South Valley is a

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

(CDP) and

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

in Bernalillo County,

New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...

, United States. The population was 38,338 at the 2020 Census. It is part of the

Albuquerque Albuquerque ( ; ), also known as ABQ, Burque, the Duke City, and in the past 'the Q', is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Bernalillo County, New Mexico, Bernal ...

Metropolitan Statistical Area. The

U.S. Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or simply the Postal Service, is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the executive branch of the federal governmen ...

uses "Albuquerque" for all South Valley addresses ( ZIP code 87105).

Geography and environment

The South Valley is located in central Bernalillo County and is bordered on the north, east, and half of its west side by the city of Albuquerque. The

Rio Grande The Rio Grande ( or ) in the United States or the Río Bravo (del Norte) in Mexico (), also known as Tó Ba'áadi in Navajo language, Navajo, is one of the principal rivers (along with the Colorado River) in the Southwestern United States a ...

runs north to south through the center of the CDP. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the CDP has a total area of , of which is land and , or 4.23%, is water. Municipal wells San Jose number 3 and San Jose number 6 were decommissioned in 1981 due to contamination with low levels of organic solvents, halocarbons and aromatics. These wells were plugged and abandoned in September 1994. The site remains on the

Superfund Superfund is a United States federal environmental remediation program established by the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA). The program is administered by the United States Environmental Pro ...

site list with on-going remedial actions to contain, capture and reduce the concentration of the contaminant plume within the ground water.

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 40,976 people, 13,802 households, and 10,087 families residing in the CDP. The population density was . There were 14,784 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the CDP was 59.5%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 1.2%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 2.2% Native American, 0.4% Asian, 0.0%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 32.7% from other races, and 4.0% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 80.2% of the population. There were 13,802 households, out of which 31.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.1% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 17.8% had a female householder with no husband present, 9.2% were a male householder with no wife present, and 26.9% were non-families. 21.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.93 and the average family size was 3.4. In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 26.8% under the age of 18, 6.9% from 20 to 24, 24.9% from 25 to 44, 21.4% from 45 to 64, and 12.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35.5 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.7 males. The median income for a household in the CDP was $36,821, and the median income for a family was $32,833. Males had a median income of $25,560 versus $21,973 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the CDP was $17,045. About 17.4% of families and 25.9% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 29.2% of those under age 18 and 17.9% of those age 65 or over.

Incorporation efforts

Presently, the South Valley is an unincorporated area in Bernalillo County that lies south of the city limits of Albuquerque. In January 2010, a special election was held in the South Valley to decide whether or not the region should incorporate into a city, to be named Valle de Atrisco. Voters in the South Valley overwhelmingly rejected incorporation by a 93 to 7 percent margin during the special election on January 5, 2010. Opponents to incorporation cited the potential costs (and tax burden for residents) for providing for education, public works, police and fire services in the South Valley because Bernalillo County would no longer be providing these services to the community following incorporation. Supporters argued in favor of incorporation to protect the community from possible

annexation Annexation, in international law, is the forcible acquisition and assertion of legal title over one state's territory by another state, usually following military occupation of the territory. In current international law, it is generally held t ...

into the City of Albuquerque, and the potential for increased taxes and perceived degradation of public services that would arise from being integrated into the city.

Education

It is zoned to Albuquerque Public Schools. Rio Grande High School is in the South Valley. - Page
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"2300 Arenal Road SW, Albuquerque, NM 87105"

References

{{authority control Census-designated places in Bernalillo County, New Mexico Census-designated places in New Mexico Albuquerque metropolitan area Superfund sites in New Mexico Mexican-American culture in Albuquerque, New Mexico