Routt County, Colorado

Last updated
Routt County, Colorado
County
Routt County, Colorado.JPG
Entering Routt County from the west on U.S. Route 40
Map of Colorado highlighting Routt County.svg
Location within the U.S. state of Colorado
Coordinates: 40°29′N106°59′W / 40.48°N 106.99°W / 40.48; -106.99
CountryFlag of the United States.svg United States
StateFlag of Colorado.svg Colorado
FoundedJanuary 29, 1877
Named after John Long Routt
Seat Steamboat Springs
Largest citySteamboat Springs
Area
 • Total
2,368 sq mi (6,130 km2)
 • Land2,362 sq mi (6,120 km2)
 • Water6.1 sq mi (16 km2)  0.3%
Population
 (2020)
 • Total
24,829
 • Estimate 
(2024)
25,243 Increase2.svg
 • Density10.51/sq mi (4.059/km2)
Time zone UTC−7 (Mountain)
 • Summer (DST) UTC−6 (MDT)
Congressional district 2nd
Website www.co.routt.co.us

Routt County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 24,829. [1] The county seat is Steamboat Springs. [2] Routt County is included in the Steamboat Springs, CO Micropolitan Statistical Area, which also includes neighboring Moffat County. [3]

Contents

History

Placer gold was found near Hahns Peak in 1864 as part of the Colorado Gold Rush. [4] : 30 

Routt County was created out of the western portion of Grand County on January 29, 1877. It was named in honor of John Long Routt, the last territorial and first state governor of Colorado. The western portion of Routt County was split off to form Moffat County on February 27, 1911.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 2,368 square miles (6,130 km2), of which 2,362 square miles (6,120 km2) is land and 6.1 square miles (16 km2) (0.3%) is water. [5]

Adjacent counties

Major highways

National protected areas

State protected areas

Trails and byways

Demographics

Historical population
CensusPop.Note%±
1880 140—
1890 2,3691,592.1%
1900 3,66154.5%
1910 7,561106.5%
1920 8,94818.3%
1930 9,3524.5%
1940 10,52512.5%
1950 8,940−15.1%
1960 5,900−34.0%
1970 6,59211.7%
1980 13,404103.3%
1990 14,0885.1%
2000 19,69039.8%
2010 23,50919.4%
2020 24,8295.6%
2024 (est.)25,243 [6] 1.7%
U.S. Decennial Census [7]
1790-1960 [8] 1900-1990 [9]
1990-2000 [10] 2010-2020 [1]

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 24,829, with 10,388 households and 5,106 families living in the county; 58.2% of residents lived in urban areas and 41.8% lived in rural areas. [11] [12]

Of the residents, 19.2% were under the age of 18 and 16.6% were 65 years of age or older; the median age was 41.6 years. For every 100 females there were 106.3 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 107.4 males. [11] [12]

The racial makeup of the county was 87.5% White, 0.6% Black or African American, 0.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% Asian, 0.2% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 3.2% from some other race, and 7.4% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 8.9% of the population. [13]

There were 10,388 households in the county, of which 27.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 19.4% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 26.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. [12]

There were 16,511 housing units, of which 37.1% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 71.6% were owner-occupied and 28.4% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.1% and the rental vacancy rate was 21.9%. [12]

Education

Four public school districts have territory in the county: [14]

The county is also home to Steamboat Mountain School (private) in Steamboat Springs and North Routt Community Charter School in Clark.

Routt County is also home to the Steamboat Springs campus of Colorado Mountain College. CMC Steamboat is the only college in the United States that offers a degree in ski and snowboard business, which focuses on the retail, manufacturing, and marketing of snowsports. [15]

Politics

Routt County tilted Republican for much of the second half of the 20th century. From 1952 to 1988, Republicans carried the county in all but one election. The one break in this trend came in 1964, when Lyndon Johnson won Routt by a healthy margin of 63–37.

