Garfield County, Colorado

Last updated

Garfield County
County
The Garfield County Courthouse and county office building in Glenwood Springs, Colorado LCCN2015633571.jpg
Garfield County Courthouse in Glenwood Springs
Garfield County (Colorado).png
Flag
Motto: 
"New Energy in the Wild West" [1]
Map of Colorado highlighting Garfield County.svg
Location within the U.S. state of Colorado
Colorado in United States.svg
Colorado's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 39°36′N107°54′W / 39.6°N 107.9°W / 39.6; -107.9
CountryFlag of the United States.svg United States
StateFlag of Colorado.svg  Colorado
FoundedFebruary 10, 1883
Named for James A. Garfield
Seat Glenwood Springs
Largest city Rifle
Area
 • Total
2,956 sq mi (7,660 km2)
 • Land2,948 sq mi (7,640 km2)
 • Water8.3 sq mi (21 km2)  0.3%
Population
 (2020)
 • Total
61,685
 • Estimate 
(2023) [2]
62,707 Increase2.svg
 • Density21/sq mi (8.1/km2)
Time zone UTC−7 (Mountain)
 • Summer (DST) UTC−6 (MDT)
Congressional district 3rd
Website www.garfield-county.com

Garfield County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 61,685. [3] The county seat is Glenwood Springs. [4] The county is named in honor of United States President James A. Garfield. [5] Garfield County is included in the Glenwood Springs, CO Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the Edwards-Glenwood Springs, CO Combined Statistical Area.

Contents

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 2,956 square miles (7,660 km2), of which 2,948 square miles (7,640 km2) is land and 8.3 square miles (21 km2) (0.3%) is water. [6]

Adjacent counties

Major highways

Protected areas

Scenic byways

Demographics

Historical population
CensusPop.Note%±
1890 4,478—
1900 5,83530.3%
1910 10,14473.8%
1920 9,304−8.3%
1930 9,9757.2%
1940 10,5605.9%
1950 11,62510.1%
1960 12,0173.4%
1970 14,82123.3%
1980 22,51451.9%
1990 29,97433.1%
2000 43,79146.1%
2010 56,38928.8%
2020 61,6859.4%
2023 (est.)62,707 [7] 1.7%
U.S. Decennial Census [8]
1790-1960 [9] 1900-1990 [10]
1990-2000 [11] 2010-2020 [3]

The 2019 Census population estimate for Garfield County is 60,061, [12] a 6.5% increase from the 2010 Census.

Education

Garfield County is served by three public school districts:

The county is also home to private schools, including Colorado Rocky Mountain School in Carbondale, St. Stephen Catholic School in Glenwood Springs, and Liberty Classical Academy in New Castle.

Higher Education

The county is home to multiple campuses of Colorado Mountain College, a community college serving much of western Colorado. CMC operates a flagship residential campus at Spring Valley in the community of Cattle Creek, just south of Glenwood Springs. Additional branch campuses in Garfield County are located in Glenwood Springs, Rifle, and Carbondale.

Economy

Top Employers

As of its 2023 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report, Garfield County's top employers are: [13]

#EmployerEmployee range
1Valley View Hospital1,000 - 1,250
2Roaring Fork School District RE-1500 - 999
3Garfield County School District RE-2500 - 999
4Grand River Hospital500 - 999
5 City Market 500 - 999
6Garfield County250 - 499
7 Colorado Mountain College 250 - 499
8 Walmart 250 - 499
9City of Glenwood Springs200 - 499
10Alpine Bank100 - 249


Government

Structure

Garfield County is governed by a board of three county commissioners, who oversee the county's financial affairs, infrastructure developments, public health matters, and general economic development. [14]

Emergency Services

The Garfield County Sheriff's Office provides law enforcement and civil services, and operates the Garfield County Jail in Glenwood Springs. GCSO also oversees the county's emergency management, search and rescue, and tactical response functions.

Colorado River Fire Rescue, established in 2012, oversees fire and paramedic response for much of the county. Glenwood Springs maintains its own municipal fire department. Also operating in the county is the Carbondale & Rural Fire Protection District, serving Carbondale and the nearby communities of Redstone (located in Pitkin County) and Marble (located in Gunnison County).

