Narrative
Colorado became more diverse and older during the last decade, according to 2010 Census data released Wednesday.
The hot growth spots were on the south and north ends of metro Denver and on the Western Slope along the I-70 corridor. Douglas County was once again the fastest growing county in the state and five towns in Weld County, led by Firestone, set the pace for incorporated places in Colorado. Their populations doubled and, in some case, tripled and quadrupled.
Nearly as many Hispanic residents as white residents were added to Colorado’s population during the decade. Whites made up 70 percent of Colorado’s population in 2010, down from 74.5 percent in 2000.
Workers examine a residential property foundation in Douglas County on Wednesday afternoon. DougCo was once again the fastest growing county in the state. (Joe Mahoney/I-News)
Colorado is aging. Adults 18 and older are 75 percent of the population, according to the 2010 Census. That’s up from 64 percent in 2000.
The number of vacant homes also rose. Slightly more than one in ten homes were vacant, the 2010 Census found. That’s up from 8.3 percent in 2000.
– Burt Hubbard/I-News
Description of Data
Please note there are several caveats (see below.)
Colorado Summary
Nearly as many Hispanic residents as white residents were added to Colorado’s population during the decade. Whites made up 70 percent of Colorado’s population in 2010, down from 74.5 percent in 2000. Colorado is aging. Adults 18 and older are 75 percent of the population, according to the 2010 Census. That’s up from 64 percent in 2000. The number of vacant homes also rose. Slightly more than one in ten homes were vacant, the 2010 Census found. That’s up from 8.3 percent in 2000.
Here is a summary of data showing the changes in Colorado’s racial makeup, its growing and aging population, and its vacant housing.
Below is a link to an Excel spreadsheet containing a breakdown of the population, housing occupancies, racial distribution and the number of youth vs adults in all 65 Colorado counties. UPDATE: City level breakdown of population, housing, racial distribution and children vs adults.
(There is also a link to ZIP archive containing each category as a separate CSV file.)
- Colorado Counties All Categories – Excel file | Text (CSV) file zipped
- Colorado Cities All Categories – Excel file | Text (CSV) file zipped
Population of Cities
This spreadsheet contains a list of the most populated cities in Colorado in 2000 vs 2010.
The following shows the change in population in 354 Colorado cities and town.
Caveats to the Feb. 23rd Census release
- The county of Broomfield and city of Centennial did not exist in 2000. As a result, there will only be a comparison on overall population growth for 2001 and just a current racial breakdown.
- Because of the way the two or more race category is set up, all of the races including Hispanic will add up to slightly more than 100 percent. I checked with the state demographer and there is no way around it.
- The vacant housing number includes all types of reasons for the homes to be vacant including being second homes, not sold yet and foreclosed and boarded up homes. There is no distinction in this Census release.