Since the late 1980s, Routt County has trended Democratic. It swung from a 34-point win for Ronald Reagan in 1984 to only a five-point win for George H. W. Bush in 1988. In 1992, Bill Clinton became the first Democrat to win the county since 1964 and only the second since 1948, carrying it with modest pluralities in both of his bids. George W. Bush won the county in 2000 by only 264 votes. However, John Kerry won it by a 10-point majority in 2004, and since then Routt has become powerfully Democratic, with Democrats winning by margins rivaling those in the counties closer to Denver. In 2016, Hillary Clinton won the county 54–37. Routt County continued its Democratic trend in 2020, with Joe Biden winning the county 63–35. This is the largest margin of victory for a Democratic presidential candidate in the county since the 1916 election.

United States presidential election results for Routt County, Colorado [16]
Year Republican Democratic Third party(ies)
№ %№ %№ %
1880 3967.24%1932.76%00.00%
1884 10659.22%7340.78%00.00%
1888 36662.24%21937.24%30.51%
1892 32549.17%00.00%33650.83%
1896 1229.89%1,10589.62%60.49%
1900 57540.41%82858.19%201.41%
1904 1,38460.54%85637.45%462.01%
1908 1,09842.71%1,40354.57%702.72%
1912 73826.11%1,40849.82%68024.06%
1916 84928.76%1,97266.80%1314.44%
1920 1,85457.51%1,22437.97%1464.53%
1924 1,82253.51%1,11632.78%46713.72%
1928 2,30457.36%1,64540.95%681.69%
1932 1,56835.56%2,64359.95%1984.49%
1936 1,54133.68%2,81761.57%2174.74%
1940 2,21244.07%2,77555.29%320.64%
1944 1,86948.79%1,94050.64%220.57%
1948 1,49240.87%2,08857.19%711.94%
1952 2,14357.31%1,57542.12%210.56%
1956 1,81157.55%1,33042.26%60.19%
1960 1,65153.83%1,41446.10%20.07%
1964 1,09536.94%1,85362.52%160.54%
1968 1,60253.83%1,07636.16%29810.01%
1972 2,62959.33%1,61336.40%1894.27%
1976 2,82254.13%2,13040.86%2615.01%
1980 3,57453.33%1,94429.01%1,18417.67%
1984 4,23966.15%2,05132.01%1181.84%
1988 3,26451.65%2,92246.24%1332.10%
1992 2,35828.89%3,18839.06%2,61532.04%
1996 3,01938.52%3,66046.70%1,15814.78%
2000 4,47246.40%4,20843.66%9589.94%
2004 5,19944.20%6,39254.34%1711.45%
2008 4,72535.80%8,27062.66%2041.55%
2012 5,46941.07%7,54756.67%3012.26%
2016 5,23037.39%7,60054.34%1,1568.27%
2020 5,92535.11%10,58262.70%3692.19%
2024 5,67634.75%10,20862.49%4512.76%

Communities

City

Towns

Census-designated place

Unincorporated communities

Ghost towns

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved September 5, 2021.
  2. ↑ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
  3. ↑ "Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Areas Population Totals: 2020-2024". United States Census Bureau, Population Division. March 13, 2025. Retrieved March 14, 2025.
  4. ↑ Voynick, S.M., 1992, Colorado Gold, Missoula: Mountain Press Publishing Company, ISBN   0878424555
  5. ↑ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. February 12, 2011. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
  6. ↑ "County Population Totals and Components of Change: 2020-2024". United States Census Bureau . Retrieved June 3, 2025.
  7. ↑ "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved June 11, 2014.
  8. ↑ "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved June 11, 2014.
  9. ↑ "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved June 11, 2014.
  10. ↑ "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 11, 2014.
  11. 1 2 "2020 Decennial Census Demographic and Housing Characteristics (DHC)". United States Census Bureau. 2023. Retrieved 2025-12-08.
  12. 1 2 3 4 "2020 Decennial Census Demographic Profile (DP1)". United States Census Bureau. 2021. Retrieved 2025-12-08.
  13. ↑ "2020 Decennial Census Redistricting Data (Public Law 94-171)". United States Census Bureau. 2021. Retrieved 2025-12-08.
  14. ↑ Geography Division (December 17, 2020). 2020 Census - School District Reference Map: Routt County, CO (PDF) (Map). Suitland, Maryland: U.S. Census Bureau . Retrieved 2025-12-07. - Text list
  15. ↑ "Ski & Snowboard Sports Business Degree".
  16. ↑ Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved May 26, 2017.
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