Public Transportation

Public transportation is provided by the Roaring Fork Transportation Authority. RFTA is the second-largest public transportation entity in Colorado (behind the Denver area's Regional Transportation District), and the largest rural public transit provider in the United States, operating busses across a 70-mile stretch from Rifle to Aspen. The Parachute Area Transit System (PATS) connects the western communities of Parachute and Battlement Mesa to Rifle, offering connecting routes to RFTA.

Bustang, Colorado's inter-city bus service, runs its east-west route from Denver Union Station to Grand Junction, making stops in Glenwood Springs, Rifle, and Parachute.

Amtrak, running from Chicago to Emeryville, California, makes a stop in Glenwood Springs.

Garfield County is home to two airports: Rifle Garfield County Airport is located just east of the city of Rifle, while KGWS Sumers Airpark (formerly known as the Glenwood Springs Municipal Airport) is located in south Glenwood Springs.

Prison

The Rifle Correctional Center, operated by the Colorado Department of Corrections, is a 192-bed minimum security prison located in unincorporated Garfield County, nine miles north of Rifle.

Elected Officials

PositionElected Official
County Commissioner, District 1Tom Jankovsky
County Commissioner, District 2 Perry Will
County Commissioner, District 3Mike Samson
County AssessorJim Yellico
County Clerk and RecorderJackie Harmon
County CoronerRobert Glassmire
County SheriffLou Vallario
County SurveyorScott Aibner
County Treasurer/Public TrusteeCarrie Couey

Garfield County lies within Colorado's 9th Judicial District, represented by District Attorney Jefferson J. Cheney. [15] The 9th District, which serves Garfield, Pitkin and Rio Blanco counties, operates its main office at the Garfield County Courthouse in Glenwood Springs.

Politics

Voting participation rates in Garfield County are above the U.S. national average. [16] [17] In the 2018 general election, 65% of eligible voters participated. In the 2020 presidential election, 84.47% eligible voters participated. The county leans slightly Republican based on vote totals in elections from 2008 to 2018, with an estimated range of 2 to 1,000 votes often determining candidate outcomes for the county.

Garfield County has primarily voted for Republican Party candidates in presidential elections throughout its history, with the county only failing to back the Republican candidate ten times from 1884 to 2020. Although the county includes the relatively liberal cities of Carbondale and Glenwood Springs, this is somewhat outweighed by the nearby towns of Rifle, Silt, Parachute, and Battlement Mesa. Until 2020, the most recent Democratic win was by Bill Clinton in 1992, but Republicans were held to a plurality of the county's votes in half of the six following presidential elections prior to 2020. Notably, Barack Obama lost the county to John McCain by two votes in 2008.

In 2020, Joe Biden became the first Democratic presidential candidate to win the county since Clinton in 1992, with about 50% of the vote. No Democratic presidential candidate has won a majority of the vote in the county since Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964, although in 2020, Biden was just 26 votes shy of having the majority of the vote in the county. The county's leftward trend continued significantly in 2022, during which it backed the Democratic candidates and eventual winners in every statewide race.

The county lies in Colorado's 3rd congressional district, represented by Republican Jeff Hurd.

United States presidential election results for Garfield County, Colorado [18]
Year Republican Democratic Third party(ies)
No. %No. %No. %
2024 14,49347.71%15,12849.80%7552.49%
2020 14,71747.62%15,42749.92%7602.46%
2016 13,13249.61%11,27142.58%2,0677.81%
2012 12,53551.36%11,30546.32%5682.33%
2008 11,35949.21%11,35749.20%3661.59%
2004 11,12353.87%9,22844.69%2961.43%
2000 9,10353.22%6,08735.59%1,91411.19%
1996 6,28144.43%5,72240.47%2,13515.10%
1992 4,40431.51%5,08236.36%4,49032.13%
1988 6,35857.21%4,62041.57%1361.22%
1984 7,11169.14%3,07629.91%980.95%
1980 5,41658.08%2,63928.30%1,27013.62%
1976 4,69959.74%2,85236.26%3154.00%
1972 4,45266.27%2,08831.08%1782.65%
1968 3,15752.24%2,27337.61%61310.14%
1964 2,28241.58%3,19658.24%100.18%
1960 3,21558.04%2,31341.76%110.20%
1956 3,33262.90%1,95336.87%120.23%
1952 3,91468.44%1,77731.07%280.49%
1948 2,41650.10%2,36449.03%420.87%
1944 2,58857.97%1,86541.78%110.25%
1940 2,89457.18%2,14142.30%260.51%
1936 1,94542.95%2,40653.14%1773.91%
1932 1,73436.05%2,94661.25%1302.70%
1928 2,43560.03%1,56238.51%591.45%
1924 1,93451.27%91724.31%92124.42%
1920 1,91254.32%1,48942.30%1193.38%
1916 1,13929.86%2,47964.98%1975.16%
1912 82421.10%1,80646.25%1,27532.65%
1908 1,50441.99%1,89852.99%1805.03%
1904 1,63953.09%1,28641.66%1625.25%
1900 82632.29%1,70066.46%321.25%
1896 1737.61%2,06590.81%361.58%
1892 63447.00%00.00%71553.00%
1888 1,11056.63%82041.84%301.53%
1884 24563.80%13936.20%00.00%

