Bernalillo County, New Mexico

Bernalillo County is a county in New Mexico, United States, about 58 miles southwest of Santa
Fe, the state capital. It had a population of 676,444 at the 2020 census, an estimated 667,601 by
2024, and covers 1,167 square miles (3,020 km2) centred near 35°03′N 106°40′W.

Albuquerque is the county seat and by far the county’s largest city; its postal code is 87102.
The county holds 2 cities, 3 incorporated towns and villages, 19 census-designated places and 4
unincorporated communities — New Mexico counties do not divide into civil townships —
and it runs on Mountain Time. Its FIPS code is 35001.

Towns & Villages in Bernalillo County

Bernalillo County has 28 named places on record: 5 incorporated cities, towns and villages, 19
census-designated places (CDPs) with Census Bureau boundaries but no local government, and 4
unincorporated communities. CDP stands for census designated place; Unincorp. covers crossroads
and small settlements with no formal boundary.

Two entries need context. Rio Rancho’s 104,046 residents are almost entirely in Sandoval
County; only a narrow strip of the city’s south side reaches into Bernalillo, and the same split
applies to Edgewood, whose 6,174 residents are mostly counted in Santa Fe and Torrance counties,
with only its western edge inside Bernalillo. Isleta Village Proper is the Census Bureau’s small
named CDP inside the much larger Pueblo of Isleta reservation, most of which extends south into
Valencia County. The old version of this page also listed Barelas, Atrisco, Los Duranes, Los
Griegos, Martinez Town, Old Town and Taylor Ranch as separate places; all seven are historic
Albuquerque neighborhoods inside the city limits, not distinct Census Bureau places, and are
dropped from the list above.

ZIP Codes

• 87102 — Albuquerque (downtown; the city itself uses roughly 60 ZIP codes across 87101 to
  87199, not listed individually here)
• 87105 — South Valley
• 87107 — Los Ranchos de Albuquerque and North Valley
• 87008 — Cedar Crest
• 87047 — Sandia Park
• 87059 — Tijeras and Chilili
• 87122 — Sandia Heights
• 87124 — Rio Rancho’s Bernalillo County edge
• 87015 — Edgewood’s Bernalillo County edge

Paradise Hills, Carnuel, Isleta Village Proper, San Antonito, Sedillo, Cedro, Edith Enclave,
Kirtland AFB, Manzano Springs, Paa-Ko, Pajarito Mesa, Ponderosa Pine, Sandia Knolls, Alameda,
Barton, Cañoncito and Zuzax have no ZIP code of their own; mail to all of them is delivered
under the nearest Albuquerque or East Mountains ZIP.

Geography

The Rio Grande runs north to south through the middle of Bernalillo County, splitting
Albuquerque’s flat West Mesa — a volcanic escarpment that includes Petroglyph National
Monument — from the Sandia Mountains on the east side, where Sandia Crest reaches 10,678
feet above sea level. Of the county’s 1,167 square miles, 1,161 are land and 6.4 are water, about
0.5 percent, mostly the river itself and a scatter of irrigation ditches known locally as
acequias. The county’s eastern third, the East Mountains, sits inside Cibola National Forest and
is far more wooded and sparsely settled than the Rio Grande valley floor.

Sandoval County borders Bernalillo to the north, Santa Fe County and Torrance County to the
east, Valencia County to the south, and Cibola County to the west. Sandoval County, Santa Fe County, Torrance County, Valencia County and Cibola County all border Bernalillo
directly.

Demographics

Bernalillo County had a population of 676,444 at the 2020 census, and the latest county
estimate puts it slightly lower, near 667,601 residents, one of the few New Mexico counties to
post a decline this decade. Albuquerque and its South Valley CDP together hold well over 85
percent of the county’s people. Median household income runs $69,473 as of 2024, above New Mexico’s 2023 ACS statewide figure of
$62,268. Population density works out to roughly 583 people per square mile of land, by far the
highest of any New Mexico county.

Economy & Local Life

Health care and social assistance is the county’s largest employment sector, with about 49,888
workers, followed by professional, scientific and technical services at 36,737 and educational
services at 35,370. Sandia National Laboratories and Kirtland Air Force Base, both on
Albuquerque’s southeast side, anchor a large defense and nuclear-security research cluster; the
University of New Mexico, the state’s flagship public university, is the county’s other major
employer and its largest medical center operator through UNM Hospital. Albuquerque Public
Schools, one of the largest school districts in the country by enrollment, employs thousands more
countywide. The county’s biggest annual event is the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta each
October, a nine-day mass ascension of hot-air balloons at Balloon Fiesta Park that draws visitors
from well beyond New Mexico; the New Mexico State Fair follows each September at Expo New Mexico.

History

New Mexico’s territorial legislature organized Bernalillo County in 1852 as one of the
territory’s nine original counties, named for the town of Bernalillo along the Rio Grande —
that town itself later ended up outside the county’s boundaries and is now the seat of Sandoval
County, formed from Bernalillo’s northern half in 1903. Albuquerque, founded in 1706 as La Villa
de Alburquerque under Spanish colonial governor Francisco Cuéllar and named for the Duke of
Alburquerque, became the county seat in 1883 as the railroad shifted the city’s center east from
Old Town.

Kirtland Air Force Base opened in 1941 and Sandia National Laboratories was established there
in 1949 to support nuclear weapons research begun during the Manhattan Project, work that shaped
the county’s economy for the rest of the twentieth century. Route 66 ran through Albuquerque along
what is now Central Avenue, and the road’s alignment through the city is still lined with
mid-century motor courts and neon signage from that era.

Getting There

Interstate 25 and Interstate 40 cross in Albuquerque at a stack interchange known locally as
the Big I, the only such junction of two interstates inside Bernalillo County.

• Santa Fe — about 58 miles northeast
• Los Lunas — about 20 miles south
• Moriarty — about 30 miles east
• Grants — about 75 miles west

Albuquerque International Sunport, the state’s busiest commercial airport, sits inside the
county a few miles southeast of downtown. Amtrak’s Southwest Chief stops at the Alvarado
Transportation Center in downtown Albuquerque, which also anchors the New Mexico Rail Runner
Express commuter line running north to Santa Fe and south to Belen.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Bernalillo County located?
It sits in New Mexico’s Rio Grande valley, about 58 miles southwest of Santa Fe, bordered by
Sandoval, Santa Fe, Torrance, Valencia and Cibola counties.

What is the population of Bernalillo County?
676,444 at the 2020 census, with a 2024 estimate near 667,601.

How big is Bernalillo County?
1,167 square miles (3,020 km2), of which 1,161 square miles are land.

What is the county seat of Bernalillo County?
Albuquerque, county seat since 1883 and New Mexico’s largest city.

How many towns and communities are in Bernalillo County?
Five incorporated places — Albuquerque, Rio Rancho (partly), Edgewood (partly), Los Ranchos
de Albuquerque and Tijeras — plus 19 census-designated places and 4 unincorporated
communities.

What ZIP codes does Bernalillo County use?
Albuquerque alone uses roughly 60 ZIP codes from 87101 to 87199; outlying communities use 87008,
87015, 87047, 87059, 87105, 87107, 87122 and 87124.

What is Bernalillo County known for?
Sandia National Laboratories and Kirtland Air Force Base, the University of New Mexico, and the
Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, the world’s largest hot-air balloon gathering.

More counties in this state: Towns and villages in New Mexico.