The

U.S. The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...

State of Colorado Colorado is a state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas to the east ...

is divided into 64

counties A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

. Two of these, the

City and County of Denver Denver ( ) is a consolidated city and county, the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. It is located in the Western United States, in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains east of ...

, which serves as the

state capital Below is an index of pages containing lists of capital city, capital cities. National capitals *List of national capitals *List of national capitals by latitude *List of national capitals by population *List of national capitals by area *List of ...

, and the City and County of Broomfield, have consolidated city and county governments. In addition to Denver and Broomfield,

Pitkin County Pitkin County is a county in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 17,358. The county seat and largest city is Aspen, Colorado, Aspen. The county is named for Colorado Governor Frederi ...

and Weld County operate as home rule counties with their own county charters. The other 60 counties operate under state regulations per Dillon's Rule. Counties are important units of government in Colorado since there are no

civil township A civil township is a widely used unit of local government in the United States that is subordinate to a County (United States), county, most often in the northern and midwestern parts of the country. The term town is used in New England town, Ne ...

s or other minor civil divisions. The

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

estimates that El Paso County remains the most populous county in Colorado with a population estimate of 752,772, as of July 1, 2024, while Hinsdale County with a population of 747 is now the least populous. Five of the 64 Colorado counties now have more than 500,000 residents, while 12 counties have fewer than 5,000 residents. Las Animas County, in area, is the most extensive county, while the City and County of Broomfield, in area, is the least extensive. The City and County of Denver was the most densely populated Colorado county, with a 2024 population density of 4,918 residents per square mile of land area (1,899/km²), while Hinsdale County was the least densely populated county, with a 2024 population density of 0.67 resident per square mile of land area (0.26/km²).

Mount Elbert Mount Elbert is the highest summit of the Rocky Mountains of North America. With an elevation of , it is also the highest point in the U.S. state of Colorado and the second-highest summit in the contiguous United States after Mount Whitney, w ...

, the highest summit of Colorado and the entire

Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in great-circle distance, straight-line distance from the northernmost part of Western Can ...

at an elevation of , is located in Lake County. The lowest point in Colorado is where the

Arikaree River The Arikaree River is a river in the central Great Plains of North America. It lies mostly in the United States, American state of Colorado, draining land between the North and South Forks of the Republican River, and it flows into the North F ...

flows out of Yuma County and into

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

, at elevation. This point, which is the highest low point of any state, is higher than the highest points of 18 states and the District of Columbia. __TOC__

History

On November 1, 1861, the new Territory of Colorado created 17 original counties: Arapahoe, Boulder, Clear Creek, Costilla, Douglas, El Paso, Fremont, Gilpin, Guadalupe, Huerfano, Jefferson, Lake, Larimer, Park, Pueblo, Summit, and Weld; plus the Cheyenne Reserve. Six days later, the name of Guadelupe County was changed to Conejos County. On February 9, 1866, the first new county, Las Animas, was created, followed by Saguache in December of that year. Bent County was created in February 1870, followed by Greenwood the following month. On February 2, 1874, Grand County and Elbert County were formed, and on February 10, La Plata, Hinsdale, and Rio Grande counties were created. Greenwood was absorbed into Bent on February 5. The last county to be created under the Colorado Territory name was San Juan County, created three months before statehood. By the time Colorado became a state on August 1, 1876, it had only 26 counties. In January 1877, Routt and Ouray were formed, followed by Gunnison and Custer counties in March. In February 1879, Chaffee County was created. From February 8–10, 1879, Lake county was renamed Carbonate County. In 1881, Dolores County and Pitkin County were created. In 1883, Montrose, Mesa, Garfield, Eagle, Delta, and San Miguel counties were formed, leaving the total number of counties at 39. The number rose to 40 in 1885 with the creation of Archuleta County on April 14. Washington County and Logan County were both created in 1887. Between February 19 and April 16 in 1889, Morgan, Yuma, Cheyenne, Otero, Rio Blanco, Phillips, Sedgwick, Kiowa, Kit Carson, Lincoln, Prowers, Baca, and Montezuma counties were formed, bringing the total to 55. By 1900, Mineral County and Teller County had been added. On November 15, 1902, Arapahoe County was split into Adams and South Arapahoe Counties, and Denver was reconstituted as a consolidated city-county from portions of both newly formed counties on December 1, 1902. By 1912, Jackson County, Moffat County, and Crowley County had been created. Alamosa was created in 1913. In 2001, Broomfield was reconstituted as a consolidated city-county from parts of Adams, Boulder, Jefferson and Weld counties, bringing the total to 64 counties.

