List of statistical areas in Colorado
The U.S. State of Colorado has twenty-one statistical areas that have been delineated by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Statistical areas are important geographic delineations of population clusters used by the OMB, the United States Census Bureau, planning organizations, and federal, state, and local government entities.
On March 6, 2020, the OMB delineated four combined statistical areas, seven metropolitan statistical areas, and ten micropolitan statistical areas in Colorado. The most populous of these statistical areas is the Denver–Aurora, CO Combined Statistical Area, with a population of 3,623,560 at the 2020 census.
Statistical areas
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has designated more than 1,000 statistical areas across the United States and Puerto Rico.
The OMB defines a core-based statistical area (commonly referred to as a CBSA) as "a statistical geographic entity consisting of the county or counties (or county-equivalents) associated with at least one core of at least 10,000 population, plus adjacent counties having a high degree of social and economic integration with the core as measured through commuting ties with the counties containing the core." The OMB further divides core-based statistical areas into metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs), which have a population of at least 50,000, and micropolitan statistical areas (μSAs), which have a population of at least 10,000, but fewer than 50,000.
The OMB defines a combined statistical area (CSA) as "a geographic entity consisting of two or more adjacent core-based statistical areas with employment interchange measures of at least 15%".
Counties by statistical areas
Primary statistical areas
Primary statistical areas (PSAs) include all combined statistical areas and any core-based statistical area that is not a constituent of a combined statistical area. Of the 21 statistical areas of Colorado, 12 are PSAs comprising four combined statistical areas, three metropolitan statistical areas, and five micropolitan statistical areas.
2020 rank | Primary statistical area | Population | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2020 Census | Change | 2010 Census | Change | 2000 Census | ||
1 | Denver–Aurora, CO Combined Statistical Area | 3,623,560 | +17.23% | 3,090,874 | +17.52% | 2,629,980 |
2 | Colorado Springs, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area | 755,105 | +16.96% | 645,613 | +20.12% | 537,489 |
3 | Fort Collins, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area | 359,066 | +19.84% | 299,630 | +19.14% | 251,494 |
4 | Pueblo-Cañon City, CO Combined Statistical Area | 217,101 | +5.45% | 205,887 | +9.73% | 187,635 |
5 | Grand Junction, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area | 155,703 | +6.12% | 146,723 | +26.21% | 116,255 |
6 | Edwards-Glenwood Springs, CO Combined Statistical Area | 134,774 | +7.19% | 125,734 | +25.36% | 100,298 |
7 | Durango, CO Micropolitan Statistical Area | 55,638 | +8.38% | 51,334 | +16.82% | 43,941 |
8 | Montrose, CO Micropolitan Statistical Area | 47,553 | +4.03% | 45,712 | +22.93% | 37,185 |
9 | Steamboat Springs-Craig, CO Combined Statistical Area | 38,121 | +2.19% | 37,304 | +13.53% | 32,857 |
10 | Breckenridge, CO Micropolitan Statistical Area | 31,055 | +10.93% | 27,994 | +18.88% | 23,548 |
11 | Fort Morgan, CO Micropolitan Statistical Area | 29,111 | +3.38% | 28,159 | +3.64% | 27,171 |
12 | Sterling, CO Micropolitan Statistical Area | 21,528 | −5.20% | 22,709 | +10.75% | 20,504 |
Total | The 12 primary statistical areas | 5,468,315 | +15.67% | 4,727,673 | +17.95% | 4,008,357 |