Eagle County, Colorado

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Eagle County, Colorado
The Eagle County Justice Center (county courthouse) in Eagle
Location in the state of Colorado
Colorado's location in the U.S.
Founded	February 11, 1883
Named for	Eagle River
Seat	Eagle
Largest community	Edwards
Area  - Total  - Land  - Water	1,692 sq mi (4,382 km²) 1,685 sq mi (4,364 km²) 7.3 sq mi (19 km²), 0.4%
Population  - (2020)  - Density	55,731 33/sq mi (13/km²)
Congressional districts	2nd, 3rd
Time zone	Mountain: UTC-7/-6
Website	www.eaglecounty.us

Eagle County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 55,731. The county seat is the Town of Eagle and the most populous community is Edwards. The county is named for the Eagle River.

Eagle County comprises the Edwards, CO Micropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Eagle County was created by the Colorado legislature on February 11, 1883, from portions of Summit County. It was named after the Eagle River, which runs through the county. The county seat was originally set in Red Cliff, Colorado, but was moved to the town of Eagle in 1921.

The Ground Hog Mine, near Red Cliff, produced gold and silver in two vertical veins in 1887. One vein, or "chimney", contained gold in crystalline form, cemented by iron, while the other contained wire gold in the form of "ram's horns". One of these ram's horns is now on display in the Harvard Mineralogical Museum.

Geography

The highest elevation in the county is the Mount of the Holy Cross which rises to 14,011 feet (4,271 m) above sea level. The lowest elevation is on the Colorado River at 6,128 feet (1,868 m).

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,692 square miles (4,380 km²), of which 1,685 square miles (4,360 km²) is land and 7.3 square miles (19 km²) (0.4%) is water.

Much of the county is taken up by White River National Forest, and much of the rest is managed by the Bureau of Land Management. Interstate 70 crosses the county from east to west.

The Eagle River rises in the southeastern part of the county. It receives Gore Creek at Dowds Junction, and joins the Colorado River in the west. Fryingpan River and the Roaring Fork River intersect the southwest corner of the county.

Adjacent counties

• Grand County – northeast
• Summit County – east
• Lake County – south
• Pitkin County – southwest
• Garfield County – west
• Routt County – northwest

Major highways

• Interstate 70
• I-70 Bus.
• I-70 Bus.
• I-70 Bus.
• U.S. Highway 6
• U.S. Highway 24
• State Highway 82
• State Highway 131

National protected areas

• White River National Forest
• Eagles Nest Wilderness
• Flat Tops Wilderness
• Holy Cross Wilderness

State protected area

• Sylvan Lake State Park

Trails

• Colorado Trail
• Continental Divide National Scenic Trail
• Two Elk National Recreation Trail
• Vail Pass National Recreation Trail

Scenic byways

• Colorado River Headwaters National Scenic Byway
• Top of the Rockies National Scenic Byway

Demographics

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1890	3,725		—
1900	3,008		−19.2%
1910	2,985		−0.8%
1920	3,385		13.4%
1930	3,924		15.9%
1940	5,361		36.6%
1950	4,488		−16.3%
1960	4,677		4.2%
1970	7,498		60.3%
1980	13,320		77.6%
1990	21,928		64.6%
2000	41,659		90.0%
2010	52,197		25.3%
U.S. Decennial Census 1790–1960 1900–1990 1990–2000 2010–2020

As of the census of 2000, there were 41,659 people, 15,148 households, and 9,013 families living in the county. The population density was 25 people per square mile (10/km²). There were 22,111 housing units at an average density of 13 per square mile (5/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 85.4% White, 0.3% Black or African American, 0.7% Native American, 0.8% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 10.8% from other races, and 1.9% from two or more races. 23.2% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 15,148 households, out of which 32.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.0% were married couples living together, 5.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.5% were non-families. 20.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 1.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.73 and the average family size was 3.17.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 23.5% under the age of 18, 11.4% from 18 to 24, 42.1% from 25 to 44, 20.0% from 45 to 64, and 3.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females there were 121.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 125.80 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $62,682, and the median income for a family was $68,226. Males had a median income of $37,603 versus $30,579 for females. The per capita income for the county was $32,011. About 3.9% of families and 7.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.8% of those under age 18 and 7.6% of those age 65 or over.

