Tijeras, New Mexico

Travel geography

Tijeras is located at 35°5′15″N 106°22′38″W (35.087550, -106.377354), in central New Mexico, a few miles east of Albuquerque, on Interstate 40 (Exit 175) and U.S. Highway 66 (Route 66)/ New Mexico state highway 333. New Mexico State Road 14 leads north from the village, toward Cedar Crest, Sandia Crest, Madrid and Santa Fe. New Mexico State Road 337 leads south from Tijeras.(See Google map).

Physical geography

Tijeras is at the junction of Tijeras Canyon, leading to the west, toward Albuquerque, and Cedro Canyon, leading to the south, toward the Manzano Mountains.

Land area

According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 1.2 square miles (3.0 km²), of which 0.008 square miles (0.02 km²), or 0.56%, is water.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 474 people, 191 households, and 131 families residing in the village. The population density was 559.5 people per square mile (215.3/km²). There were 210 housing units at an average density of 247.9 per square mile (95.4/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 65.82% White, 1.05% Native American, 0.21% Asian, 28.06% from other races, and 4.85% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 56.33% of the population.

There were 191 households out of which 33.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.9% were married couples living together, 10.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.4% were non-families. 24.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 3.02.

In the village, the population was spread out with 26.8% under the age of 18, 7.2% from 18 to 24, 28.5% from 25 to 44, 27.2% from 45 to 64, and 10.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 107.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 111.6 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $34,167, and the median income for a family was $46,250. Males had a median income of $31,750 versus $25,179 for females. The per capita income for the village was $18,836. About 9.6% of families and 9.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.4% of those under age 18 and 20.0% of those age 65 or over.

As of the census of 2011, there were 548 people living in Tijeras. By 2009, the estimated mean household income had risen to $49,441, slightly above that of the state as a whole ($43,028). The mean price of a housing unit in 2009 was $229,479, which was significantly higher than the mean home price in the state as a whole ($160,900).

Musical Highway

In October 2014, Tijeras gained national attention for a nearby "musical road", a two-lane stretch of U.S. Highway 66 (Route 66) with grooves in the roadway (rumble strips) arranged to cause the sounds of a famous song ("America the Beautiful") to be heard when vehicles drive on it at 45 mph.