Routt County, Colorado

Routt County
Routt County
County
	Entering Routt County from the west on U.S. Route 40
	Location within the U.S. state of Colorado
	Colorado's location within the U.S.
	Coordinates: 40°29′N 106°59′W / 40.48°N 106.99°W
Country	United States
State	Colorado
Founded	January 29, 1877
Named for	John Long Routt
Seat	Steamboat Springs
Largest city	Steamboat Springs
Area
• Total	2,368 sq mi (6,130 km2)
• Land	2,362 sq mi (6,120 km2)
• Water	6.1 sq mi (16 km2) 0.3%
Population (2020)
• Total	24,829
• Density	11/sq mi (4/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 comprises the Steamboat Springs, CO Micropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Placer gold was found near Hahns Peak in 1864 as part of the Colorado Gold Rush.^[3]^: 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.^[4]

Adjacent counties

Carbon County, Wyoming - north
Jackson County - east
Grand County - southeast
Eagle County - south
Garfield County - south-southwest
Rio Blanco County - southwest
Moffat County - west

Major highways

National protected areas

State protected areas

Trails and byways

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1880	140		—
1890	2,369		1,592.1%
1900	3,661		54.5%
1910	7,561		106.5%
1920	8,948		18.3%
1930	9,352		4.5%
1940	10,525		12.5%
1950	8,940		−15.1%
1960	5,900		−34.0%
1970	6,592		11.7%
1980	13,404		103.3%
1990	14,088		5.1%
2000	19,690		39.8%
2010	23,509		19.4%
2020	24,829		5.6%
2023 (est.)	25,064	^[5]	0.9%
U.S. Decennial Census^[6] 1790-1960^[7] 1900-1990^[8] 1990-2000^[9] 2010-2020^[1]

At the 2000 census there were 19,690 people, 7,953 households, and 4,779 families living in the county. The population density was 8 people per square mile (3.1 people/km²). There were 11,217 housing units at an average density of 5 units per square mile (1.9 units/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 96.90% White, 0.13% Black or African American, 0.49% Native American, 0.39% Asian, 0.09% Pacific Islander, 0.73% from other races, and 1.28% from two or more races. 3.22% of the population were Hispanic Latino of any race.^[10] Of the 7,953 households 31.10% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.60% were married couples living together, 5.80% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.90% were non-families. 24.40% of households were one person and 3.70% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 2.92.

The age distribution was 22.60% under the age of 18, 10.10% from 18 to 24, 36.50% from 25 to 44, 25.70% from 45 to 64, and 5.00% 65 or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 116.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 119.40 males.

The median household income was $53,612 and the median family income was $61,927. Males had a median income of $36,997 versus $26,576 for females. The per capita income for the county was $28,792. About 2.80% of families and 6.10% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.20% of those under age 18 and 7.70% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Routt County is home to three public school districts:

Hayden School District RE-1, serving Hayden
Steamboat Springs School District RE-2, serving Steamboat Springs
South Routt School District RE-3, serving Oak Creek and Yampa

The county is also home to Steamboat Mountain School 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 & Snowboard Business, which focuses on the retail, manufacturing, and marketing of snowsports.^[11]

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^[12]
Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party
Year	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2020	5,925	35.11%	10,582	62.70%	369	2.19%
2016	5,230	37.39%	7,600	54.34%	1,156	8.27%
2012	5,469	41.07%	7,547	56.67%	301	2.26%
2008	4,725	35.80%	8,270	62.66%	204	1.55%
2004	5,199	44.20%	6,392	54.34%	171	1.45%
2000	4,472	46.40%	4,208	43.66%	958	9.94%
1996	3,019	38.52%	3,660	46.70%	1,158	14.78%
1992	2,358	28.89%	3,188	39.06%	2,615	32.04%
1988	3,264	51.65%	2,922	46.24%	133	2.10%
1984	4,239	66.15%	2,051	32.01%	118	1.84%
1980	3,574	53.33%	1,944	29.01%	1,184	17.67%
1976	2,822	54.13%	2,130	40.86%	261	5.01%
1972	2,629	59.33%	1,613	36.40%	189	4.27%
1968	1,602	53.83%	1,076	36.16%	298	10.01%
1964	1,095	36.94%	1,853	62.52%	16	0.54%
1960	1,651	53.83%	1,414	46.10%	2	0.07%
1956	1,811	57.55%	1,330	42.26%	6	0.19%
1952	2,143	57.31%	1,575	42.12%	21	0.56%
1948	1,492	40.87%	2,088	57.19%	71	1.94%
1944	1,869	48.79%	1,940	50.64%	22	0.57%
1940	2,212	44.07%	2,775	55.29%	32	0.64%
1936	1,541	33.68%	2,817	61.57%	217	4.74%
1932	1,568	35.56%	2,643	59.95%	198	4.49%
1928	2,304	57.36%	1,645	40.95%	68	1.69%
1924	1,822	53.51%	1,116	32.78%	467	13.72%
1920	1,854	57.51%	1,224	37.97%	146	4.53%
1916	849	28.76%	1,972	66.80%	131	4.44%
1912	738	26.11%	1,408	49.82%	680	24.06%
1908	1,098	42.71%	1,403	54.57%	70	2.72%
1904	1,384	60.54%	856	37.45%	46	2.01%
1900	575	40.41%	828	58.19%	20	1.41%
1896	122	9.89%	1,105	89.62%	6	0.49%
1892	325	49.17%	0	0.00%	336	50.83%
1888	366	62.24%	219	37.24%	3	0.51%
1884	106	59.22%	73	40.78%	0	0.00%
1880	39	67.24%	19	32.76%	0	0.00%