2024 population: 17,991 ( 695 from 2020)
Land area: 1261.9 square miles
Population density: 14.3 persons per square mile

2024 Census data
White:	9,508	52.85%	7.1%
Black:	194	1.08%	3.2%
Indian:	139	0.77%	6.9%
Asian:	170	0.94%	13.3%
2+ races:	290	1.61%	8.2%
Hispanic:	7,690	42.74%	0.3%

Total non-White:	8,483	47.15%	0.4%

2020-2024 Components	Number	Rate
Births:	837	11.2
Deaths:	1,164	15.6
Net Migration:	-414	-5.5
Net Immigration:	30	0.4

Change in White population:	-726	-3.9
Change in Non-White pop.:	31	0.2

Race Breakdown with Components of Population Change

[Display all years]

Year:

Total population:

White:

Black:

Indian:

Asian:

2+ races:

Hispanic:

Total non-White:

2020
18,686
10,234	54.77%
188	1.01%
130	0.70%
150	0.80%
268	1.43%
7,716	41.29%
8,452	45.23%

2010
18,831
10,639	56.50%
93	0.49%
111	0.59%
142	0.75%
226	1.20%
7,596	40.34%
8,192	43.50%

2000
20,311
12,014	59.15%
111	0.55%
134	0.66%
140	0.69%
260	1.28%
7,642	37.62%
8,297	40.85%

1990
20,185
12,672	62.78%
90	0.45%
144	0.71%
177	0.88%
n/a
7,102	35.18%
7,513	37.22%

1980
22,567
14,777	65.48%
100	0.44%
90	0.40%
111	0.49%
n/a
7,455	33.03%
7,790	34.52%

1970
23,523
16,062	68.28%
103	0.44%
19	0.08%
77	0.33%
n/a
7,126	30.29%
7,461	31.72%

Decade:

Components:

Births:

Deaths:

Net Migration:

Net Immigration:

Change in White population:

Change in Non-White pop.:

Number	Rate
2010's
2,032	10.8
2,198	11.7
-401	-2.1
16	0.1

-405	-2.2
260	1.4

Number	Rate
2000's
2,631	13.0
2,172	10.7
-2,227	-11.0
219	1.1

-1,375	-6.8
-105	-0.5

Number	Rate
1990's
2,934	14.5
2,445	12.1
-476	-2.4
205	1.0

-658	-3.3
784	3.9

Number	Rate
1980's
3,625	16.1
2,380	10.5
-3,545	-15.7
n/a

-2,105	-9.3
-277	-1.2

Number	Rate
1970's
n/a
n/a
-2,747	-11.7
n/a

-1,285	-5.5
329	1.4

Age, Family & Household Data for Otero County, CO

[Display all years]

Year:

Median Age:

Under 18:

Voting Age Population:

Over 65:

Households:

Persons Per HH:

Families (%HH):

Married Couples (%Fams):

Single Mothers (%Fams):

Non-Family (%HH):

2022
Number	Percent
40.5
4,340	24.1%
13,651	75.9%
3,920	21.8%

7,594
2.39

4,719	62.1%
3,294	69.8%
292	6.2%
2,875	37.9%

2010
Number	Percent
40.9
4,660	24.7%
14,171	75.3%
3,458	18.4%

7,729
2.38

5,035	65.1%
3,555	70.6%
650	12.9%
2,694	34.9%

2000
Number	Percent
37.8
5,452	26.8%
14,859	73.2%
3,274	16.1%

7,902
2.50

5,478	69.3%
4,202	76.7%
655	12.0%
2,424	30.7%

1990
Number	Percent
35.0
5,806	28.8%
14,379	71.2%
3,400	16.8%

7,625
2.58

5,501	72.1%
4,361	79.3%
639	11.6%
2,124	27.9%

1980
Number	Percent
30.6
6,958	30.8%
15,609	69.2%
3,265	14.5%

7,929
2.78

5,948	75.0%
5,153	86.6%
429	7.2%
1,981	25.0%

2022 Housing Data for Otero County, CO

Household Income
Range	Number	%
Less than $10,000	536	7.1%
$10,000 to $14,999	396	5.2%
$15,000 to $19,999	526	6.9%
$20,000 to $24,999	387	5.1%
$25,000 to $29,999	423	5.6%
$30,000 to $34,999	557	7.3%
$35,000 to $39,999	505	6.6%
$40,000 to $44,999	298	3.9%
$45,000 to $49,999	256	3.4%
$50,000 to $59,999	579	7.6%
$60,000 to $74,999	986	13.0%
$75,000 to $99,999	745	9.8%
$100,000 to $124,999	517	6.8%
$125,000 to $149,999	510	6.7%
$150,000 to $199,999	239	3.1%
$200,000 or more	134	1.8%