Communities

Cities

Towns

Census-designated places

  1. ↑ Despite being served by a Garfield County school district, most of Basalt's schools are located in neighboring Pitkin County.
  2. ↑ Despite having no permanent population since the 1890 US Census, the town's property owners voted to reactivate the local government in 2014.

See also

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battlement Mesa, Colorado</span> Ceneus-designated place in Garfield County, Colorado, United States

Battlement Mesa is a census-designated place (CDP) and post office in and governed by Garfield County, Colorado, United States. The CDP is a part of the Glenwood Springs, CO Micropolitan Statistical Area. The Battlement Mesa post office has the ZIP Codes 81635 and 81636. At the United States Census 2020, the population of the Battlement Mesa CDP was 5,438. The Battlement Mesa Metropolitan District provides services.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carbondale, Colorado</span> Town in Colorado, United States

The Town of Carbondale is a home rule municipality located in Garfield County, Colorado, United States. The town population was 6,434 at the 2020 United States Census. Carbondale is a part of the Glenwood Springs, CO Micropolitan Statistical Area.

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The Town of Parachute is a home rule municipality in Garfield County, Colorado, United States. The population was 1,390 at the 2020 census.

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Rifle is a home-rule municipality in, and the most populous community of, Garfield County, Colorado, United States. Its population was 10,437 at the 2020 census. Rifle is a regional center of the cattle-ranching industry located along Interstate 70 and the Colorado River just east of the Roan Plateau, which dominates the western skyline of the town. The town was founded in 1882 by Abram Maxfield, and was incorporated in 1905 along Rifle Creek, near its mouth on the Colorado. The community takes its name from the creek.

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Catherine is a census-designated place (CDP) in and governed by Garfield County, Colorado, United States. The CDP is a part of the Glenwood Springs, CO Micropolitan Statistical Area. The population of the Catherine CDP was 235 at the United States Census 2020. The Glenwood Springs post office serves the area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cattle Creek, Colorado</span> Census-designated place in Garfield County, Colorado, United States

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References

  1. ↑ "Garfield County, Colorado". garfield-county.com.
  2. ↑ "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Counties: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2023". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 24, 2024.
  3. 1 2 "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved September 5, 2021.
  4. ↑ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on May 31, 2011. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
  5. ↑ Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. Govt. Print. Off. pp.  134.
  6. ↑ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. February 12, 2011. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
  7. ↑ "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Counties: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2023". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 31, 2024.
  8. ↑ "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved June 8, 2014.
  9. ↑ "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved June 8, 2014.
  10. ↑ "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved June 8, 2014.
  11. ↑ "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 27, 2010. Retrieved June 8, 2014.
  12. ↑ "U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: Garfield County, Colorado". www.census.gov. Retrieved October 11, 2020.
  13. ↑ "2023 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report" (PDF). garfield-county.com.
  14. ↑ "Policy Directives - Board of County Commissioners". garfield-county.com.
  15. ↑ "Meet the District Attorney". District Attorney: 9th Judicial District. Retrieved December 29, 2024.
  16. ↑ "Election archives – Clerk and Recorder". www.garfield-county.com. Retrieved October 11, 2020.
  17. ↑ "Voter turnout in the United States presidential elections", Wikipedia, October 8, 2020, retrieved October 11, 2020
  18. ↑ Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved November 27, 2020.

39°36′N107°54′W / 39.60°N 107.90°W / 39.60; -107.90

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