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Cibola County, New Mexico facts for kids

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Cibola County
Cibola County Courthouse in Grants
Cibola County Courthouse in Grants
Map of New Mexico highlighting Cibola County
Location within the U.S. state of New Mexico
Map of the United States highlighting New Mexico
New Mexico's location within the U.S.
Country  United States
State  New Mexico
Founded June 19, 1981
Named for Mythical Seven Cities of Cibola
Seat Grants
Largest city Grants
Area
 • Total 4,542 sq mi (11,760 km2)
 • Land 4,539 sq mi (11,760 km2)
 • Water 2.3 sq mi (6 km2)  0.05%%
Population
 (2020)
 • Total 27,172
 • Density 6.0/sq mi (2.3/km2)
Time zone UTC−7 (Mountain)
 • Summer (DST) UTC−6 (MDT)
Congressional district 2nd

Cibola County is a county in the U.S. state of New Mexico. As of the 2020 census, the population was 27,172. Its county seat is Grants. It is New Mexico's youngest county, and the third youngest county in the United States, created on June 19, 1981, from the westernmost four-fifths of the formerly much larger Valencia County.

Cibola County comprises the Grants, New Mexico Micropolitan Statistical Area. The county is a rich mining area with numerous Uranium mines.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has an area of 4,542 square miles (11,760 km2), of which 4,539 square miles (11,760 km2) is land and 2.3 square miles (6.0 km2) (0.05%) is water.

Adjacent counties

National protected areas

Demographics

Historical population
Census Pop.
1990 23,794
2000 25,595 7.6%
2010 27,213 6.3%
2020 27,172 −0.2%
U.S. Decennial Census
1790-1960 1900-1990
1990-2000 2010

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 27,213 people, 8,860 households, and 6,274 families living in the county. The population density was 6.0 inhabitants per square mile (2.3 inhabitants/km2). There were 11,101 housing units at an average density of 2.4 units per square mile (0.93 units/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 41.8% white, 41.0% American Indian, 1.0% black or African American, 0.5% Asian, 0.1% Pacific islander, 12.4% from other races, and 3.1% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 36.5% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 5.4% were Irish, and 1.5% were American.

Of the 8,860 households, 38.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.1% were married couples living together, 20.8% had a female householder with no husband present, 29.2% were non-families, and 24.9% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.79 and the average family size was 3.30. The median age was 36.6 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $37,361 and the median income for a family was $41,187. Males had a median income of $36,027 versus $25,318 for females. The per capita income for the county was $14,712. About 20.1% of families and 24.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 32.7% of those under age 18 and 14.3% of those age 65 or over.

Education

MiningMuseumGrants
The Mining Museum in Grants

School districts serving portions of the county include:

  • Grants-Cibola County Schools
  • Quemado Independent Schools
  • Zuni Public Schools

All public schools in the county are operated by Grants/Cibola County Schools; the Quemado and Zuni facilities are in other counties.

Due to an agreement between Cibola County and McKinley County, residents of the Ramah Navajo Indian Reservation are bussed to schools in Ramah in McKinley County (including Ramah Middle/High School) even though they are physically in Cibola County, due to the long distance to the nearest Cibola County schools from the reservation.

Corrections

Cibola County is home to three prisons:

  • the Cibola County Correctional Center, operated by Corrections Corporation of America, housing 1129 federal inmates under a contract with the Federal Bureau of Prisons and the United States Marshal Service
  • the New Mexico Women's Correctional Facility, run by CCA for the state of New Mexico, and
  • Western New Mexico Correctional Facility, owned and operated by the state, with about 440 male inmates

In November 2018, following a private autopsy, a unit of the Cibola County Correctional Center (CCCC) was named in the abuse and wrongful death on May 25, 2018, of Roxsana Hernández Rodríguez. Rodríguez was a 33yo transgender immigrant from Honduras. The CCCC is operated under contract by CoreCivic.

Communities

Acoma Pueblo New Mexico
Acoma Pueblo, "Sky City", 2008
Timothy O'Sullivan, South side of Inscription Rock, New Mexico, 1873
South side of Inscription Rock, El Morro National Monument. Photo by Timothy H. O'Sullivan, 1873.

City

Village

Census-designated places

There are 32 Census Designated Places contained within the county, largely designated in 1980.

Unincorporated communities

Ghost towns

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Condado de Cíbola para niños

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