Despite a history of economic booms and busts, steady – even explosive – population growth has been a Colorado constant since the mid-1850s. Colorado lost population in the mid-1860s when the gold rush ended, in the mid-1890s when the silver boom ended and again in the mid-1980s when the oil industry collapsed, but never has it lost population over a 10-year census period.

Colorado experienced 30% growth from 1990 to 2000, which ranks it the third-fastest growing state by percentage. With just more than 1 million new residents between 1990 and 2000, Colorado ranks eighth in population growth. Overall, Colorado is the 24th most populous state.

The growth prompted unprecedented economic prosperity, but at a price. For many residents, the beauty and splendor of the state has been compromised by growth and development.

Of Colorado’s 4.3 million residents in 2000, 3.3 million, or 77%, live in nine Front Range counties which contain the cities and suburbs of Fort Collins, Greeley, Boulder, Longmont, Denver, Colorado Springs and Pueblo. The only other metropolitan area is Grand Junction, in far western Colorado, with 116,255 Mesa County residents.

Population trends show slow or no growth on the eastern plains of the state, explosive growth in most resort mountainous counties and steady, but relatively controlled growth in the far west. Only six counties lost population between 1990 and 2000: Baca, Cheyenne, Jackson, Kiowa, Rio Blanco and San Juan.

Eleven Colorado counties have population densities below two people  per square mile: Baca, Cheyenne, Jackson, Kiowa, Rio Blanco, San Juan, Dolores, Hinsdale, Mineral, Saguache and Washington. Hinsdale County has the fewest people of all Colorado counties with 790, and a density of 0.7 people per square mile. That contrasts to Denver County’s 554,446 people and a density of 3,617 people per square mile.