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Hey, guys, over at the Denver Post online they've got a little tool on the site you can use to fiddle around with the census results showing 2000 versus 2009.
I was kinda SHOCKED at the numbers and all I could picture was Jazzlover tossing and turning in his nocturnal slumber and having real bad nightmares involving beautiful Colorado getting trashed by hordes of suburbanite invaders from distant and not-so-distant lands.
Okay, check this out, here is the population growth from 2000 - 2009 for the Front Range counties that I loosely consider "My Old Stomping Grounds". I aggregated the numbers for both incorporated and unincorporated areas of all the counties.
Pop. growth 2000 - 2009
Douglas County 169,000
Adams County 86,000
Weld County 76,000
Denver County 56,000
Larimer County 48,000
Boulder County 13,000
Jefferson County 17,000
Arapaho County 5,000
This is not my area of expertise but that seems like an AWFUL (and I do mean awful) LOT of people moving in to the area. Certainly nowhere near that many jobs have been created during that time span in those areas. This is especially notable given that the prior decade witnessed another huge influx of people as well.
I can really see how this will create problems for Colorado (and Coloradans) in the future, kinda like 'ole Jazzy himself is always gripin' about!
I would like to see here a discussion about this. Is this trend sustainable going forward? What kind of changes has the Front Range economy and quality of life experienced as a result of this population growth? How about some anecdotes from you Coloradans who live in these counties. In some sense, all these people must generate a lot of business and revenue for somebody? Certainly this has grown the Front Range economy tremendously, but I don't see how CO can support so many people, forgive me if that just means I lack capitalistic imagination!
BTW, Arapaho County was a real oddball compared to the other 7 counties. Arapaho unincorporated lost 72,000 to offset the 77,000 gain in incorporated Arapaho County, for a net gain of only 5,000 suburbanite future post-apocalyptic looters. Anyone know what the story is there??
BTW, Arapaho County was a real oddball compared to the other 7 counties. Arapaho unincorporated lost 72,000 to offset the 77,000 gain in incorporated Arapaho County, for a net gain of only 5,000 suburbanite future post-apocalyptic looters. Anyone know what the story is there??
Probably annexation into Aurora and the incorporation of Centennial.
The Adams County number really surprised me, but they have built a lot of new housing at its northern end. It's probably the least desirable (generally) in the list to boot. Douglas County's growth is just scary, unfortunately Elbert will be the next one to see a similar fate.....just wait Elizabeth....you're next.
David is right. I lived off Broadway near Arapahoe Rd. in Littleton from the early 70's to the late 80's, they now call it Centennial.
A bunch of that new housing in Adams County David is referring to is out on State Hwy. 2, coming out of Commerce City heading north. Was out there last fall for the first time in years and was absolutely stunned at the amount and size of the homes out there. Hundreds of homes, I'm not sure so it wasn't thousands. YIKES!
Hey, guys, over at the Denver Post online they've got a little tool on the site you can use to fiddle around with the census results showing 2000 versus 2009.
I was kinda SHOCKED at the numbers and all I could picture was Jazzlover tossing and turning in his nocturnal slumber and having real bad nightmares involving beautiful Colorado getting trashed by hordes of suburbanite invaders from distant and not-so-distant lands.
Okay, check this out, here is the population growth from 2000 - 2009 for the Front Range counties that I loosely consider "My Old Stomping Grounds". I aggregated the numbers for both incorporated and unincorporated areas of all the counties.
Pop. growth 2000 - 2009
Douglas County 169,000
Adams County 86,000
Weld County 76,000
Denver County 56,000
Larimer County 48,000
Boulder County 13,000
Jefferson County 17,000
Arapaho County 5,000
This is not my area of expertise but that seems like an AWFUL (and I do mean awful) LOT of people moving in to the area. Certainly nowhere near that many jobs have been created during that time span in those areas. This is especially notable given that the prior decade witnessed another huge influx of people as well.
I can really see how this will create problems for Colorado (and Coloradans) in the future, kinda like 'ole Jazzy himself is always gripin' about!
I would like to see here a discussion about this. Is this trend sustainable going forward? What kind of changes has the Front Range economy and quality of life experienced as a result of this population growth? How about some anecdotes from you Coloradans who live in these counties. In some sense, all these people must generate a lot of business and revenue for somebody? Certainly this has grown the Front Range economy tremendously, but I don't see how CO can support so many people, forgive me if that just means I lack capitalistic imagination!
BTW, Arapaho County was a real oddball compared to the other 7 counties. Arapaho unincorporated lost 72,000 to offset the 77,000 gain in incorporated Arapaho County, for a net gain of only 5,000 suburbanite future post-apocalyptic looters. Anyone know what the story is there??
Yeah, it's a nightmare. No, it's not sustainable. No, there won't be enough jobs. No, there isn't enough money to support the existing infrastructure, much less build much new, unless, of course existing Coloradans are willing to swallow massive tax increases. No, there won't be enough water, without destroying wetlands, damming up rivers, and drying up irrigated agriculture. And, most importantly, it will be impossible to support the current quality of life, either economically or environmentally. Paradise lost--thanks to greed, poor or non-existent planning, waste, corruption, and frivolity. It's a disgrace, we should be ashamed of what we are allowing our home to become.
