Belen is a somewhat small city located in the state of New Mexico. With a population of 7,414 people and six associated neighborhoods, Belen is the 31st largest community in New Mexico.Unlike some cities where white-collar or blue-collar occupations dominate the local economy, Belen is neither predominantly one nor the other. Instead, it has a mixed workforce of both white- and blue-collar jobs. Overall, Belen is a city of professionals, sales and office workers, and service providers. There are especially a lot of people living in Belen who work in office and administrative support (11.93%), teaching (10.88%), and healthcare (7.26%). One interesting thing about the economy is that relatively large numbers of people worked from their home: 7.70% of the workforce. While this number may seem small overall, as a fraction of the total workforce this is high compared to the rest of the county. These workers are often telecommuters who work in knowledge-based, white-collar professions. For example, Silicon Valley has large numbers of people who telecommute. Other at-home workers may be self-employed people who operate small businesses out of their homes. The education level of Belen citizens is a little higher than the average for US cities and towns: 21.14% of adults in Belen have at least a bachelor's degree. The per capita income in Belen in 2022 was $22,192, which is lower middle income relative to New Mexico, and low income relative to the rest of the US. This equates to an annual income of $88,768 for a family of four. Belen is an extremely ethnically-diverse city. The people who call Belen home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. People of Hispanic or Latino origin are the most prevalent group in Belen, accounting for 69.76% of the city’s residents (people of Hispanic or Latino origin can be of any race). The greatest number of Belen residents report their race to be White, followed by Asian. Important ancestries of people in Belen include English, Irish, German, Italian, and Swedish. The most common language spoken in Belen is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Native American languages.