Colorado counties

Select the

OpenStreetMap OpenStreetMap (abbreviated OSM) is a free, Open Database License, open geographic database, map database updated and maintained by a community of volunteers via open collaboration. Contributors collect data from surveying, surveys, trace from Ae ...

link at the right to view the location of these 64 counties. :''For Colorado counties by statistical area, see the

List of statistical areas in Colorado The United States, U.S. Colorado, State of Colorado has 20 Statistical area (United States), statistical areas that have been delineated by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Statistical areas are important geographic delineations of pop ...

.'' :''For Colorado county seats, see the List of county seats in Colorado.'' :''For Colorado county courthouses, see the List of Colorado county courthouses.'' :''For Colorado county

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

, see the List of Colorado counties by per capita income :''For Colorado county

socioeconomics Economic sociology is the study of the social cause and effect of various economic phenomena. The field can be broadly divided into a classical period and a contemporary one, known as "new economic sociology". The classical period was concerned ...

, see the List of Colorado counties by socioeconomic factors.'' :''For Colorado county highest elevation points, see the

List of Colorado county high points This is a list of the 64 counties of the U.S. State of Colorado by their points of highest elevation. Of the 50 highest county high points in the United States, 30 are located in Colorado. The highest point in Colorado and the Rocky Mountai ...

.'' :''For Colorado municipalities by county, see the List of Colorado municipalities by county.'' :''For Colorado populated places by county, see the List of Colorado populated places by county.'' :''For Colorado county maps, see th
State of Colorado Map Viewer
''

County population

Former counties

The following sortable table lists all the historic

of the

Territory of New Mexico The Territory of New Mexico was an organized incorporated territory of the United States from September 9, 1850, until January 6, 1912. It was created from the U.S. provisional government of New Mexico, as a result of '' Nuevo México'' becomi ...

, the Territory of Utah, the

Territory of Kansas The Territory of Kansas was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 30, 1854, until January 29, 1861, when the eastern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the free state of Kansas. ...

, and the extralegal Territory of Jefferson that previously existed within the boundaries of the present

, as well as the three defunct counties of the Territory of Colorado and the three defunct counties of the

County high points

Of the 64 Colorado counties, 20 counties extend above elevation, 32 counties extend above , 42 counties extend above , and all 64 Colorado counties extend above .

County mean elevation

Of Colorado's 64 counties, 4 counties have a

mean A mean is a quantity representing the "center" of a collection of numbers and is intermediate to the extreme values of the set of numbers. There are several kinds of means (or "measures of central tendency") in mathematics, especially in statist ...

elevation The elevation of a geographic location (geography), ''location'' is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational equipotenti ...

above elevation, 22 counties have a mean elevation above , 32 counties have a mean elevation above , and all 64 counties have a mean elevation above . The following 13 Colorado counties have highest mean elevation of any county in the United States, exceeding even the Denali Borough of

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

County firsts

:1. Costilla County was the first area within the present State of Colorado to be settled by Europeans in 1851. :2. Taos County, created by the

in 1852, was the first organized county to extend into the area of the present State of Colorado. :3. Arapahoe County, created by the

in 1855, was the first county created exclusively within the area of the present State of Colorado. :4. On November 28, 1859, the extralegal Territory of Jefferson created 12 counties: :5. On November 1, 1861, the Territory of Colorado created the 17 original Colorado counties: :6. Of the 17 original Colorado counties created in 1861, only Gilpin County and Clear Creek County have retained their original boundaries with only minor survey changes. :7. Guadaloupe County was the first Colorado county to be renamed after only six days in 1861. :8. Las Animas County was the first new Colorado county to be created (in 1866) after the original 17 counties. :9. Greenwood County was the longest lived former Colorado county, existing four years from 1870 to 1874. :10. In 1876, San Juan County became the last county created by the Territory of Colorado, bringing the total number of territorial counties to 26. :11. In 1877, Ouray County became the first county created by the new

. :12. Carbonate County was the shortest lived former Colorado county, existing only two days in 1879 before being dissolved. :13. The City and County of Broomfield became the newest Colorado county in 2001, bring the total number of counties to 64.

