The three counties with the highest percentages of Indians were McKinley, San Juan and Cibola in the northwest. Blacks' percentages were largest in Curry, Otero and Lea counties in the east and south. So did 44 percent of the state's black population and 12 percent of the total Indian population. But, especially in the last two decades, the proportions of the state's Anglo, Hispanic, Indian and black populations have not changed greatly. Each population is growing, but not fast in relation to each other.
Several trends contribute to the pattern.
Hispanics and Indians have higher birth rates than Anglos, but those tend to be offset by migration into the state, which tends to be dominated by Anglos. Immigration negligible Immigration from Mexico is not a big contributor to the state's population growth, and hasn't been in recent history. Much of the Hispanic migration to New Mexico is from neighboring states, say people studying the issue. We are not Los Angeles or Chicago or San Antonio. Mexican immigration is conspicuous in some parts of the state, especially in some southern counties and in Albuquerque.