The 10 New Mexico Cities With The Largest Black Population For 2023


We used science and data to determine which cities in New Mexico have the largest African American population.

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

There are now 42 million people who identify as Black or African American living in America, making up 12% of the total population. According to the most recent American Community Survey, the Black population in New Mexico is 37,848 - 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. As most scholars and historians agree, an increase in the 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 2023:

  1. Hobbs
  2. Clovis
  3. Alamogordo
  4. Lovington
  5. Portales
  6. Albuquerque
  7. Rio Rancho
  8. Tucumcari
  9. Las Cruces
  10. Deming

What's the blackest city in New Mexico? Hobbs took the number one over all spot for the largest Black population in New Mexico for 2023. See if it ranked as one of the most african american cities in America.

Read on below to see how we crunched the numbers and how your town ranked.

To see where New Mexico ranked as a state on diversity, we have a ranking of the most diverse states 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 2023

1. Hobbs

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 39,476
% African American: 5.21%
# Of African American Residents: 2,058
Percent Change Since 2010: -0.24%
More on Hobbs: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Hobbs, NM

Source: Public domain

2. Clovis

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 38,505
% African American: 5.21%
# Of African American Residents: 2,006
Percent Change Since 2010: -18.06%
More on Clovis: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Clovis, NM

3. Alamogordo

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 31,201
% African American: 4.39%
# Of African American Residents: 1,370
Percent Change Since 2010: -14.21%
More on Alamogordo: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Alamogordo, NM

Source: Public domain

4. Lovington

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 11,505
% African American: 3.58%
# Of African American Residents: 412
Percent Change Since 2010: -12.9%
More on Lovington: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Lovington, NM

Source: Public domain

5. Portales

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 12,151
% African American: 3.24%
# Of African American Residents: 394
Percent Change Since 2010: 90.34%
More on Portales: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Portales, NM

6. Albuquerque

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 562,336
% African American: 2.64%
# Of African American Residents: 14,831
Percent Change Since 2010: -2.53%
More on Albuquerque: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Albuquerque, NM

7. Rio Rancho

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 102,403
% African American: 2.63%
# Of African American Residents: 2,697
Percent Change Since 2010: 14.38%
More on Rio Rancho: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Rio Rancho, NM

Source: Public domain

8. Tucumcari

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 5,221
% African American: 2.47%
# Of African American Residents: 129
Percent Change Since 2010: 163.27%
More on Tucumcari: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Tucumcari, NM

9. Las Cruces

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 109,934
% African American: 2.35%
# Of African American Residents: 2,586
Percent Change Since 2010: 61.62%
More on Las Cruces: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Las Cruces, NM

Source: Public domain

10. Deming

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 14,730
% African American: 1.9%
# Of African American Residents: 280
Percent Change Since 2010: 48.15%
More on Deming: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Deming, NM

Methodology: How We Determined The Cities In New Mexico With The Largest Black Population For 2023

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

That lead us to the Census's most recently available data, the 2017-2021 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 here 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. That left us with 32 cities.

We then calculated the percent 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 percent of Black population with a higher score being more Black than a lower score. Hobbs took the distinction of being the most Black, while Aztec was the least African American city. You can download the data here.

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.

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

  1. Aztec
  2. Belen
  3. Taos

For more New Mexico reading, check out:

African American Population By City In New Mexico

Rank City % African American Population
1 Hobbs 5.21% 39,476
2 Clovis 5.21% 38,505
3 Alamogordo 4.39% 31,201
4 Lovington 3.58% 11,505
5 Portales 3.24% 12,151
6 Albuquerque 2.64% 562,336
7 Rio Rancho 2.63% 102,403
8 Tucumcari 2.47% 5,221
9 Las Cruces 2.35% 109,934
10 Deming 1.9% 14,730
11 Los Lunas 1.77% 17,072
12 Roswell 1.61% 48,347
13 Carlsbad 1.53% 31,525
14 Socorro 1.47% 8,553
15 Gallup 1.44% 21,901
16 Corrales 1.4% 8,488
17 Los Ranchos De Albuquerque 1.25% 5,904
18 Artesia 1.19% 12,637
19 Farmington 1.03% 46,696
20 Grants 1.03% 9,208
21 Las Vegas 1.03% 13,247
22 Ruidoso 1.02% 7,636
23 Santa Fe 1.02% 86,935
24 Silver City 0.96% 9,694
25 Sunland Park 0.87% 16,488
26 Raton 0.79% 6,082
27 Bernalillo 0.51% 9,049
28 Truth Or Consequences 0.49% 6,078
29 Bloomfield 0.37% 7,514
30 Taos 0.28% 6,524
31 Belen 0.0% 7,374
32 Aztec 0.0% 6,283

How Is The Area In ?

Editor's Note: We updated this article for 2023. This is our tenth time ranking the cities in New Mexico with the largest African American population.
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.