County distinctions

:1. El Paso County (88) and the

(93) and are among the 100 most populous counties of the United States. :2. San Juan County (16), Hinsdale County (25), Mineral County (32), Jackson County (55), Kiowa County (59), and Cheyenne County (80) are among the 100 least populous counties of the United States. :3. Jefferson County borders ten adjacent counties, the most of any Colorado county. :4. Delta County and the

each border only three adjacent counties, the fewest of Colorado counties. :5. Weld County has the most incorporated municipalities of any Colorado county with 31. :6. The following nine Colorado counties have no incorporated municipalities other than their county seat: :7. Of all 64 Colorado counties, only Conejos County has a county seat that is not an incorporated municipality. :8. The

and the City and County of Broomfield are the only two Colorado counties with

enclave An enclave is a territory that is entirely surrounded by the territory of only one other state or entity. An enclave can be an independent territory or part of a larger one. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is so ...

s. Arapahoe County, Boulder County, and Jefferson County are the only three Colorado counties with

exclave An enclave is a territory that is entirely surrounded by the territory of only one other state or entity. An enclave can be an independent territory or part of a larger one. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is s ...

s. :9. Pitkin and Weld are the only

home rule Home rule is the government of a colony, dependent country, or region by its own citizens. It is thus the power of a part (administrative division) of a state or an external dependent country to exercise such of the state's powers of governan ...

counties.

Gallery

USAFA air gardens.jpg, 1. The

United States Air Force Academy The United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) is a United States service academies, United States service academy in Air Force Academy, Colorado, Air Force Academy Colorado, immediately north of Colorado Springs, Colorado, Colorado Springs. I ...

El Paso County, Colorado El Paso County is the List of counties in Colorado, most populous county in the U.S state of Colorado. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 730,395, surpassing the city and county of Denver. The county seat is ...

, alt=Photo of the United States Air Force Academy in El Paso County, Colorado Denver Capitol.jpg, 2. The

Colorado State Capitol The Colorado State Capitol Building, located at 200 East Colfax Avenue in Denver, Colorado, United States, is the home of the Colorado General Assembly and the offices of the Governor of Colorado, Lieutenant Governor of Colorado, and the Co ...

in the

, alt=Photo of the Colorado State Capitol in the City and County of Denver Key Savings and Loan Association Building.JPG, 3. A bank building in

Arapahoe County, Colorado Arapahoe County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its population was 655,070, making it the third-most populous county in Colorado. The county seat is Littleton, Colorado, L ...

, alt=Photo of a bank building in Arapahoe County, Colorado Colorado School of Mines (5893276634).jpg, 4. The

Colorado School of Mines The Colorado School of Mines (Mines) is a public research university in Golden, Colorado, United States. Founded in 1874, the school offers both undergraduate and graduate degrees in engineering, science, and mathematics, with a focus on ener ...

Jefferson County, Colorado Jefferson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 582,910, making it the fourth-most populous county in Colorado. The county seat is Golden, and the most populous city is Lakewood. ...

, alt=Photo of the Colorado School of Mines in Jefferson County, Colorado The Childrens Hospital of Denver Front.JPG, 5. The Anschutz Medical Campus in Adams County, Colorado, alt=Photo of the Anschutz Medical Campus in Adams County, Colorado Fountain Valley Trail (5974714678).jpg, 6. Roxborough State Park in

Douglas County, Colorado Douglas County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 357,978. The county is named in honor of U.S. Senator Stephen A. Douglas. The county seat is Castle Rock. Douglas County is pa ...

, alt=Photo of Roxborough State Park in Douglas County, Colorado CSU University Center for the Arts.jpg, 7.

Colorado State University Colorado State University (Colorado State or CSU) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Fort Collins, Colorado, United States. It is the flagship university of the Colorado State University Syst ...

Larimer County, Colorado Larimer County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 359,066. The county seat and most populous city is Fort Collins. The county was named for William Larimer, Jr., the founder of Denve ...

, alt=Photo of Colorado State University in Larimer County, Colorado Stampede Parade.jpg, 8. The Greeley Stampede Parade in

Weld County, Colorado Weld County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 328,981. The county seat is Greeley. Weld County comprises the Greeley, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the Denv ...

, alt=Photo of the Greeley Stampede Parade in Weld County, Colorado National Center for Atmospheric Research - Boulder, Colorado.jpg, 9. The

National Center for Atmospheric Research The US National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR ) is a US federally funded research and development center (FFRDC) managed by the nonprofit University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) and funded by the National Science Foundat ...

in Boulder County, Colorado, alt=Photo of the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder County, Colorado Historic Arkansas Riverwalk of Pueblo.JPG, 10. The Historic Arkansas Riverwalk in

Pueblo County, Colorado Pueblo County ( or ) is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 168,162. The county seat is Pueblo, Colorado, Pueblo. The county was named for the historic city of Pu ...

, alt=Photo of the Historic Arkansas Riverwalk in Pueblo County, Colorado

History

Colorado counties

County population

Former counties

County high points

County mean elevation

County firsts

County distinctions

Gallery

See also

Notes

References

Further reading

External links