ZIP Code 87544

Los Alamos is a census-designated place in Los Alamos County, New Mexico, United States. It is recognized as the development and creation place of the atomic bomb. The town is located on four mesas of the Pajarito Plateau, and had a population of about 13,200 as of 2020. The ruins of permanent Puebloan settlements indicate that the area has been inhabited during various eras since around 1150 AD. The first settlers on the plateau are thought to be Keres speaking Native Americans around the 10th century. Around 1300, Tewa settlers immigrated from the Four Corners Region and built large cities but were driven out within 50 years by Navajo and Apache raids and by drought. In 1917, homesteader Harold H. Brook sold part of his land and buildings to Ashley Pond II, a businessman from Detroit. The area was used to teach young men basic ranching and other outdoor survival skills. In 1943, the United States Department of War exercised eminent domain over the remaining homesteads in the area so that the relatively isolated location could be used for the secretive Manhattan Project, which ultimately developed the world's first nuclear weapons. This location was chosen for its relative inaccessibility to help protect the secret activities of the Manhattan Project. In the years after World War II, the laboratory was established as a research government facility under the Department of Energy, and is now known as Los Alamo National Laboratory. The location of the project and all of its residents was concealed by designating its mailing address as PO Box 1663, Santa Fe, NM.

History

In the late 19th century, homesteaders utilized the land for ranching. During World War II, the U.S. Department of War exercised eminent domain over the area so that the relatively isolated location could be used for the secretive Manhattan Project. The laboratory was established as a research government facility under the Department of Energy, and is now known as Los Alamos National Laboratory. The first settlers on the plateau are thought to be Keres speaking Native Americans around the 10th century. Around 1300, Tewa settlers immigrated from the Four Corners Region and built large cities but were driven out within 50 years by Navajo and Apache raids and by drought. The ruins of permanent Puebloan settlements, such as those located in nearby Bandelier National Monument, and numerous other sites such as cliff dwellings indicate that the area has been inhabited during various eras since around 1150 AD. The area was used to teach young men basic ranching and other outdoor survival skills. It is now home to the University of New Mexico's College of Veterinary Medicine, which was founded in 1903. The university is located in the town of Santa Fe and is one of the oldest colleges in the United States. The town is located on the northern tip of the Bighorn Mountains, which can be easily seen from the Santa Fe Mountains in the fall. It has a population of around 4,000. It was the site of the Manhattan Project, which ultimately developed the world's first nuclear weapons. The project was secretively referred to under the code name "Site Y" by military personnel, and was known only as "The Hill".

Geography

Los Alamos is located in northern New Mexico between the Rio Grande and the eastern rim of the Valles Caldera on the Pajarito Plateau. The elevation at the post office is 7,320 feet (2,230 m) and total land area is 11.14 square miles (28.9 km²) Los Alamos National Laboratory occupies half of South Mesa, Two Mile Mesa, Frijoles Mesa, Mesita de Buey and several nearby areas in the region (in the valleys and at the base of the mountain). White Rock lies at the top of White Rock Canyon. Summer days are moderately warm in the 70s and 80s, but reach 90 on only 5 days per year on average. There are six different plant communities within the county; each is home to unique flora and fauna. Wildfires have affected the county, but the most destructive to the townsite was the Cerro Grande Fire of May 2000, which caused an estimated $1 billion in damages and destroyed more than 400 homes. Though there was no loss of life, other effects include damage to LANL facilities (nuclear material was not affected), flash-flooding, and erosion. Over two thousand sites in the area have been determined to have been impacted as a result of past activities at LANL. Corrective action and environmental restoration has been deemed necessary for certain areas. Some residents have voiced concern about a lack of public participation and opportunity to comment on the clean-up schedule and funding.

Demographics

Los Alamos is demographically unique compared to its surrounding counties and the state as a whole. The white and especially the Asian populations of Los Alamos are significantly higher than the rest of New Mexico. The current population is 12,019, with a population density of 1,078.7 inhabitants per square mile (416.5/km²) The median age is 40 years, with 24.8% of the people are under the age of 18. For every 100 females, there were 101.3 males. The population is predominantly Hispanic or Latino, with only about 15% of people being Hispanic or Latinos. The city is located in the Rio Arriba, Santa Fe, and Sandoval counties, while the state is made up of the counties of Sandoval, Rio Grande, and Santa Fe. It is the only city in New Mexico that has a nuclear power plant, which was built in the 1950s and 1960s. The town is located on the San Juan River, which flows into the Santa Fe River. It has a population of about 12,000, with the median age of 40 years. The average household income is about $50,000 (or about $80,000 for a family of four). The city's population density is 1.078 inhabitants per capita (or 1.5 inhabitants per km²). The average age of the city is 40, and the average life expectancy is 65 years old (or 71 years old for a couple of couples).

