Los Lunas, New Mexico

History

The original land grant was made to Don Adrian Luna Candelaria in 1716, but within two years it was given to the Luna family. Some Civil War battles were fought near the village. Los Lunas became the county seat in 1876 and became an incorporated village in 1928. The Los Lunas Decalogue Stone is located nearby.

A United States Army Air Forces bombing range, used by elements of the 509th Bomb Wing out of Kirtland Army Air Field, later Kirtland Air Force Base, was located here during and after World War II.

Los Lunas and its surrounding communities were impacted by the Desert Willow Complex Fire, which burned multiple homes in the Carson Park district as well as injuring over a dozen people.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 10.1 square miles (26.0 km), all land. The village lies in the Rio Grande Valley of the Albuquerque Basin on the west bank of the Rio Grande, and is on State Highway 6, east of Interstate 25. El Cerro de Los Lunas, a volcano related to the Rio Grande rift, forms a prominent landmark at the western edge of the village.

Climate

According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Los Lunas has a cold semi-arid climate, abbreviated "BSk" on climate maps. The hottest temperature recorded in Los Lunas was 110 F on August 13, 1948, while the coldest temperature recorded was -25 F on January 7, 1971.

|Jan record high F = 75 |Feb record high F = 82 |Mar record high F = 88 |Apr record high F = 94 |May record high F = 102 |Jun record high F = 108 |Jul record high F = 106 |Aug record high F = 110 |Sep record high F = 100 |Oct record high F = 93 |Nov record high F = 84 |Dec record high F = 74

|Jan avg record high F = 65.8 |Feb avg record high F = 72.3 |Mar avg record high F = 81.2 |Apr avg record high F = 86.4 |May avg record high F = 94.3 |Jun avg record high F = 101.7 |Jul avg record high F = 102.3 |Aug avg record high F = 99.1 |Sep avg record high F = 95.4 |Oct avg record high F = 87.9 |Nov avg record high F = 76.0 |Dec avg record high F = 65.9 |year avg record high F = 103.3

|Jan avg record low F = 7.4 |Feb avg record low F = 10.5 |Mar avg record low F = 16.5 |Apr avg record low F = 24.9 |May avg record low F = 33.4 |Jun avg record low F = 44.3 |Jul avg record low F = 53.3 |Aug avg record low F = 51.7 |Sep avg record low F = 39.3 |Oct avg record low F = 25.5 |Nov avg record low F = 12.6 |Dec avg record low F = 7.0 |year avg record low F = 3.8

|Jan record low F = -25 |Feb record low F = -15 |Mar record low F = 4 |Apr record low F = 10 |May record low F = 20 |Jun record low F = 34 |Jul record low F = 39 |Aug record low F = 40 |Sep record low F = 25 |Oct record low F = 14 |Nov record low F = -15 |Dec record low F = -22

|access-date = August 8, 2023 |access-date = August 8, 2023

Demographics

2010

Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. census Bureau:

• 72.1% White
• 2.0% Black
• 2.5% Native American
• 0.8% Asian
• 0.1% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander
• 4.2% Two or more races
• 18.3% Other races

2000

As of the census of 2000, there were 10,034 people, 3,601 households, and 2,689 families residing in the village. The population density was 998.8 PD/sqmi. There were 3,845 housing units at an average density of 382.7 /mi2. The racial makeup of the village was 64.14% White, 1.16% African American, 2.62% Native American, 0.50% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 27.63% from other races, and 3.90% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 58.74% of the population.

There were 3,601 households, out of which 41.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.8% were married couples living together, 16.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.3% were non-families. 20.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.75 and the average family size was 3.16.

In the village, the population was spread out, with 31.1% under the age of 18, 9.6% from 18 to 24, 30.1% from 25 to 44, 20.2% from 45 to 64, and 8.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.1 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $36,240, and the median income for a family was $37,255. Males had a median income of $30,664 versus $22,437 for females. The per capita income for the village was $14,692. About 11.6% of families and 13.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.3% of those under age 18 and 7.3% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

On September 14, 2016, Facebook announced their plans to open a data center in Los Lunas. The construction would start in October 2016, and it will be equipped with the latest in the Open Compute Project hardware designs, protected from the frequent dust storms that occur in New Mexico, and powered by 100% clean and renewable energy through solar and wind plants. This data center will support 300 new construction jobs and 50 permanent jobs. The data center opened on February 7, 2019.

The village is served by the New Mexico Rail Runner Express at Los Lunas station. It is also served by Interstate 25 in New Mexico, New Mexico State Road 314, and New Mexico State Road 6.

Arts and culture

The village offers a variety of events to go to. Among them are annual events such as: the St. Patrick's Day Balloon Rally; Fourth of July Parade, celebration and fireworks display at Daniel Fernandez Park; and the Holiday Electric Light Parade down Main Street (NM Highway 6).

Education

Los Lunas' public schools are operated by Los Lunas Public Schools, which includes three high schools, two middle schools, one intermediate school, and ten elementary schools. Another school entitled Family School is a program that allows the combination of public school and homeschooling, found on the Daniel Fernandez Elementary Campus.

Growth was rapid for Los Lunas in the 1990s and early 2000s, with the enrollment of Los Lunas High School reaching nearly 2,500 students around 2004. In fact, Valencia High School opened in 2006 as a relief valve for that enrollment, but due in part to the recession of the late 2000s, the two schools had a similar enrollment by the end of the decade.

Media

The town has been the site of two episodes of Breaking Bad, serving as the home of Tuco Salamanca.

Notable people

• Rosie Hamlin, singer of the song Angel Baby
• Sal Artiaga, Minor League Baseball president, born in Los Lunas
• Bo Diddley, rock musician, lived in Los Lunas in the 1970s
• Anton Docher (aka The Padre of Isleta) served as a priest in Los Lunas during his long period in Isleta
• Michael A. Montoya, 26th New Mexico State Treasurer
• Adelina Otero-Warren, women's suffragist
• Walter Jon Williams, Nebula Award-winning science fiction author

References

References

1. "ArcGIS REST Services Directory". United States Census Bureau.
2. "Find a County". National Association of Counties.
3. "Los Lunas Range {{!}} The Center for Land Use Interpretation".
4. Jackson, Chris. (2025-06-22). "Desert Willow Complex Fire leaves homes burned, 13 injured in Los Lunas".
5. "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov.
6. "Census Population API". United States Census Bureau.
7. "U.S. Census website". [[United States Census Bureau]].
8. (September 14, 2016). "Hello, Los Lunas!". Facebook.
9. (September 14, 2016). "Facebook chooses New Mexico over Utah for its newest data center". The Guardian.
10. (2019-02-07). "Opening our newest data center in Los Lunas, New Mexico".
11. "Los Lunas · New Mexico 87031".
12. "2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Valencia County, NM". [[U.S. Census Bureau]].
13. [http://www.llschools.net Los Lunas Schools - Home]. Llschools.net (July 22, 2013). Retrieved August 15, 2013.
14. [http://www.llschools.net/dfi/ Los Lunas Schools] {{dead link. (August 2013)
15. "Guide to General Vertical Files".
16. (April 12, 2017). "Rosie leaves spirit of "Angel Baby" as pop queen enters heaven's gate at age 71".
17. Keleher and Chant. ''The Padre of Isleta''. Sunstone Press, 2009,chap.4- p. 30.36.