| ZIP Codes: | 6 ZIP Codes (4 Standard, 2 PO Box, 0 Unique) [See All] |
| Area Code: | 719 |
| Timezone: | Mountain (GMT -07:00) |
| Local Time: | 2:11:32 PM |
| Population: | 20,244 [See All] |
| FIPS: | 08015 |
| Land Area: | 1,058 sq mi |
| Water Area: | 2 sq mi |
| Coordinates: | 38.6962, -106.2025 |
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20,244 residents live across 6 ZIPs covering 1,058 sq mi, served by 6 distinct USPS-recognized cities.
Population moved from 18,138 to 20,244 from 2014 to 2024 — a +11.6% change. 4 ZIPs gained residents, 1 lost.
The county's wealthiest ZIP 81236 (Nathrop, $98,170 median) and poorest ZIP 81201 (Salida, $80,248) are 11.2 miles apart — a 1.2× income gap across local geography.
Median home values vary 1.5× across this county — from $482,500 in 81242 (Poncha Springs) to $745,400 in 81236 (Nathrop).
Density varies 32× across the county — from 11 people/sq mi in 81236 (Nathrop) to 349 in 81242 (Poncha Springs).
Educational attainment ranges from 34.4% bachelor's+ in 81242 (Poncha Springs) to 70.9% in 81236 (Nathrop) — the breadth of educational profiles across the area.
Within Colorado, this is the #25 most populous of 65 counties and ranks #20 for median household income with the #16 fastest decade growth .
Weighted by population, the typical household earns about $85,656 across the county — reflecting what a typical resident sees, not a simple ZIP average.
46.9% of adults age 25+ hold a bachelor's degree or higher (7,765 of 16,565 reporting).
4 Standard delivery, 2 PO Box only, 0 single-entity Unique ZIPs serve this county.
1 ZIP in this county where more than 60% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor's degree — typically college campuses, research enclaves, or tech corridors.
A frontier county — vast land area with only a few residents per square mile. Daily life looks very different here than in the country's denser counties.