New Mexico’s Hispanic population is the ninth-largest in the nation. More than 874,000 Hispanics reside in New Mexico, 2% of all Hispanics in the United States. There are 501,000 eligible Hispanic voters in New Mexico, 3% of all U.S. Hispanic eligible voters.1 This fact sheet provides key demographic information on Latino eligible voters.2 It also contains data on other major groups of eligible voters in New Mexico, with comparative data for the U.S. All data are from the Census Bureau’s 2006 American Community Survey.3

Hispanics in New Mexico’s Eligible Voter Population

  • New Mexico’s population is 45% Hispanic, the highest Hispanic population share nationally.
  • 38% of eligible voters in New Mexico are Latinos, the largest Hispanic eligible voter population share nationally.
  • 57% of Latinos in New Mexico are eligible to vote, ranking 4th nationwide in the share of the Hispanic population that is eligible to vote.

Characteristics of Eligible Voters

  • 29% of Hispanic eligible voters in New Mexico are ages 18 to 29. By contrast, 23% of all New Mexico eligible voters and 22% of all U.S. eligible voters are in that range.
  • Hispanic eligible voters in New Mexico are just as likely as all eligible voters in the U.S. to be citizens by birth—93% in both cases. They are more likely to be U.S. citizens by birth (93%) than all Hispanic eligible voters nationwide (74%).
  • 23% of Latino eligible voters in New Mexico have not completed high school compared with 27% of all Latino eligible voters nationwide. By contrast, 15% of all New Mexico eligible voters and 14% of all eligible voters nationwide have not completed high school.
  • Almost three quarters of New Mexico Hispanic eligible voters live in owner-occupied homes compared with 6 in 10 Hispanic eligible voters nationwide. A slightly greater share of Hispanic eligible voters in New Mexico live in owner-occupied homes than do all U.S. eligible voters—74% versus 71%.

Characteristics of Eligible Voters in New Mexico, by Race and Ethnicity

  • Latino eligible voters outnumber Native American eligible voters in New Mexico by more than 4 to 1.
  • Latino and Native American eligible voters are younger than white eligible voters in New Mexico. About 29% of Latinos are ages 18 to 29, as are 33% of New Mexico Native American eligible voters, compared with 17% of white eligible voters.
  • Similar shares of New Mexico Hispanic and white eligible voters live in owner-occupied homes—74% and 75% respectively. A somewhat smaller share of Native American eligible voters live in owner-occupied homes (65%).