Median Household Income	47,500
Per Capita Income	25,789

Cost of Living Index (100 = average)
Compared to state	69
Compared to U.S.	79

Welfare Households
	Number	%
SSI	668	8.8%
Public Assistance	555	7.3%
Public Asst. or Food Stamps	1,825	24.0%

Labor Force, Ages 25-64
	Number	%
Employed	3,957	64.8%
Unemployed	162	2.7%
In Armed Forces	0	0.0%

Total Labor Force	4,119	67.4%
Not in Labor Force	1,990	32.6%

Real Unemployment Rate		35.2%

Class of Worker
	Male	Female	% Male
Private Sector	2,389	1,526	61.0%
Non-Profit	198	448	30.7%
Self-Employed	492	234	67.8%

Local Government	423	661	39.0%
State Government	243	312	43.8%
Federal Government	127	107	54.3%

Total Private + Self	2,881	1,760	62.1%
Total Non-Profit + Govt.	991	1,528	39.3%
Total	3,872	3,288	54.1%

Pct. Govt.	26.2%

Occupation
	Number	%
Management, Business, Science, Arts	994	13.9%
Sales and Office Occupations	1,306	18.2%
Professional, Technical	1,392	19.4%
Service Occupations	1,110	15.5%
Farming, Forestry, Fishing	197	2.7%
All others	2,367	33.0%

White Collar		51.5%

Industry
	Number	%
Health care and social assistance	1,195	16.7%
Educational services	939	13.1%
Manufacturing	788	11.0%
Retail trade	781	10.9%
Public administration	564	7.9%
Construction	543	7.6%
Accommodation and food services	482	6.7%
Agriculture, forestry, fishing, hunting	411	5.7%
Transportation and warehousing	304	4.2%
Other services	270	3.8%
Arts, entertainment, recreation	158	2.2%
Information	158	2.2%
Finance and insurance	116	1.6%
Administrative, support, waste mgmt.	98	1.4%
Real estate and rental and leasing	85	1.2%
Professional, scientific, technical	84	1.2%
Wholesale trade	79	1.1%
Utilities	71	1.0%
Mining, quarrying, oil/gas extraction	43	0.6%

Hispanic Breakdown
Country	Number	%
Mexican	6,604	35.54%
Puerto Rican	14	0.08%
Cuban	4	0.02%
Dominican	0	0.00%

Total Central American	27	0.15%
Costa Rican	27	0.15%
Guatemalan	0	0.00%
Honduran	0	0.00%
Nicaraguan	0	0.00%
Panamanian	0	0.00%
Salvadoran	0	0.00%
Other Central American	0	0.00%

Total South American	130	0.70%
Argentinean	0	0.00%
Bolivian	0	0.00%
Chilean	0	0.00%
Colombian	0	0.00%
Ecuadorian	105	0.57%
Paraguayan	0	0.00%
Peruvian	20	0.11%
Uruguayan	0	0.00%
Venezuelan	5	0.03%
Other South American	0	0.00%

Other Hispanic	1,188	6.39%

Asian Breakdown
Country	Number	%
Vietnamese	62	0.33%
Korean	42	0.23%
Filipino	36	0.19%
Indian	8	0.04%
Chinese	4	0.02%

Language Spoken at Home
Language	Number	%
English	15,006	85.6%
Spanish	2,415	13.8%
German, other Germanic	43	0.2%
Other	22	0.1%
Other Asian	13	0.1%
Other Indo-European	10	0.1%
French, Haitian, Cajun	8	0.0%
Russian, Polish, other Slavic	5	0.0%
Tagalog	5	0.0%

