Community Profiles

Statistics

• Area: 9,654 square miles
• Counties: Bernalillo, Sandoval, Torrance, Valencia and southern Santa Fe
• Largest municipalities: Albuquerque, Rio Rancho, Los Lunas, Bernalillo and Belen.
• Largest pueblos: Isleta, Santo Domingo and San Felipe
• Location: Central-northwestern New Mexico
• Population: 2015: 916,880

About

The Mid-Region Council of Governments' (MRCOG) region embraces the center of New Mexico. Busy interstate highways, rail and an international airport link the region in the same way historic trade routes linked the original Indian tribes hundreds of years ago and tied together the Spanish settlements 300 years ago.

It's a region of remarkable diversity, in population, lifestyle and economy. About the size of Massachusetts, the area is both urban and rural, mountain and plains, modern and traditional. Central New Mexico includes Albuquerque, the state's largest city; Rio Rancho, the state's fastest-growing city; Bernalillo, one of the nation's oldest towns and even older Indian pueblos; and Peralta, the state's newest incorporated community. 12-Indian tribes and pueblos are located wholly or partly within the region.

It is a place that boasts great beauty, with four mountain ranges, the legendary Rio Grande, two national forests, two national monuments, three wilderness areas, four state monuments and parks, and two game refuges.