Lovington is a city in and the

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 ...

of Lea 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 11,009 at the 2010 census, up from 9,471 in 2000.

Geography

Lovington is located slightly north of the center of Lea County. 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 ...

, Lovington has a total area of , of which , or 0.26%, are water.

Demographics

At the 2000 census there were 9,471 people, 3,297 households, and 2,459 families living in the city. The population density was . There were 3,823 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 59.85% White, 3.03% African American, 0.78% Native American, 0.48% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 32.74% from other races, and 3.06% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 52.12%. Of the 3,297 households 41.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.0% were married couples living together, 13.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.4% were non-families. 22.8% of households were one person and 11.5% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.80 and the average family size was 3.29. The age distribution was 31.8% under the age of 18, 10.9% from 18 to 24, 25.8% from 25 to 44, 18.8% from 45 to 64, and 12.6% 65 or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.3 males. The median household income was $26,458 and the median family income was $30,064. Males had a median income of $28,547 versus $19,826 for females. The per capita income for the city was $12,752. About 20.1% of families and 22.1% 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 28.1% of those under age 18 and 16.2% of those age 65 or over.

Infrastructure

Transportation

Highways

US 82 U.S. Route 82 (US 82) is an east–west United States Numbered Highways, United States highway in the Southern United States. Created on July 1, 1931 across central Mississippi and southern Arkansas, US 82 eventually became a route extend ...

passes through the center of town, leading west to Artesia and northeast to

Plains, Texas Plains is a town in and the county seat of Yoakum County of western Texas, United States. The city's population was 1,355 at the 2020 census. Yoakum County is in the Texas High Plains Wine country. History In 1905, W. J. Luna founded and named ...

. *

New Mexico State Road 18 State Road 18 (NM 18) is a state highway in the US state of New Mexico. Its total length is approximately . NM 18's southern terminus is a continuation as Texas State Highway 18 (SH 18) south-southeast of Jal, and the northern ...

leads southeast from Lovington to

Hobbs Hobbs may refer to: Surname * Hobbs (surname) Fictional * Russel Hobbs of the virtual band Gorillaz * Luke Hobbs, a character from ''The Fast and the Furious'' film series * Lynne Hobbs, a character from ''EastEnders'' * Garry Hobbs, a chara ...

, the largest city in Lea County. * State Road 83 leads east to the

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

border, where Texas State Highway 83 continues east to

Denver City, Texas Denver City is a city located in Yoakum County in the far western portion of the U.S. state of Texas, near the New Mexico boundary. It is named for the petroleum company Denver Productions. Its population was 4,470 at the 2020 census, down fro ...

Railroad

The Texas & New Mexico Railway provides freight service. Lovington is the northern terminus of this line.

Education

Lovington Municipal Schools is the area school district. It operates Lovington High School.

Notable people

* Ray Berry, American football player *

Ronnie Black Ronald Jay Black (born May 26, 1958) is an American professional golfer who has played on the PGA Tour, Nationwide Tour and Champions Tour. Early life and amateur career Black was born in Lovington, New Mexico. He attended Lamar University in ...

, professional golfer *

Taymon Domzalski Jerome Taymon Domzalski (born May 7, 1977) is an American former professional basketball player. At 6-foot, 10-inches, he played center and power forward positions throughout his collegiate and professional basketball career. He is the first and ...

, retired professional and

Duke University Duke University is a Private university, private research university in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity, North Carolina, Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1 ...

basketball star * Paul L. Foster, billionaire and President of Western Refining * Shirley Hooper, 18th

Secretary of State of New Mexico The secretary of state of New Mexico is a constitutional officer in the executive branch of government of the U.S. state of New Mexico. Twenty-six individuals have held the office of secretary of state since statehood. Since 1923, every elected ...

* Sean Murphy, professional golfer * Earlene Roberts (1935–2013), politician *

Ralph Tasker Ralph Edwin Tasker (July 15, 1919 - July 19, 1999) was a high school boys' basketball coach. He coached for over 50 years, including 49 years at Hobbs High School in Hobbs, New Mexico. He won twelve New Mexico Boys' State Basketball Championships: ...

, basketball coach *

Titanic Thompson Alvin Clarence Thomas (November 30, 1893 – May 19, 1974), better known as Titanic Thompson, was an American gambler, golfer, and hustler, who killed five men but was never charged with a crime. Thompson traveled the country wagering at cards, ...

, legendary gambler, raconteur *

Brian Urlacher Brian Urlacher (; born May 25, 1978) is an American former professional football linebacker who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons with the Chicago Bears. He played college football for the New Mexico Lobos, earning co ...

, retired

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The N ...

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player, pro football hall of fame class of 2018

References

External links

* {{authority control Cities in New Mexico Cities in Lea County, New Mexico County seats in New Mexico