Today, the US Census Bureau released its 2010 local redistricting data, which puts Santa Fe's current population at 67,947.

Santa Fe’s growth is fourth-highest among the state’s five major population centers, but at 9.2 percent, it’s significantly lower than growth rates in Rio Rancho (69.1 percent), Las Cruces (31.4) and Albuquerque (21.7).

In the scheme of redrawing the state’s legislative boundaries, that puts Santa Fe in the potential position of losing ground to the faster-growing population centers—and later this year, there’s sure to be a fight over the makeup of the new districts.

Currently, the state Legislature is considering a bill that would create an interim committee to conduct redistricting, which is traditionally done by legislators themselves.

To read more about the 2011 redistricting process, click here for SFR’s cover story on the subject. You can access the newest census data here.