Los Alamos County, New Mexico facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Los Alamos County
U.S. county
Ashley Pond Park in Los Alamos, New Mexico
Flag Logo
Location within the U.S. state of New Mexico
New Mexico's location within the U.S.
Country	United States
State	New Mexico
Founded	1949
Seat	Los Alamos
Largest community	Los Alamos
Area
• Land	109 sq mi (280 km2)
• Water	0.09 sq mi (0.2 km2)  0.08%%
Population  (2020)
• Total	19,419
• Density	178/sq mi (69/km2)
Time zone	UTC−7 (Mountain)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−6 (MDT)
Congressional district	3rd

Los Alamos County (English: "The Poplars" or "Cottonwoods"; Spanish: Condado de Los Álamos) is a county in the U.S. state of New Mexico. As of the 2020 census, the population was 19,419. The smallest county by area in the state, Los Alamos County was formerly administered exclusively by the U.S. federal government during the Manhattan Project, but it now has equal status to New Mexico's other counties. The county has two census-designated places: Los Alamos and White Rock.

Los Alamos County comprises the Los Alamos Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the Albuquerque–Santa Fe–Las Vegas combined statistical area.

The county is home to the Los Alamos National Laboratory. Los Alamos County is noted for having the lowest level of child poverty of any county in the United States.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 109 square miles (280 km²), of which 109 square miles (280 km²) is land and 0.09 square miles (0.23 km²) (0.08%) is water. It is the smallest county by area in New Mexico. There is no significant open water in the county. The county's highest point is located along its northern border, near the summit of Caballo Mountain, at 10,480 feet (3,190 m) above sea level.

Adjacent counties

• Rio Arriba County – north, northwest, northeast
• Santa Fe County – east
• Sandoval County – south, southwest, northwest

Pueblos with adjacent territories

• Santa Clara Pueblo – northeast
• San Ildefonso Pueblo – east

National protected areas

• Bandelier National Monument (part)
• Santa Fe National Forest (part)

Demographics

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 17,950 people, 7,663 households, and 5,199 families living in the county. The population density was 164.4 inhabitants per square mile (63.5/km²). There were 8,354 housing units at an average density of 76.5 units per square mile (29.5 units/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 87.8% white, 6.0% Asian, 0.8% American Indian, 0.6% black or African American, 0.1% Pacific islander, 2.2% from other races, and 2.6% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 14.7% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 18.9% were German, 16.5% were English, 13.2% were Irish, and 6.5% were American.

Of the 7,663 households, 31.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.1% were married couples living together, 6.4% had a female householder with no husband present, 32.2% were non-families, and 28.5% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.33 and the average family size was 2.86. The median age was 44.3 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $103,643 and the median income for a family was $118,993. Males had a median income of $93,040 versus $51,753 for females. The per capita income for the county was $49,474. About 1.4% of families and 2.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.8% of those under age 18 and 2.4% of those age 65 or over.

Quality of life

In a study conducted by American City Business Journals in 2004, Los Alamos County topped the list as the best place to live in the United States in terms of quality of life. This was attributed to the high levels of job stability, income and education of Los Alamos residents, many of whom are employed as scientists and engineers at the Los Alamos National Laboratory. The county has one of the highest number of PhDs per capita and the 2011 median household income of $110,204 per year is the second highest among all the counties in the U.S. In per capita income, Los Alamos County ranks 1st in New Mexico and 7th in the United States, and has the second-lowest level of poverty in the United States, and the lowest level of child poverty. Other factors contributing to Los Alamos's high quality-of-life index were the access to affordable housing and short commuting times.

In 2021, Los Alamos County was judged by the U.S. News & World Report to be the healthiest of 3,143 counties and county-equivalents of the United States based on 84 different factors. Residents of the county lived 83.4 years on the average compared to the U.S. average of 77.5 years.

Communities

• Los Alamos (county seat)
• White Rock

Education

All of the county is in the boundary of Los Alamos Public Schools. Los Alamos High School is the comprehensive high school.

Energy

Current energy resources

Starting in 1985, Los Alamos County, including both the White Rock and Los Alamos communities, has shared energy resources with the Los Alamos National Laboratory.

Future energy resources

Both Los Alamos County and the Los Alamos National Laboratory are trying to reduce their respective carbon emissions in order to help mitigate the continually worsening dangers of climate change. In 2015, Los Alamos County joined with the Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems in the Carbon Free Power Project. The Project planned to use NuScale Power’s Small Module Reactor design to provide nuclear energy to counties across the United States, but was cancelled in 2023 because of cost increases. Los Alamos’ history is tied to nuclear energy, which has an environmental impact comparable to that of renewables as a source of domestic power. This is true of both large and small module reactors.

See also

In Spanish: Condado de Los Álamos para niños