Ohkay Owingeh, New Mexico Population and Demographics

Published: October 1, 2020 6:45 pm

Population, Race and Ethnicity

Ohkay Owingeh is a Census-designated place in Rio Arriba County, New Mexico, with a population of 1,356. According to the most recent estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau, 2.80% of residents identify as white, 1.00% as Black or African American, 66.70% as American Indian or Alaska Native, 0.10% as Asian, 0.00% as Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander, 26.80% as Hispanic or Latino, and 2.60% as some other race or combination of races.

Nationally, some 61.1% of Americans identify as white, 12.3% as Black or African American, 0.7% as American Indian or Alaska Native, 5.4% as Asian, 0.2% as Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander, 17.8% as Hispanic or Latino, and 2.6% as some other race or combination of races.

Ancestry

Census respondents are also asked to report ancestry. Some of the most commonly reported ancestries in Ohkay Owingeh include American, European, English, German, and West Indian. Measured by location quotient — comparing the Census-designated place share to the national share — some of the most highly concentrated ancestries in Census-designated place are American, West Indian, and European.

Native and foreign-born population

An estimated 99.30% of Ohkay Owingeh residents are native-born, meaning they were born in the United States, Puerto Rico, a U.S. Island Area, or abroad to a U.S. citizen. Of the 0.70% of the population that is foreign-born, 40.00% have become naturalized U.S. citizens. Nationwide, 86.5% of Americans are native-born. And of the 13.5% of Americans who are foreign-born, 48.5% have become naturalized U.S. citizens.

Age

The population of Ohkay Owingeh is younger than the United States as a whole. The median age is 34.2 years, 3.7 years less than the national median age of 37.9 years. An estimated 13.20% of the population is 65 years and over, compared to 15.2% of the U.S. population.

Family and household composition

Family and household composition also varies heavily across the United States. In Ohkay Owingeh, 34.10% of households are occupied by married-couple families, compared to the 48.3% national figure. Some 12.10% of households are occupied by single male householders, 23.10% by single female householders, and 30.70% by non-family occupants. Nationwide, 4.9% of households are occupied by single male householders, 12.6% by single female householders, and 34.3% by non-family occupants. An estimated 82.10% of heads of household own their homes, compared to the national homeownership rate of 63.8%.

Language spoken

English is by far the most commonly spoken language in New Mexico and across the U.S. as a whole. Similarly, in Ohkay Owingeh, 99.8% of local residents aged 5 and up speak English exclusively, or, if they are multilingual, speak English very well. For context, 91.1% of the 5 and older population across New Mexico only speaks English, or speak it very well, and 91.5% of the same age group nationwide do.

Marital status

Residents of Ohkay Owingeh are less likely than the typical American to be married. Of all local residents aged 15 and older, 25.6% are currently married, compared to 48.1% of Americans nationwide in the same age group. Across New Mexico as a whole, 44.8% of residents 15 and older are married.

Divorce is less common in Ohkay Owingeh than it is across the U.S. as a whole. According to Census estimates, 8.5% of residents 15 and older are divorced — compared to 10.8% of the U.S. population in the same age group. In New Mexico, 13% of the 15 and older population is divorced.

An estimated 57.2% of Ohkay Owingeh residents 15 and older have never married, compared to one-third of all Americans in the same age group.

Veterans

In Ohkay Owingeh, 8.9% of the 18 and older civilian population are veterans — compared to 7.5% of adult civilians nationwide and 9.3% of the civilian population in all of New Mexico.

Educational attainment

In Ohkay Owingeh, adults are more likely to have a high school education than the typical American adult, but are less likely to have a four-year college education. Among Ohkay Owingeh residents 25 and older, 94.50% have a high school diploma or equivalent, and 7.00% have a bachelor's degree or higher, compared to 87.7% and 31.5% of adults nationwide, respectively. Across New Mexico, 85.3% of adults have graduated high school, and 27.1 have a bachelor’s degree.