Italian Population in New Mexico by County : 2025 Ranking & Insights

According to U.S. Census estimates, the Italian population in New Mexico stands at 50,310. Every county reports a non-zero population, with Bernalillo County leading at 22,730, followed by Sandoval County (5,993) and Santa Fe County (4,887). The combined total across counties is slightly lower than the statewide figure - a gap that may reflect rounding, data lag, or unassigned residents in certain census tracts. This analysis ranks all counties in New Mexico by their Italian population, offering a localized perspective on how the community is distributed across the state.

Top 5 counties with the largest Italian population in New Mexico

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  • 1
    Bernalillo County
    Italian population in Bernalillo County is 22,730
    3.37% of Bernalillo County population is Italian
  • 2
    Sandoval County
    Italian population in Sandoval County is 5,993
    3.95% of Sandoval County population is Italian
  • 3
    Santa Fe County
    Italian population in Santa Fe County is 4,887
    3.15% of Santa Fe County population is Italian
  • 4
    Dona Ana County
    Italian population in Dona Ana County is 2,958
    1.33% of Dona Ana County population is Italian
  • 5
    Otero County
    Italian population in Otero County is 1,571
    2.30% of Otero County population is Italian

Overview of Italian population in New Mexico

  • Population Count and Percentage: American Community Survey documents New Mexico with 50,310 Italian residents (2.4% of 2.1 million total state population), ranking the state at the 20th percentile nationally among U.S. jurisdictions for Italian demographic representation.
  • Comparison to State and National Averages: U.S. Census surveys show New Mexico's Italian demographic representation of 2.4% remains below the national average of 4.9%, positioning the state below typical U.S. demographic distribution patterns.
  • Share of Total National Population: Official American Community Survey data indicates New Mexico contains 50,310 Italian residents, representing less than 1% of the nation's total Italian population of 16.2 million, constituting a minimal fraction of the national demographic community relative to the state's overall population size.
  • Population Density per Square Mile: U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey data indicate New Mexico maintains fewer than 1 Italian per square mile, compared to the national average of 4.6 per square mile, placing the state among jurisdictions with minimal demographic representation nationally.
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32 Counties in New Mexico Ranked by Italian Population

View Methodology
American Community Survey data [1] show Italian populations across every county in New Mexico, with demographic distributions ranging from the highest population in Bernalillo County to the lowest in $rank_n_geo_name. The table below provides broader statistics, including total population figures, density measures, and demographic distributions based on current ACS data for all counties included in this analysis*.
counties in New Mexico ranked by Italian population count
Rank by Italian Population
County
Italian Population
% of Total County Population
% of Total New Mexico Italian Population
5 Year Rank Trend
1 Bernalillo County 22,730 3.37% 45.18%
2 Sandoval County 5,993 3.95% 11.91%
3 Santa Fe County 4,887 3.15% 9.71%
4 Dona Ana County 2,958 1.33% 5.88%
5 Otero County 1,571 2.30% 3.12%
6 Valencia County 1,236 1.60% 2.46%
7 San Juan County 1,150 0.95% 2.29%
8 1,027 2.14% 2.04%
9 756 1.24% 1.50%
10 713 2.07% 1.42%
11 711 3.74% 1.41%
12 632 5.49% 1.26%
13 587 0.80% 1.17%
14 498 4.04% 0.99%
15 476 0.74% 0.95%
16 427 2.79% 0.85%
17 412 1.52% 0.82%
18 409 1.47% 0.81%
19 355 1.76% 0.71%
20 347 0.49% 0.69%
21 332 0.83% 0.66%
22 321 1.26% 0.64%
23 233 0.86% 0.46%
24 216 2.51% 0.43%
25 208 1.28% 0.41%
26 110 2.72% 0.22%
27 84 1.92% 0.17%
28 76 2.06% 0.15%
29 68 1.63% 0.14%
30 31 0.76% 0.06%
31 8 0.51% 0.02%
32 4 0.53% 0.01%
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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 county in New Mexico by their Italian population, using the most recent ACS data available.

How the Census defines Italian 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 Italian 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 Italian alone, while others identify as Italian along with another race (such as Italian and German).
  • We’ve used the “Italian alone or in any combination” category unless noted otherwise, which gives a broader picture of the Italian population in each area.

How We Ranked the Data

This ranking is based on the total number of people who identified as Italian alone or in combination in county. To provide additional context, we’ve also included two key percentages:
  1. % of Total County Population – This shows what percentage of the total state population identifies as Italian .
  2. % of Total New Mexico Italian Population – This tells us how much of the entire U.S. Italian 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 Italian 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.
  • County that don’t have any reported Italian 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 Italian populations are most concentrated while keeping the numbers easy to understand.

Sources

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