Eunice is a city in Lea County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 2,922 at the 2010 census.

Description

The mayor of Eunice, as of March 2018, was Billy Hobbs. A URENCO USA National Enrichment Facility, which uses Zippe-type centrifuge technology to enrich uranium, has been in operation 5 mi east of Eunice since 2010.

Geography

Eunice is located in southeastern Lea County. It is bypassed to the east by New Mexico State Road 18, which leads north 19 mi to Hobbs, the largest city in the county, and south 23 mi to Jal. State Road 176 runs east-west through the center of Eunice. Carlsbad is 68 mi to the west, and the Texas border is 5.5 mi to the east. Andrews, Texas, is 37 mi east of Eunice via NM-176 and Texas State Highway 176. According to the United States Census Bureau, Eunice has a total area of 10.2 km2, of which 0.02 sqkm, or 0.22%, are water.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 2,562 people, 942 households, and 709 families residing in the city. The population density was 877.5 PD/sqmi. There were 1,110 housing units at an average density of 380.2 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the city was 71.00% White, 1.09% African American, 0.43% Native American, 0.12% Asian, 24.43% from other races, and 2.93% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 39.62% of the population. There were 942 households, out of which 38.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.0% were married couples living together, 9.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.7% were non-families. 22.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.72 and the average family size was 3.20. In the city, the population was spread out, with 29.5% under the age of 18, 11.1% from 18 to 24, 27.2% from 25 to 44, 19.4% from 45 to 64, and 12.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 100.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 101.0 males. The median income for a household in the city was $31,722, and the median income for a family was $38,808. Males had a median income of $30,216 versus $21,400 for females. The per capita income for the city was $14,373. About 14.2% of families and 15.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.4% of those under age 18 and 10.1% of those age 65 or over.

Infrastructure

Highways

Railroad

The Texas & New Mexico Railway provides freight service.

Education

The school district is Eunice Municipal Schools.

Sports

Eunice high school baseball has produced 17 state championships. This record ranks fifth in the nation. Eunice is the childhood home of Josh Lynn.