Belen is a somewhat small city located in the state of New Mexico. With a population of 7,474 people and six associated neighborhoods, Belen is the 31st largest community in New Mexico.
There are many members of the armed forces living in Belen. You will notice when you visit or live here that some of the people you meet or see around town are employed by the armed services - even if they are not always in uniform.
A relatively large number of people in Belen telecommute to their jobs. Overall, about 8.52% of the workforce works from home. While this may seem like a small number, as a fraction of the total workforce it ranks among the highest in the country. These workers are often telecommuters who work in knowledge-based, white-collar professions. For example, Silicon Valley has large numbers of people who telecommute. Other at-home workers may be self-employed people who operate small businesses out of their homes.
It is a fairly quiet city because there are relatively few of those groups of people who have a tendency to be noisy. (Children, for example, often can't help themselves from being noisy, and being parents ourselves, we know!) Belen has relatively few families with children living at home, and is quieter because of it. Renters and college students, for their own reasons, can also be noisy. Belen has few renters and college students. But the biggest reason it is quieter in Belen than in most places in America, is that there are just simply fewer people living here. If you think trees make good neighbors, Belen may be for you.
In terms of college education, the citizens of Belen rank slightly lower than the national average. 14.28% of adults 25 and older in Belen have a bachelor's degree or advanced degree, while 21.84% of adults have a 4-year degree or higher in the average American community.
The per capita income in Belen in 2022 was $22,219, which is lower middle income relative to New Mexico, and low income relative to the rest of the US. This equates to an annual income of $88,876 for a family of four. However, Belen contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.
Belen is an extremely ethnically-diverse city. The people who call Belen home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. People of Hispanic or Latino origin are the most prevalent group in Belen, accounting for 70.45% of the city’s residents (people of Hispanic or Latino origin can be of any race). The greatest number of Belen residents report their race to be White, followed by Black or African-American. Important ancestries of people in Belen include English, German, Irish, Italian, and European.
The most common language spoken in Belen is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Native American languages.