,367 31 0.42%
28 Raton 6,046 25 0.41%
29 Artesia 12,632 52 0.41%
30 Truth Or Consequences 6,030 22 0.36%
31 Taos 6,458 17 0.26%
32 Aztec 6,214 0 0.0%
About Chris Kolmar

Chris Kolmar has been in the real estate business for almost ten years now. He originally worked for Movoto Real Estate as the director of marketing before founding HomeSnacks.

He believes the key to finding the right place to live comes down to looking at the data, reading about things to do, and, most importantly, checking it out yourself before you move.

If you've been looking for a place to live in the past several years, you've probably stumbled upon his writing already.

You can find out more about him on LinkedIn or his website.

One thought on “The 10 New Mexico Cities With The Largest Black Population For 2024

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *