Sandoval County, New Mexico

Sandoval County population, land area and income

Sandoval County had 157,757 residents in the Census Vintage 2024 estimate, on 3,710.2 square miles of land. It ranks 4th of 33 in New Mexico by population and 18th by land area. That works out to 42.5 people per square mile, below the US average of 96.3, and below the national county median.

The median county-equivalent in New Mexico has 26,428 residents, so Sandoval County is 6.0 times that size.

Its SAIPE 2023 median household income of $81,557 is in the top quarter among 3,143 counties with an estimate.

How Sandoval County's population changed since 2020

Sandoval County gained 8,456 residents between the July 2020 and July 2024 estimates, a rise of 5.7%. That ranks 2nd of 33 in New Mexico for growth. The median New Mexico county changed by -1.3%, and the state as a whole by +0.5%.

Since the April 2020 estimates base, Sandoval County recorded 5,439 births and 6,304 deaths, a natural change of -865. Net international migration added +1,054 and net domestic migration, people moving to or from other US counties, came to +8,709. The largest single component was domestic migration, which added 8,709 people.

Where Sandoval County is

The Census internal point of Sandoval County is at 35.685100, -106.883100. It sits in UTM zone 13N. The map shades New Mexico's 33 county-equivalents by population change from 2020 to 2024, darker for faster growth, with Sandoval County outlined. Dots are towns of 1,000+ people with residents in it.

Towns in Sandoval County

3 incorporated places of 1,000+ people have residents in Sandoval County, 130,210 people together, or 83% of the county. Each figure counts only the part of the town inside Sandoval County; towns marked "part" extend into another county. The largest is Rio Rancho with 112,521.

Counties bordering Sandoval County

The Census 2024 county adjacency file lists 7 neighbors for Sandoval County. The most populous is Bernalillo County, NM, with 671,747 residents. Distances run between Census internal points in a straight line.

• Bernalillo County

  671,747 people

  45 mi SSE

• Santa Fe County

  157,765 people

  53 mi ESE

• San Juan County

  120,817 people

  99 mi NW

• McKinley County

  68,945 people

  77 mi W

• Rio Arriba County

  39,955 people

  58 mi N

• Cibola County

  26,686 people

  82 mi SW

• Los Alamos County

  19,675 people

  35 mi ENE

Distance to Santa Fe and the nearest big city

Santa Fe is 52.9 miles E of Sandoval County's internal point in a straight line. The nearest place of 100,000 or more is Rio Rancho, NM (population 112,524), 29.5 miles away.

Sandoval County FIPS code

The FIPS code of Sandoval County is 35043: state code 35 for New Mexico plus county code 043. Use it as text, with the leading zero, when joining Census, BLS, or CDC county tables. SAIPE lists its 2023 median household income as $81,557.