Life expectancy

According to a report in JAMA, residents of Eagle County had a life expectancy from birth of 85.94 years in 2014, the third-longest in the United States. Men live 84.4 years on the average and women live 87.6 years. Two contiguous counties, Summit and Pitkin counties, rank numbers one and two in the nation in life expectancy.

Factors contributing to the high life expectancy of the three Colorado counties are "high education, high income, high access to medical care, the people are physically active, obesity is lower than anywhere else – so you’re doing it right.” said Dr. Ali Mokdad, one of the study's co-authors.

Politics

United States presidential election results for Eagle County, Colorado

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2020	9,892	33.95%	18,588	63.79%	660	2.26%
2016	8,990	35.64%	14,099	55.90%	2,134	8.46%
2012	9,411	41.52%	12,792	56.43%	465	2.05%
2008	8,181	37.77%	13,191	60.91%	286	1.32%
2004	8,533	46.10%	9,744	52.64%	234	1.26%
2000	7,165	47.18%	6,772	44.59%	1,251	8.24%
1996	4,637	40.89%	5,094	44.92%	1,610	14.20%
1992	3,100	28.52%	3,870	35.60%	3,900	35.88%
1988	4,366	55.91%	3,314	42.44%	129	1.65%
1984	4,500	67.84%	2,032	30.63%	101	1.52%
1980	3,061	52.63%	1,608	27.65%	1,147	19.72%
1976	2,963	64.18%	1,502	32.53%	152	3.29%
1972	1,920	58.16%	1,306	39.56%	75	2.27%
1968	1,049	49.11%	927	43.40%	160	7.49%
1964	644	33.11%	1,299	66.79%	2	0.10%
1960	989	52.86%	880	47.03%	2	0.11%
1956	1,154	57.36%	852	42.35%	6	0.30%
1952	1,242	53.70%	1,058	45.74%	13	0.56%
1948	738	40.31%	1,008	55.05%	85	4.64%
1944	922	49.07%	952	50.67%	5	0.27%
1940	1,077	42.00%	1,474	57.49%	13	0.51%
1936	776	33.06%	1,541	65.66%	30	1.28%
1932	712	33.81%	1,348	64.01%	46	2.18%
1928	1,014	63.18%	570	35.51%	21	1.31%
1924	722	44.43%	431	26.52%	472	29.05%
1920	854	55.13%	649	41.90%	46	2.97%
1916	397	25.19%	1,136	72.08%	43	2.73%
1912	387	25.83%	727	48.53%	384	25.63%
1908	521	37.16%	828	59.06%	53	3.78%
1904	802	54.30%	625	42.32%	50	3.39%
1900	412	29.90%	943	68.43%	23	1.67%
1896	53	4.38%	1,149	95.04%	7	0.58%
1892	275	29.22%	0	0.00%	666	70.78%
1888	604	59.98%	400	39.72%	3	0.30%
1884	306	61.57%	190	38.23%	1	0.20%

Towns

• Avon
• Basalt
• Eagle
• Gypsum
• Minturn
• Red Cliff
• Vail

Census-designated places

• Dotsero
• Edwards
• El Jebel
• Fulford
• McCoy
• Wolcott

Other unincorporated places

• Bond
• Burns
• Eagle-Vail
• Sweetwater

Ghost Town

• Gilman

See also

• Outline of Colorado
• Index of Colorado-related articles
• Colorado census statistical areas
• Flight of Craig D. Button
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Eagle County, Colorado

External links

• Eagle County Government website
• Eagle County Transportation Service, Vail Taxi
• Vail Valley Partnership – The Chamber and Tourism Bureau
• Colorado County Evolution by Don Stanwyck
• History Colorado

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