Chinese Population in Dona Ana County, NM by City : 2025 Ranking & Insights

Shelby County reports a total of 662 Chinese residents, with Las Cruces being the only city showing any presence - 526 residents. Hatch and Mesilla report none. The remaining population appears to reside in unincorporated areas, pointing to a rural demographic distribution outside city boundaries. Further analysis explores this rural dispersion across New Mexico.

Top 5 cities with the largest Chinese population in Dona Ana County

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  • 1
    Las Cruces
    Chinese population in Las Cruces is 526
    0.47% of Las Cruces population is Chinese
  • 2
    Hatch
    Chinese population in Hatch is 0
    - of Hatch population is Chinese
  • 3
    Mesilla
    Chinese population in Mesilla is 0
    - of Mesilla population is Chinese
  • 4
    Sunland Park
    Chinese population in Sunland Park is 0
    - of Sunland Park population is Chinese

Overview of Chinese population in Dona Ana County

  • Population Count and Percentage: American Community Survey data document Dona Ana County with 662 Chinese residents (0.3% of 221,665 total county population), positioning the jurisdiction at the 86th percentile nationally among counties and 89th percentile within New Mexico for Chinese population concentrations, despite absolute population figures.
  • Comparison to State and National Averages: Census Bureau's ACS data indicate Dona Ana County's Chinese population of 0.3% remains below New Mexico's state average of 0.4% and the national average of 1.6%, placing the county below demographic benchmarks across multiple geographic scales.
  • Share of Total State Population: Official American Community Survey data documents Dona Ana County with 662 Chinese residents, representing 7.9% of New Mexico's total Chinese population of 8,381.
  • Population Density per Square Mile: U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey indicate Dona Ana County's density of 0.17 Chinese Americans per square mile exceeds New Mexico's average of 0.069 per square mile by two and a half times, establishing the county as a significant concentration center for Chinese demographic communities.
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Dona Ana County Cities Ranked by Chinese Population

View Methodology
American Community Survey data [1] indicate 526 Chinese population in Las Cruces and zero in Hatch and Mesilla. The table below provides broader statistics, including total population figures, density measures, and demographic distributions based on current ACS data for the three incorporated cities included in this analysis*.
cities in Dona Ana County, NM ranked by Chinese population count
Rank by Chinese Population
City
Chinese Population
% of Total City Population
% of Total Dona Ana County Chinese Population
5 Year Rank Trend
1 Las Cruces 526 0.47% 79.46%
2 Hatch 0 - -
2 Mesilla 0 - -
2 Sunland Park 0 - -
Need the complete table? Full rankings and the underlying data sets for California and other locations are available for purchase or license.

Methodology

This ranking list is based on data from the American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year Estimates, conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. The ACS is one of the most reliable sources for understanding population trends across different locations, and it provides estimates for various racial and ethnic groups at city, county, state and all geography levels down to the Census block group.
This list ranks city in Dona Ana County, NM by their Chinese population, using the most recent ACS data available.

How the Census defines Chinese population

The U.S. Census Bureau allows people to self-identify their ancestry, meaning individuals can write upto ancestries when responding to the survey. In this ranking, we include everyone who identifies as having Chinese ancestry, whether alone or in combination with another ancestry.
Here are a few important things to know about how ancestry is reported:
  • Some people identify as Chinese alone, while others identify as Chinese along with another race (such as Chinese and German).
  • We’ve used the “Chinese alone or in any combination” category unless noted otherwise, which gives a broader picture of the Chinese population in each area.

How We Ranked the Data

This ranking is based on the total number of people who identified as Chinese alone or in combination in city. To provide additional context, we’ve also included two key percentages:
  1. % of Total City Population – This shows what percentage of the total state population identifies as Chinese .
  2. % of Total Dona Ana County Chinese Population – This tells us how much of the entire U.S. Chinese population lives in that state.
To keep things simple, all population numbers have been rounded to the nearest whole number, and percentages are rounded to one decimal place. Because of rounding, some percentages may not add up to exactly 100%.

Things to Keep in Mind

Like all survey-based data, ACS estimates come with some limitations. Here are a few things to be aware of:
  • In places with very small Chinese populations, the numbers may not be reported at all due to privacy protections or sampling variability in the survey.
  • Since the ACS is based on a sample, the numbers are estimates, not exact counts. That means they may slightly differ from other sources like the decennial U.S. Census.
  • City that don’t have any reported Chinese population are not included in the ranking but are listed separately below for reference.
This ranking is meant to provide a clear, data-driven look at where Chinese populations are most concentrated while keeping the numbers easy to understand.

Sources

  1. 2019-2023 5-Year Estimates.
  2. 2023.