Draft Environmental Impact Statement for Roca Honda Mine

Chapter 3. Affected Environment and Environmental Consequences
Persons living at or below the poverty line represent 25.6 percent of the Cibola County population
and 30.7 percent of the McKinley County population. Socioeconomically disadvantaged
individuals in both counties constitute proportions larger than those for the State of New Mexico.
The percentage of poverty in Cibola County is greater than the percentage of poverty in New
Mexico by 6.9 percent, but this is not substantially different. However, the percent below the
poverty line in McKinley County exceeds the Statewide percentage by 12 percent, which is a
meaningful difference. Thus, McKinley County qualifies as an environmental justice population
on this basis (Census, 2010a; Census, 2010b; Census, 2010c).
The homeownership rate measures the percentage of households that own their home (including
homeowners with and without a mortgage), as opposed to those households that rent their home.
It is calculated by dividing the number of owner occupied housing units by the number of total
occupied housing units. The homeownership rate in Cibola County is 74.2 percent, higher than
both McKinley County and the State. McKinley County’s 71.6 percent homeownership rate is
also higher than the State’s. The percentage of persons 65 years and older in Cibola County is
slightly lower than the State percentage. In McKinley County, the percentage over 65 is roughly 4
percent lower than in Cibola County and in the State overall.
Protection of Children
In general, the McKinley County population is younger than that of the State as a whole. It
contains approximately 6,166 children under the age of 5 and 18,903 children between 5 and 19;
or 35 percent of the total county population is younger than 19 years (table 44). Distribution of
the Cibola County population by age categories is roughly equal to that of the State. The
representation of children under the age of 19 is slightly lower than the 28.1 percent State average
(Census, 2010b; Census, 2010a; Census, 2010c).
Table 43. Income and poverty statistics
County
Median
Family
Income 2010**
Number and
percent of
Persons
Below Poverty
Percent of
Families
Below
Poverty
Homeownership
Rate,
2010
Persons 65
Years and
Older
(Percent)
Cibola $39,349** 6,967 (25.6) 19.1% 74.2% 3,486 (12.8)
McKinley $36,924** 10,466 (30.7) 24.3% 71.6% 6,813 (9.6)
New Mexico $52,300** 385,066 (18.7) 14.0% 68.5% 272,255 (13.2)
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2010
**In 2010 inflation-adjusted dollars
268 DEIS for Roca Honda Mine, Cibola National Forest