PS--It should scare the living crap out of people that the fastest growing county in Colorado in aggregate population gain, Douglas County, is also the one with the water supply most reliant on non-renewable and rapidly depleting sources--most notably the Denver Basin Aquifer. The greedy fools that let that happen should be made to pay for what has to be the biggest ****-up mistake in community planning in the history of this state. Of course, what will happen is that those same fools will be trying to figure out how to pull off another grandiose water grab--destroying all kinds of things precious to sensible Coloradans along the way--all the while sticking the existing taxpayers with the cost. Yet another example of the fat cats privitizing profits and socializing costs.
Last edited by Mike from back east; 07-23-2010 at 10:21 AM..
Pop. growth 2000 - 2009 Douglas County 169,000
Adams County 86,000
Weld County 76,000
Denver County 56,000
Larimer County 48,000
Boulder County 13,000
Jefferson County 17,000
Arapaho County 5,000
Unless I am wrong, we may be in worse trouble than you think. Here are the numbers I got off of the site. I used the county stats which gave me the population for each of the counties. I fed the numbers into a spreadsheet and got this. My numbers differ from the Census Bureau's because they use the 2000 actual count instead of the estimated 2000 population. I used the estimated population because comparing the actual count with an estimated number is comparing apples and oranges. To stay consistent, I used the Census Bureau estimates for both numbers (statistically speaking, the estimates are more accurate anyway).
It is important to understand, that new growth does not pay for itself. One reason we are in such financial turmoil is because we must subsidize the new growth while maintaining the infrastructure already in place. This is very apparent in Douglas County Schools where the entire county is being taxed to build new schools for new subdivisions that wouldn't have the ability to generate enough property taxes to build the schools on their own. Sooner or later the population says, "enough."
The percentage increase in El Paso County is in line with the percentage increase in the Denver Metro Area noted in Davidv's posting.
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Pueblo county saw decent growth considering we had to completely change our economy after the top 3 employers either left or shut down in the 1980's. More large scale devlopments are on the drawing board so hopefully by 2020 we can see more growth that is inline with the rest of the front range so we can catch up as we had a "lost" 30 year span.
In 2000 the county was 141,472
in 2009 the county was 157,224
Gain of 15,752 people
I would like to have see 160,000 by the 2010 census but the recession slowed our growth down and put on hold Pueblo Springs Ranch that would of helped get us there.
Last edited by Josseppie; 07-19-2010 at 02:38 PM..
It is important to understand, that new growth does not pay for itself. One reason we are in such financial turmoil is because we must subsidize the new growth while maintaining the infrastructure already in place. This is very apparent in Douglas County Schools where the entire county is being taxed to build new schools for new subdivisions that wouldn't have the ability to generate enough property taxes to build the schools on their own. Sooner or later the population says, "enough."
You are exactly right. Of course, the developers and their real estate lackeys continually preach that without population growth, economic growth is impossible. That's blatant crap, especially in an environment where the availability (or scarcity) of natural resources is the constraining economic factor to economic growth, not available labor. What the public doesn't get in this state and this country is that we have transcended from a time where the limiting factors to economic growth were having sufficient population to provide a labor force to one where natural resources and capital are now the limiting factors. And we continue to do our best to squander the natural resources and capital we have remaining, so it shouldn't take a genius to see where our economic future is heading--and it ain't up. When the public finally wakes up to reality, they will figure out--probably too late--that every additional person that we cram into Colorado is going to diminish the quality of life--materially, economically, and socially--for every single person already here. Then watch how things get real "Western" in a hurry--and I don't mean that in the genteel sense of "Western"--more like "Gunfight at the OK Corral" Western.
Pueblo county saw decent growth considering we had to completely change our economy after the top 3 employers either left or shut down in the 1980's. More large scale devlopments are on the drawing board so hopefully by 2020 we can see more growth that is inline with the rest of the front range so we can catch up as we had a "lost" 30 year span.
In 2000 the county was 141,472
in 2009 the county was 157,224
I would like to have see 160,000 by the 2010 census but the recession slowed our growth down and put on hold 2 Pueblo Springs Ranch that would of helped get us there.
Pueblo is facing the same problems that the rest of the front range is facing: To much development and not enough jobs. If Pueblo does have something going for it, its the fact that they have control over their own water.
The county may have 16,000 more residents than it did in 2000, but it certainly doesn't have 16,000 more jobs than it did in 2000...
Pueblo is facing the same problems that the rest of the front range is facing: To much development and not enough jobs. If Pueblo does have something going for it, its the fact that they have control over their own water.
The county may have 16,000 more residents than it did in 2000, but it certainly doesn't have 16,000 more jobs than it did in 2000...
Not only do we control our own water but we control a large part of the front range water supply and eastern plains.
As far as jobs that is and has been a issue here especially since the late 70's but is slowly changing with the university and developments like Pueblo Springs and the Colorado Energy park and the new industrial park south of town as well as the airport industrial park.
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