Guadalupe County () is a

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

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 ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 4,452. Its

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

is Santa Rosa.

History

Guadalupe County was named after ''Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe'' (

Our Lady of Guadalupe Our Lady of Guadalupe (), also known as the Virgin of Guadalupe (), is a Catholic title of the Blessed Virgin Mary associated with four Marian apparitions to Juan Diego and one to his uncle, Juan Bernardino reported in December 1531, when t ...

) or after the ''Mesita de Guadalupe'' (Guadalupe Plain). The county was created from the southern portion of San Miguel County February 26, 1891, by an act of the New Mexico Territorial Legislature. The original county seat was Puerto De Luna, but was moved north to Santa Rosa in 1903. That same year, after the popular

Spanish–American War The Spanish–American War (April 21 – August 13, 1898) was fought between Restoration (Spain), Spain and the United States in 1898. It began with the sinking of the USS Maine (1889), USS ''Maine'' in Havana Harbor in Cuba, and resulted in the ...

of 1898, the county's name was changed to

Leonard Wood Leonard Wood (October 9, 1860 – August 7, 1927) was a United States Army major general, physician, and public official. He served as the Chief of Staff of the United States Army, List of colonial governors of Cuba, Military Governor of Cuba, ...

County after the Presidential physician, Major-General in the

Rough Riders The Rough Riders was a nickname given to the 1st United States Volunteer Cavalry, one of three such regiments raised in 1898 for the Spanish–American War and the only one to see combat. The United States Army was small, understaffed, and diso ...

, and recipient of the

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, military decoration and is awarded to recognize American United States Army, soldiers, United States Navy, sailors, Un ...

. The name was later changed back to Guadalupe County. The County contains whole, or parts of, several previous Spanish land grants to include the Aqua Negra, the Jose Perea, the Anton Chico, and the Preston Beck land grants.

Geography

According to the

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

, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.04%) is water.

Adjacent counties

* San Miguel County – north * Quay County – east * De Baca County – south * Lincoln County – south * Torrance County – west

Demographics

2000 census

As of the 2000 census, there were 4,680 people, 1,655 households, and 1,145 families living in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . There were 2,160 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 54.1%

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 ...

, 1.3%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

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 ...

, 1.1% Native American, 0.5% Asian, nil%

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 ...

, 39.1% from other races, and 3.6% from two or more races. 81.2% of the population were

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. There were 1,655 households, out of which 33.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.5% 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, 14.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.8% were non-families. 27.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.51 and the average family size was 3.05. In the county, the population was spread out, with 24.4% under the age of 18, 9.2% from 18 to 24, 30.7% from 25 to 44, 21.9% from 45 to 64, and 13.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 121.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 126.3 males. The median income for a household in the county was $24,783, and the median income for a family was $28,279. Males had a median income of $22,463 versus $18,500 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 county was $11,241. About 18.1% of families and 21.60% 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 24.1% of those under age 18 and 19.4% of those age 65 or over.

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 4,687 people, 1,766 households, and 1,114 families living in the county. The population density was . There were 2,393 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 70.4% white, 1.9% American Indian, 1.7% black or African American, 1.3% Asian, 21.4% from other races, and 3.3% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 79.6% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 8.3% were

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

, and 2.4% were American. Of the 1,766 households, 30.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.9% were married couples living together, 15.2% had a female householder with no husband present, 36.9% were non-families, and 32.4% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.33 and the average family size was 2.93. The median age was 40.1 years. The median income for a household in the county was $28,488 and the median income for a family was $37,535. Males had a median income of $36,494 versus $23,984 for females. The per capita income for the county was $13,710. About 21.7% of families and 28.2% of the population were below the

, including 46.7% of those under age 18 and 27.4% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

City

* Santa Rosa (county seat)

Town

* Vaughn

Census-designated places

* Anton Chico * Llano del Medio * Newkirk * Pastura * Puerto de Luna

Politics

Guadalupe County leans Democratic, and has voted for the Democratic nominee in every presidential election since 1988. In 2024, however, Guadalupe County saw a trend toward the Republican Party in line with majority-Hispanic counties nationally when

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

came within less than 1% of flipping it, with

Kamala Harris Kamala Devi Harris ( ; born October 20, 1964) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 49th vice president of the United States from 2021 to 2025 under President Joe Biden. She is the first female, first African American, and ...

holding it by a plurality and winning by only 14 votes. This was the best performance for a Republican in the county since Reagan won it in 1984.

Education

The county has two school districts serving sections:

Santa Rosa Consolidated Schools Santa Rosa Consolidated School District, also known as Santa Rosa Consolidated Schools (SRCS), is a school district headquartered in Santa Rosa, New Mexico Santa Rosa is a city in and the county seat of Guadalupe County, New Mexico, Guadalupe ...

and Vaughn Municipal Schools.
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References

External links

Profile
from the

National Association of Counties The National Association of Counties (NACo) is an organization that represents County (United States), county governments in the United States.

{{Coord, 34.86, -104.78, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-NM_source:UScensus1990 1891 establishments in New Mexico Territory Populated places established in 1891 Hispanic and Latino American culture in New Mexico