 Like many of the small towns in La Mancha, El Ballestero lost a significant share of its population in the mid-20th century.In the 1949 census, El Ballestero had 1,858 inhabitants, but the population shrank over the following decades; in the peak emigration year, 1964, over 500 left.The emigrants largely moved to large cities and the coast, where employment opportunities had increased in the growing tourist industry.