McKinley County is on the western border of New Mexico. It is bordered by Cibola, Sandoval, Rio Arriba and San Juan Counties and it is also bordered on the west by Arizona. The county covers 5,455 square miles, making it one of the largest counties in New Mexico and the United States. Interstate 40 and U.S. Highway 491 are the lifeblood of the county and they meet in Gallup, the county seat.
The Navajo Indian Reservation covers about 60% of McKinley County and the Zuni Indian Reservation covers a sizable chunk of the county. Also, Ramah Navajo Indian Reservation covers a small portion of the county. This Indian reservation is actually a disjunct portion of the larger Navajo Reservation and votes in all tribal elections. The Ramah Navajos had a separate tribal government until the 1960s and they maintain a separate history from the larger Navajo Tribe. They were actually in this part of New Mexico before the larger tribe was. Another decent-sized chunk of the county is part of Cibola National Forest and a very small portion is part of Chaco Culture National Historical Park. Most of the land that does not belong to an Indian tribe or the federal government belongs to mining companies, principally coal mines. The county seat, Gallup, is almost completely surrounded by Navajo Reservation land.
The population of McKinley County is 77% Indian, or Native American, 13% Mexican, 5% White and the remaining 5% belong to other races [mostly Asian] or a mixture of races. McKinley County's predominant language, spoken at home, is Navajo and it is one of very few counties in the United States in which the primary language spoken at home is neither English nor Spanish. The other counties in which the primary language is neither English nor Spanish are all Indian Reservation counties where the reservation covers all or most of the county. 46% of the population speaks Navajo at home, 39% speaks English at home, 9% speaks Zuni at home and 6% speaks Spanish at home as their primary language.
McKinley County was named for William McKinley, who was President of the United States when the county was created.
McKinley County is one of the poorest counties in the United States and the poorest in New Mexico, which is one of the poorest states. It has a critical poverty rate and is the leading recipient of food stamps in New Mexico. It also has one of the highest levels of hunger in the United States I once read a comprehensive study that calls McKinley County "the portrait of hunger in America." Social organizations in McKinley County are extremely busy due to the extreme poverty rate.
The Gallup-McKinley County school district, which covers the entire county and is one of the geographically largest school districts in the nation, is 93% "minority" and about 60% of the enrollment speaks English as a second language. 85% of the enrollment qualifies for free or reduced lunches in school.
