† Citizen voting-age population estimated for prior cycles; 2004 predates the ACS and is extrapolated. Source: ACS 5-year, table B05003.
——
D+60R+60
20042024
Boundary by 2024 margin · Precinct returns · VEST · MIT Election Lab
People and households
Who lives here
Exact values for this place, its state, and the United States.
Race · ethnicity · ancestry
Communities and origins
GroupPortalesNew MexicoUnited States
Mexican43.4%32.4%11.3%
Puerto Rican2.1%0.5%1.8%
Spanish0.9%4.2%—
Spaniard0.7%3.6%—
Honduran0.4%—0.3%
Dominican0.2%0.2%0.7%
Salvadoran0.2%—0.7%
Irish11.9%6.9%9.4%
English10.1%8.5%9.5%
German9.9%8.7%12.5%
American8.0%3.9%5.3%
Italian4.6%2.4%4.8%
Scottish1.8%1.7%1.3%
Scotch-Irish1.4%——
Dutch1.1%——
Hispanic or Latino counts residents of any race; the race groups count only their non-Hispanic residents, so the groups are mutually exclusive and sum to 100%. Expand a row to see ancestries reported within that group.
Age and life stage
Measure
Portales
New Mexico
United States
Median age
27.1
39.7
39.1
Age 18–24
17.9%
9.4%
9.2%
Age 65 and older
12.3%
19.2%
17.2%
Household economy
Measure
Portales
New Mexico
United States
Median household income
$50,555
$64,059
$84,427
Poverty rate
28.1%
17.9%
12.5%
Bachelor's degree or higher (25+)
25.4%
30.6%
35.6%
Languages at home
Measure
Portales
New Mexico
United States
Speaks a non-English language at home
24.3%
31.4%
22.3%
Spanish
21.7%
24.5%
13.6%
Religious landscape
Measure
Portales
New Mexico
United States
Catholic
—
29.9%
18.6%
Evangelical Protestant
—
12.9%
16.5%
Unclaimed / not counted
—
47.5%
51.5%
American Community Survey 2024 5-year (CVAP, income, age, poverty, education, language, race, ancestry) · presidential returns from MIT Election Lab through 2024 · 2020 U.S. Religion Census (ASARB) — congregational adherents; unclaimed is the residual not counted by congregations.
Portales, New Mexico
presidential history
Presidential margin, 2004–2024
Democratic minus Republican, by election
Presidential margin over time
Year
Margin (D minus R)
2004
−29.1%
2008
−16.7%
2012
−23.6%
2016
−26.6%
2020
−28.9%
2024
−28.6%
DemocraticRepublican
6 presidential elections
Third column names the leading third-party or independent finisher. Source · MIT Election Lab · ICPSR · VEST (precinct-level 2024). Swing · margin change from the prior cycle. vs U.S. · margin relative to the national result that year. Third-party votes in 2012 are allocated from certified county totals by this place's share of each county's two-party vote — that cycle's precinct source records two-party splits. † 2004 sub-county results are estimated: the source's block-level detail for this cycle was unreliable — either county/municipality-level consolidated reporting (COVID-era) or a precinct-to-block allocation that misplaced votes — so the figures are allocated from the constituent county totals in proportion to the place and scaled to certified totals.
Year
Won
Democratic
Republican
Other
Margin
Swing
vs U.S.
Total
R
34.5%Harris1,318
63.1%Trump2,411
2.4%
R+28.6
D+0.2
R+27.1
3,819
R
34.1%Biden1,274
62.9%Trump2,353
3.0%
R+28.9
R+2.2
R+33.3
3,740
R
30.4%Clinton1,022
57.1%Trump1,917
12.5%
R+26.6
R+3.1
R+28.7
3,360
R
36.6%Obama1,181
60.1%Romney1,942
3.3%
R+23.6
R+6.9
R+27.4
3,231
R
40.7%Obama1,744
57.4%McCain2,459
1.8%
R+16.7
D+12.4
R+24.0
4,282
R
34.8%Kerry1,556
63.8%Bush2,856
1.4%
R+29.1
—
R+26.6
4,475
Portales sits in Roosevelt County on New Mexico's high plains, where Eastern New Mexico University shapes both the local economy and voter demographics. The city leans conservative relative to the state, consistent with rural eastern New Mexico's broader political patterns.
Across the recorded series it reached a Republican high of 29.1 points in 2004. The 2024 margin was 28.6 points.
A population of 11,968, a 46% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $50,555 describe the city. The city's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Hereford and Corning.
Akashic
Political twins — cities
The cities whose fingerprint — 2000–2024 trajectory, demographics, ancestry, religion — sits closest to this one, and why.
Twin score (0–100) = weighted cosine between tier-standardized fingerprints: presidential margins 2000–2024 with 12-yr trend and elasticity, ACS income, age, education, population and race, top reported ancestries, and religious adherence — chips name the closest-shared dimensions and the widest gap. Re-weight the groups in the twins explorer.
In 2024, Portales, New Mexico voted Republican by 28.6 points (R+28.6), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 3,819 votes cast, 1,318 went Democratic and 2,411 went Republican.
How many people live in Portales, New Mexico?
Portales, New Mexico has a population of 11,968 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Portales, New Mexico?
Median household income in Portales, New Mexico is $50,555 — below the national median of $80,734. The New Mexico state median is $64,059.
What is the political history of Portales, New Mexico?
Akashic tracks 6 presidential elections in Portales, New Mexico from 2004 to 2024. Of those, 0 went Democratic and 6 went Republican.
