Colorado Census 2010 (Colorado Springs, Pueblo, Grand Junction: sales, houses, construction)

[bostontopueblo]

Well I wouldn't say all of the growth is in Trinidad to clarify but the smaller towns around Trinidad as well such as Aguilar which has grown from 500 to about 720 I believe

[Josseppie]

Originally Posted by CAVA1990

A little off-topic here but Colorado used to do a state census every year that ended in 5. I wonder when it was discontinued and why it was done in the first place.

I never knew Colorado did that. Seems odd.

[iknowftbll]

Originally Posted by iknowftbll

There has been some talk of this on other threads, so I wanted to bring this up and make it a Colorado-based thread.

In about 14 months, the Census Bureau will release its findings from this year's counts. Following that a scramble of re-districting and probably some gerrymandering will determine new congressional layouts and electoral vote counts.

Last census, Colorado gained a representative in the U.S. Congress and with it and electoral vote. It's hard to say what will happen this year, weather the state will gain again or hold steady. I think we can all agree that Colorado is not a candidate for losing a representative.

The state also tracks its own population and that of the cities therein. Usually the state's counts are slightly higher than the federal counts. And many times, when the counts are reconciled during a census, the state counts prove more accurate.

So with these thoughts in mind, I'm curious what others are thinking. What are some of your projections for the State of Colorado and for some of the major cities?

Here are a few projections that I'll throw in for starters:

Colorado Population will be approximately 5.2 million, or a rough gain of 900,000. This will probably be enough to add a congressional district and an electoral vote. That translates to more clout in the federal government.

Colorado's top five cities will be (and these are approximate):

Denver: 610,000 (+55,000)
Colorado Springs: 415,000 (+55,000)
Aurora: 335,000 (+60,000)
Fort Collins: 148,000 (+30,000)
Lakewood: 141,000 (-3,000)

I think it's interesting how large of a drop off there is between the 3rd largest city and the 4th largest city in the state. I don't think that gap will be narrowed any time soon. I even wonder how long it will be before Aurora catches Colorado Springs and Denver? How weird would it be if the largest city in Colorado were a suburb? That is years away, though.

The Denver-Aurora-Boulder CSA will round off at about 3.3 million and rank somewhere from 14th to 17th nationally.

Colorado Springs MSA will be about 650,000. That puts it somewhere in the 80s for national ranking.

Well, what does everyone else have to say?

It's been just over a year since I started this discussion, and today the U.S. Census Bureau released the official counts for Colorado cities and counties, along with a lot of other statistical data. Let's see how I did:

Denver:
Predicted: 610,000
Actual: 600,158

Colorado Springs:
Predicted: 415,000
Actual: 416,427

Aurora:
Predicted: 335,000
Actual: 325,078

Fort Collins:
Predicted: 148,000
Actual: 143,986

Lakewood:
Predicted: 141,000
Actual: 142,980

Denver CSA: 3.1 million
Colorado Springs MSA: 645,000

Statewide:
Predicted: 5,200,000
Actual: 5,029,000 (Not enough to gain a representative or an electoral vote)

Overall they are healthy numbers for the state, with most of the largest cities posting modest or decent growth. I was hoping for the additional seat in Congress and electoral vote, but there's always next...uh...decade.

What say you?

[iknowftbll]

Oh, and Joss, before you ask:
Pueblo's 2010 official count was 106,595, ranking it 7th in the state. Pueblo County was 159,063.

[Josseppie]

Originally Posted by iknowftbll

Oh, and Joss, before you ask:
Pueblo's 2010 official count was 106,595, ranking it 7th in the state. Pueblo County was 159,063.

4.38% growth is not bad considering what Pueblo has gone through.

[iknowftbll]

Not bad at all, really. I believe it's a record high for both the city and county.

[jim9251]

Some population figures for the "other" Colorado:

Delta County - 30,952
Montrose County - 41,276
Ouray County - 4,436
San Juan County - 699
San Miguel County - 7,359

[Josseppie]

Originally Posted by iknowftbll

Not bad at all, really. I believe it's a record high for both the city and county.

I think your right. I wonder how many steel towns can say that from the 2010 census?

[GoneNative]

Denver lost 10,000 people and several Fortune 500s in 2009.

The south suburbs and Colorado Springs continue to grow and attract businesses and families. I have no idea what Census 2020 will look like, but I can't help but think that the political, economic, and cultural center of the state will continue to shift away from Denver to Colorado Springs and the suburbs between Denver and COS.

[Katarina Witt]

Originally Posted by GoneNative

Denver lost 10,000 people and several Fortune 500s in 2009.

The south suburbs and Colorado Springs continue to grow and attract businesses and families. I have no idea what Census 2020 will look like, but I can't help but think that the political, economic, and cultural center of the state will continue to shift away from Denver to Colorado Springs and the suburbs between Denver and COS.

I responded to this on another thread, but I'll expound here as well. Denver will remanin the seat of government in CO, and the Fed Center will remain in Lakewood for the forseeable future. The Health Science Center will remain in Aurora and the major health care facilities will remain in Denver and its burbs. The major universities will remain in Denver and Boulder.

There are not a lot of jobs in COS other than military, Fundamentalist Christianity, and providing goods and services to the above, e.g. health care, teaching, etc.