Grand County, Colorado

Grand County
	Grand County, Colorado
	; Seal
	; Seal
	; Location in the state of Colorado
	; Colorado's location in the U.S.
Founded	February 2, 1874
Seat	Hot Sulphur Springs
Largest town	Granby
Area; - Total; - Land; - Water	; 1,869.60 sq mi (4,842 km²); 1,846.67 sq mi (4,783 km²); 22.93 sq mi (59 km²), 1.23%
PopulationEst.; - (2005); - Density	; 13,211; 7/sq mi (3/km²)
Time zone	Mountain: UTC-7/-6
Website	co.grand.co.us

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Scenic vehicle entrance to Grand Lake Lodge (established 1919), included on the National Register of Historic Places

Grand County is the 21st largest of the 64 counties of the State of Colorado of the United States. The county population was 12,442 at U.S. Census 2000.^[1] The county seat is Hot Sulphur Springs.

[edit] Geography

According to the 2000 census, the county has a total area of 1,869.60 square miles (4,842.2 km²), of which 1,846.67 square miles (4,782.9 km²) (or 98.77%) is land and 22.93 square miles (59.4 km²) (or 1.23%) is water.^[2]

[edit] Adjacent counties

Larimer County, Colorado - northeast
Gilpin County, Colorado - east
Boulder County, Colorado - east
Clear Creek County, Colorado - southeast
Summit County, Colorado - south
Eagle County, Colorado - southwest
Jackson County, Colorado - northwest
Routt County, Colorado - northwest

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^[3] of 2000, there were 12,442 people, 5,075 households, and 3,217 families residing in the county. The population density was 7 people per square mile (3/km²). There were 10,894 housing units at an average density of 6 per square mile (2/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 95.15% White, 0.48% Black or African American, 0.43% Native American, 0.68% Asian, 0.10% Pacific Islander, 2.00% from other races, and 1.15% from two or more races. 4.36% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 23.8% were of German, 12.6% Irish, 10.0% English and 7.3% American ancestry according to Census 2000.

There were 5,075 households out of which 28.10% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.70% were married couples living together, 5.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.60% were non-families. 24.80% of all households were made up of individuals and 4.80% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 2.85.

In the county the population was spread out with 21.80% under the age of 18, 9.00% from 18 to 24, 34.70% from 25 to 44, 26.80% from 45 to 64, and 7.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 112.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 115.70 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $47,759, and the median income for a family was $55,217. Males had a median income of $34,861 versus $26,445 for females. The per capita income for the county was $25,198. About 5.40% of families and 7.30% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.90% of those under age 18 and 6.10% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Cities and towns

The Fraser Valley in eastern Grand County is a key tourist area.

[edit] History

When Grand County was created February 2, 1874 it was carved out of Summit County and contained land to the western and northern borders of the state, which is now in present day Moffat County and Routt County. It was named after Grand Lake and the Grand River, an old name for the Colorado River, which has its headwaters in the county. On January 29, 1877 Routt County was created and Grand County shrunk down to its current western boundary. When valuable minerals were found in North Park, Grand County claimed the area as part of its county, a claim Larimer County also held. It took a decision by the Colorado Supreme Court in 1886 to declare North Park part of Larimer County, setting Grand County's northern boundary.