Ancestry
Country	Number	%
German	2,719	14.6%
English	1,880	10.1%
Irish	1,476	7.9%
American	742	4.0%
Italian	644	3.5%
French	346	1.9%
Dutch	310	1.7%
Scottish	289	1.6%
European	234	1.3%
Scotch-Irish	186	1.0%
Swedish	126	0.7%
Danish	105	0.6%
British	98	0.5%
Norwegian	91	0.5%
Arab	83	0.4%

Citizenship & Nativity
	Number	%
U.S. citizen	18,227	98.1%
Not a citizen	353	1.9%

Native	17,814	95.9%
Foreign-born	766	4.1%

Educational Attainment, Population 25 Years and Older
475	3.8%	1,037	8.2%	4,120	32.6%	4,693	37.1%	1,399	11.1%	917	7.3%
Average years of education: 12.9

Population 25 Years and Older
< 9 Years	475	3.8%
9-12 Years	1,037	8.2%
H.S. Grad or GED	4,120	32.6%
Some College	4,693	37.1%
Bach. Degree	1,399	11.1%
Grad Degree	917	7.3%
Average years of education: 12.9

Labor Force Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics
Year	Labor Force	Employed	Unemployed	Unemp. Rate	State Avg.
1990	8,500	7,899	601	7.1%	5.1%
1991	8,515	7,934	581	6.8%	5.3%
1992	8,368	7,734	634	7.6%	6.1%
1993	8,380	7,861	519	6.2%	5.4%
1994	8,618	8,137	481	5.6%	4.2%
1995	9,054	8,573	481	5.3%	4.0%
1996	9,180	8,636	544	5.9%	4.2%
1997	9,145	8,687	458	5.0%	3.4%
1998	9,242	8,732	510	5.5%	3.6%
1999	9,061	8,619	442	4.9%	3.0%

2000	8,815	8,436	379	4.3%	2.7%
2001	9,086	8,665	421	4.6%	3.8%
2002	9,573	9,000	573	6.0%	5.7%
2003	9,282	8,675	607	6.5%	6.1%
2004	9,345	8,770	575	6.2%	5.6%
2005	9,355	8,755	600	6.4%	5.1%
2006	9,389	8,827	562	6.0%	4.2%
2007	8,887	8,449	438	4.9%	3.7%
2008	8,763	8,241	522	6.0%	4.9%
2009	9,330	8,640	690	7.4%	7.9%

2010	8,464	7,650	814	9.6%	9.2%
2011	8,463	7,587	876	10.4%	8.7%
2012	8,379	7,508	871	10.4%	8.0%
2013	8,199	7,405	794	9.7%	6.7%
2014	7,966	7,360	606	7.6%	5.0%
2015	7,877	7,437	440	5.6%	3.7%
2016	8,110	7,745	365	4.5%	3.1%
2017	8,247	7,928	319	3.9%	2.6%
2018	8,371	7,976	395	4.7%	3.0%
2019	8,305	7,977	328	3.9%	2.7%

2020	8,228	7,720	508	6.2%	7.3%
2021	7,980	7,457	523	6.6%	5.4%
2022	7,841	7,515	326	4.2%	3.0%
2023	7,664	7,346	318	4.1%	3.2%
2024	7,258	6,861	397	5.5%	4.3%

Housing Data
	Number	%
Housing Units	8,735
Median Value	$132,600

Occupied	7,594	86.9%
Vacant	1,141	13.1%

Owned	5,282	69.6%
Rented	2,312	30.4%
Median Rent	$802

Single-Family Units	6,844	78.4%
Detached	6,685	76.5%
Attached	159	1.8%
Buldings with 5+ Units	807	9.2%
Mobile Homes	724	8.3%

Otero County, CO

Race Breakdown with Components of Population Change

Age, Family & Household Data for Otero County, CO

2022 Housing Data for Otero County, CO

2022 Income & Employment Data for Otero County, CO

2022 Ancestry, Citizenship & Language Data for Otero County, CO

2022 Educational Attainment Data for Otero County, CO

Historical Labor Force Data for Otero County, CO