Culture

Los Alamos is home to the Los Alamos National Laboratory. The town is known as "The Black Hole" because of its machinist roots. Sports and recreational activities include skiing, hiking, and mountain biking. The city is also home to an Olympic-length public swimming pool (soon to be an Olympic Aquatic Center) and an 18-hole golf course (par 72, 6500 yards at 72,500 yards) The town has been home to many famous people, including Harold Agnew, Hans Bethe, Edward Teller, J. Robert Oppenheimer, and James L. Tuck. It is also the birthplace of Judy Blume, author of many books for children and adults, who set her novel Tiger Eyes there in the town in the mid-1970s. It was also the site of the first nuclear power plant in the United States, built in the early 1950s by the U.S. government. It also hosted the first atomic bomb test in the late 1950s, which was detonated in New Mexico in the 1960s and early 1960s. In the 1970s and 1980s, the town was home to a number of Nobel Prize winners, including Richard Feynman, Enrico Fermi, and Josef M. R. Cuadrado. It has also been the home of the Nobel Peace Prize winner Josef Feller, who discovered the neutron, as well as the Nobel Prize in Physics for discovery of the neutron.

Education

Los Alamos Public Schools provides public Kindergarten through High School education. The graduation rate, as of March 6, 2021, is 99.3%, in comparison to New Mexico's 76.9% rate and America's average rate of 85%. The University of New Mexico also has a branch campus in Los Alamos. The city is home to the New Mexico Museum of Natural History, which was founded in 1875. The museum is located in the town's historic center, which dates back to the 18th century. The town is also home to a museum of natural history, which opened in 1876. The Museum's collection includes a collection of 19th-century Mexican artifacts, including the remains of the Santa Fe Railway. The Santa Fe Railroad was built in 1852. The Los Alamo River runs through the town, and the town has a population of about 2,000. It is also the home of the University of New Mexico, which has a campus in the city. The University of New Mexico also has a branch campus in Los Alamos, which opened in 1955. The University of New Mexico also has a branch campus in Los  Alamos, which was founded in 1855. It is one of the oldest universities in the United States, and was founded by the University of New Mexico in 1854. It was the first university to open in the state, and is located on the Santa Allegra Peninsula.

Economy

Los Alamos is the fifth-fastest-growing city in New Mexico, after Albuquerque, Rio Rancho, Las Cruces, and Ruidoso. Los Alamos has the highest millionaire concentration of any US city, with 12.4 percent of households having at least $1 million in assets. Only 6.6% of people are below the poverty line; one-third the rate of New Mexico. There are 5,249 households and an average household size of 2.23 people. The median value of owner-occupied housing units is $281,500. As of January 2015, there were zero homeless individuals. The city is home to Los Alamo National Laboratory, which is the area's largest employer with approximately 10,500 employees. About 66% of the people who work in the national laboratories commute daily to the lab; some take the Atomic City Transit, Rail Runner Express, use the Park and Ride, or carpool with other employees. Other major employers include Smith's Food and Drug, LA National Bank, LA Medical Center, LA Public Schools, and Del Norte Credit Union. The area's annual budget is about $2.45 billion. About 40% of LANL's employees live in the city, while the remainder commute from Santa Fe, Española, Taos, and Albuquerque. About 30% of all households are made up of individuals, and 7. 6% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average income is $54,067, and the median gross rent is $921.

Transportation

Interstate 25 is the nearest major interstate highway, and passes through or near Santa Fe, Albuquerque and Denver. There are three access roads between White Rock and Los Alamos: Main Hill Road, Jemez Road and Pajarito Road. The main source of activity is from small private aircraft, with intermittent commercial commuter service. Albuquerque International Sunport is a 100 mile drive south, and serves most national destinations. New Mexico Rail Runner Express is a Park-and-Ride service from its nearest station at Santa Fe. The New Mexico Department of Transportation (NMDOT) operates the Atomic City Transit Park and Ride system in the city. It is the only airport in the county, and is located on the eastern edge of the county. It also has a small private airport, which is used by small private planes. The city is home to several Pueblo communities, including Española and San Ildefonso, which are located between the Rio Grande and the San Juan River. The town is also home to the New Mexico Museum of Natural History, which was founded in 1875. The museum is located in the town of Españo, and was opened in 1876. The Santa Fe Museum of Nature and Science was dedicated in 1878. It was the first museum in the United States to be dedicated to the study of the history of the Santa Fe River and its tributaries. It has since been expanded to the current Santa Fe-San Juan River Museum.

Health care

The 47-bed acute-care facility known as Los Alamos Medical Center is a LifePoint Health hospital. The hospital provides "complete medical, surgical, obstetrical, pediatric, emergency, and diagnostic services" and employs about 300 Northern New Mexicans. Medical Associates of Northern New Mexico (MANNM) is a group of medical providers that offers family medicine, internal medicine, cardiology, nephrology, radiology, and endocrinology among its many services. Cold War Patriots provides these individuals and their families with information about the healthcare benefits available to them. During the Cold War, workers at LANL were in contact with radiation and other toxins, causing many of these individuals illness. A non-profit organization called Cold War Patsy provides these people with information on the benefits they are entitled to as a result of being exposed to radiation during the war. The organization also provides information on how to get free medical care in the U.S. and around the world.

