Belen (Spanish: Belén) is a city in
Valencia CountyValencia County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Mexico. As of 2006, the population was 70,389. The county seat is Los Lunas. It is part of the Albuquerque, New Mexico Metropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...
,
New MexicoNew Mexico is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. Inhabited by Native American populations for many centuries, it has also been part of the Imperial Spanish viceroyalty of New Spain, part of Mexico, and a U.S. territory. Among U.S...
,
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Belen is
SpanishSpanish or Castilian is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that originated in northern Spain and gradually spread in the Kingdom of Castile, evolving into the principal language of government and trade in the Iberian peninsula...
for
BethlehemBethlehem is a Palestinian city in the central West Bank, approximately south of Jerusalem, with a population of about 30,000 people. It is the capital of the Bethlehem Governorate of the Palestinian National Authority and a hub of Palestinian culture and tourism...
and over time has gained the nickname "Hub City" because of the Belen Cutoff of the
Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe RailwayThe Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often abbreviated as Santa Fe, was one of the larger railroads in the United States. The company was first chartered in February 1859...
. The Cutoff made it possible for many more trains to traverse east and west across the United States. Prior to the Belen Cutoff train traffic came through the steep
Raton PassRaton Pass is a mountain pass on the Santa Fe Trail along the Colorado-New Mexico border in the United States. Raton Pass is a federally designated National Historic Landmark...
on the
ColoradoColorado is a U.S. state located in the Rocky Mountain region of the United States of America. It may also be considered to be part of the Western and Southwestern regions of the United States. Colorado entered statehood in 1876 and was nicknamed the “Centennial State”...
and
New MexicoNew Mexico is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. Inhabited by Native American populations for many centuries, it has also been part of the Imperial Spanish viceroyalty of New Spain, part of Mexico, and a U.S. territory. Among U.S...
border. To this day, an average of 110 trains travel through Belen in a 24-hour period on the
Southern TransconThe Southern Transcon is a main line of the BNSF Railway between Southern California and Chicago, United States. Completed in 1908 by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway, when it opened the Belen Cutoff in New Mexico and bypassed the steep grades of Raton Pass, it now serves as a mostly...
.
Belen (Spanish: Belén) is a city in
Valencia CountyValencia County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Mexico. As of 2006, the population was 70,389. The county seat is Los Lunas. It is part of the Albuquerque, New Mexico Metropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...
,
New MexicoNew Mexico is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. Inhabited by Native American populations for many centuries, it has also been part of the Imperial Spanish viceroyalty of New Spain, part of Mexico, and a U.S. territory. Among U.S...
,
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Belen is
SpanishSpanish or Castilian is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that originated in northern Spain and gradually spread in the Kingdom of Castile, evolving into the principal language of government and trade in the Iberian peninsula...
for
BethlehemBethlehem is a Palestinian city in the central West Bank, approximately south of Jerusalem, with a population of about 30,000 people. It is the capital of the Bethlehem Governorate of the Palestinian National Authority and a hub of Palestinian culture and tourism...
and over time has gained the nickname "Hub City" because of the Belen Cutoff of the
Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe RailwayThe Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often abbreviated as Santa Fe, was one of the larger railroads in the United States. The company was first chartered in February 1859...
. The Cutoff made it possible for many more trains to traverse east and west across the United States. Prior to the Belen Cutoff train traffic came through the steep
Raton PassRaton Pass is a mountain pass on the Santa Fe Trail along the Colorado-New Mexico border in the United States. Raton Pass is a federally designated National Historic Landmark...
on the
ColoradoColorado is a U.S. state located in the Rocky Mountain region of the United States of America. It may also be considered to be part of the Western and Southwestern regions of the United States. Colorado entered statehood in 1876 and was nicknamed the “Centennial State”...
and
New MexicoNew Mexico is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. Inhabited by Native American populations for many centuries, it has also been part of the Imperial Spanish viceroyalty of New Spain, part of Mexico, and a U.S. territory. Among U.S...
border. To this day, an average of 110 trains travel through Belen in a 24-hour period on the
Southern TransconThe Southern Transcon is a main line of the BNSF Railway between Southern California and Chicago, United States. Completed in 1908 by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway, when it opened the Belen Cutoff in New Mexico and bypassed the steep grades of Raton Pass, it now serves as a mostly...
. Belen also has the only Harvey House Museum in the state of New Mexico. The population was 6,901 at the 2000 census.
Belen is part of the
AlbuquerqueAlbuquerque is the largest city in the state of New Mexico, United States. It is the county seat of Bernalillo County and is situated in the central part of the state, straddling the Rio Grande. The city population was 521,999 as of July 1, 2008, according to U.S. census estimates, and ranks as...
Metropolitan Statistical AreaThe Albuquerque Metropolitan Statistical Area is a metropolitan area in central New Mexico that covers four counties - Bernalillo, Sandoval, Torrance, and Valencia. As of the 2000 census, the MSA had a population of 729,649...
.
Geography
Belen is located at (34.665587, -106.776225).
According to the
United States Census BureauThe United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data. As part of the United States Department of Commerce, the Census Bureau serves as the leading source of quality data about...
, the city has a total area of 4.7 square miles (12.2 km²).
Demographics
As of the
censusA "census" is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population.In other words every 10 years...next one would be in 2010 The term is used mostly in connection with...
of 2000, there were 6,901 people, 2,596 households, and 1,778 families residing in the city. The
population densityPopulation density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans. It is a key term used in geography....
was 1,463.1 people per square mile (564.5/km²). There were 2,952 housing units at an average density of 625.9/sq mi (241.5/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 67.50% White, 1.07% African American, 1.65% Native American, 0.17% Asian, 0.16% Pacific Islander, 25.39% from
other racesRace and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the United States Census Bureau and the Federal Office of Management and Budget , are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 4.06% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 68.61% of the population.
There were 2,596 households out of which 34.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.3% were
married couplesMarriage is a social union or legal contract between individuals that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged by a variety of ways, depending on the culture or demographic...
living together, 17.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.5% were non-families. 26.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.61 and the average family size was 3.14.
In the city the population was spread out with 28.8% under the age of 18, 9.6% from 18 to 24, 25.5% from 25 to 44, 21.0% from 45 to 64, and 15.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 91.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.4 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $26,754, and the median income for a family was $30,765. Males had a median income of $26,551 versus $21,300 for females. The
per capita incomePer capita income means how much each individual receives, in monetary terms, of the yearly income generated in the country. This is what each citizen is to receive if the yearly national income is divided equally among everyone. Per capita income is usually reported in units of currency per year...
for the city was $12,999. About 23.2% of families and 24.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 33.9% of those under age 18 and 18.2% of those age 65 or over.
External links