VLBA node

The radio telescope located in Los Alamos is one of ten dishes composing the Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) VLBA is the largest radio telescope array in the world. It is located at the top of the Large Hadron Collider at the University of California, Los Angeles. The telescope is used to study the structure of the Earth's magnetic field. It also serves as a node for the Large Baseline Radio Experiment (LAREX) telescope. The LAREX telescope is located in the Santa Cruz Mountains. It was built in the 1950s and 1960s by the U.S. Department of Energy and the California Institute of Radio Astronomy. It has been in use since the 1970s and 1980s as a radio telescope for the LORO telescope. It's one of the ten dishes in the VlBA, along with the VLMA and the X-Band Array. The VLCA is the most powerful radio telescope in the universe, with more than 1.5 billion watts of power. It can also be used to search for radio signals in Earth's ionosphere. The radio telescope is part of a larger telescope array called the VLA-1, which is based in the Canary Islands. It provides information about Earth's structure and magnetic fields. VlCA-1 is the only radio telescope that can detect radio signals from the ionosphere in the Northern Hemisphere. It uses a large array of dishes, including the LCR, X-band, and X-Ray.

Air Quality, Water Quality, Superfund Sites & UV Index

The Air Quality index is in Los Alamos, Los Alamos County, New Mexico = 89. These Air Quality index is based on annual reports from the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The number of ozone alert days is used as an indicator of air quality, as are the amounts of seven pollutants including particulates, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, lead, and volatile organic chemicals. The Water Quality Index is 73. A measure of the quality of an area’s water supply as rated by the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The EPA has a complex method of measuring the watershed quality, using 15 indicators such as pollutants, turbidity, sediments, and toxic discharges. The Superfund Sites Index is 101. Higher is better (100=best). Based upon the number and impact of EPA Superfund pollution sites in the county, including spending on the cleanup efforts. The UV Index in Los Alamos = 6.3 and is a measure of an area's exposure to the sun's ultraviolet rays. This is most often a combination of sunny weather, altitude, and latitude. The UV Index has been defined by the WHO (www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/radiation-the-ultraviolet-(uv)-index) and is uniform worldwide.

Employed

The most recent city population of 4,486 individuals with a median age of 44 age the population grows by 2.87% in Los Alamos, Los Alamos County, New Mexico population since 2000 and are distributed over a density of 1,186.44 residents per square mile of area (458.09/km²). There are average 2.29 people per household in the 5,315 households with an average household income of $88,812 a year. The unemployment rate in Alabama is 3.10% of the available work force and has dropped -5.19% over the most recent 12-month period and the projected change in job supply over the next decade based on migration patterns, economic growth, and other factors will increase by 26.52%. The number of physicians in Los Alamos per 100,000 population = 265.9.

Weather

The annual rainfall in Los Alamos = 18.1 inches and the annual snowfall = 54.5 inches. The annual number of days with measurable precipitation (over .01 inch) = 89. The average number of days per year that are predominantly sunny = 276. 81 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily high temperature for the month of July and 18.6 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily low temperature for the month of January. The Comfort Index (higher=better) is 76, where higher values mean a more pleasant climate. The Comfort Index measure recognizes that humidity by itself isn't the problem. (Have you noticed nobody ever complains about the weather being 'cold and humid?) It's in the summertime that we notice the humidity the most, when it's hot and muggy. Our Comfort Index uses a combination of afternoon summer temperature and humidity to closely predict the effect that the humidity will have on people.

Median Home Cost

The percentage of housing units in Los Alamos, Los Alamos County, New Mexico which are owned by the occupant = 64.24%. A housing unit is a house, apartment, mobile home, or room occupied as separate living quarters. The average age of homes = 44 years with median home cost = $242,150 and home appreciation of 0.47%. This is the value of the years most recent home sales data. Its important to note that this is not the average (or arithmetic mean). The median home price is the middle value when you arrange all the sales prices of homes from lowest to highest. This is a better indicator than the average, because the median is not changed as much by a few unusually high or low values. The property tax rate of $4.57 shown here is the rate per $1,000 of home value. If for simplification for example the tax rate is $14.00 and the home value is $250,000, the property tax would be $14.00 x ($250,000/1000), or $3500. This is the 'effective' tax rate.

Study

The local school district spends $5,290 per student. There are 13.9 students for each teacher in the school, 250 students for each Librarian and 403 students for each Counselor. 6.47% of the area’s population over the age of 25 with an Associate Degree or other 2-year college degree, 24.94% with a master’s degree, Ph.D. or other advanced college degree and 37.27% with high school diplomas or high school equivalency degrees (GEDs).