Front Range urban corridor

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The Front Range Urban Corridor is an oblong region of urban population located along the eastern face of the Southern Rocky Mountains, encompassing 18 counties in the US states of Colorado and Wyoming. The corridor derives its name from the Front Range, the mountain range that defines the western boundary of the corridor which serves as a gateway to the Rocky Mountains. The region comprises the northern portion of the Southern Rocky Mountain Front geographic area, which in turn comprises the southern portion of the Rocky Mountain Front geographic area of Canada and the United States. The Front Range Urban Corridor had a population of 5,055,344 at the 2020 Census, an increase of +16.65% since the 2010 Census.[2]

Front Range Urban Corridor
Pikes Peak from the Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs
An enlargeable map of the Front Range Urban Corridor of Colorado and Wyoming. Blue: Southeast Wyoming; red: North Central Colorado; green: South Central Colorado
An enlargeable map of the Front Range Urban Corridor of Colorado and Wyoming. Blue: Southeast Wyoming; red: North Central Colorado; green: South Central Colorado
Coordinates: 39°44′21″N 104°59′06″W / 39.7392°N 104.9850°W / 39.7392; -104.9850 (Front Range Urban Corridor)
Country United States
States Colorado
 Wyoming
Area
 • Total65,150 km2 (25,153 sq mi)
Population5,055,344
GDP
 • Total$378.020 billion (2022)

The corridor contains some of the West's largest cities, such as Denver and Colorado Springs. It also contains smaller cities such as Pueblo and Cheyenne. Its main transportation corridor is Interstate 25. There have been many proposals for Front Range Passenger Rail. None have come to fruition as of yet, though plans are under development.[3]

Extent edit

The Front Range Urban Corridor stretches approximately 200 miles from Pueblo, Colorado, north along Interstate 25 to Cheyenne, Wyoming, and includes the Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area, the Colorado Springs, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area, the Boulder, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area, the Fort Collins, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area, the Greeley, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area, the Pueblo, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area, the Cheyenne, WY Metropolitan Statistical Area, and the Cañon City, CO Micropolitan Statistical Area. The corridor comprises three primary subregions: the South Central Colorado Urban Area, the North Central Colorado Urban Area, and the Cheyenne Metropolitan Area.

The influence of the Corridor extends well beyond its defined boundaries. The Colorado Eastern Plains, Nebraska Panhandle, and Albany County, Wyoming, among other areas, are culturally and economically tied to the Corridor, though they are not considered to be a part of it.

The definition included here is not used for the greater Southern Rocky Mountain Front, one of the 11 megaregions of the United States. The megaregion's area is more expansive, extending south from Pueblo along the I-25 corridor into New Mexico, including Albuquerque and Santa Fe, and also including the Wasatch Front of Utah, separated by hundreds of miles from the regional core.[4]

Counties edit

The 18 counties of the Front Range Urban Corridor

2020 rank County 2020 census Change 2010 census Change 2000 census Area (mi2) Core-based statistical area Urban region
1 El Paso County, Colorado 730,395 +17.38% 622,263 +20.38% 516,934 2,130 Colorado Springs, CO MSA South Central Colorado
2 City and County of Denver, Colorado 715,522 +19.22% 600,158 +8.37% 553,805 155 Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO MSA North Central Colorado
3 Arapahoe County, Colorado 655,070 +14.52% 572,003 +17.01% 488,829 855
4 Jefferson County, Colorado 582,910 +9.05% 534,543 +1.73% 525,449 774
5 Adams County, Colorado 519,572 +17.66% 441,603 +26.87% 348,076 1,184
6 Larimer County, Colorado 359,066 +19.84% 299,630 +19.14% 251,494 2,634 Fort Collins, CO MSA
7 Douglas County, Colorado 357,978 +25.40% 285,465 +62.44% 175,732 843 Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO MSA
8 Boulder County, Colorado 330,758 +12.29% 294,567 +9.19% 269,784 740 Boulder, CO MSA
9 Weld County, Colorado 328,981 +30.12% 252,825 +39.86% 180,766 4,017 Greeley, CO MSA
10 Pueblo County, Colorado 168,162 +5.72% 159,063 +12.42% 141,490 2,398 Pueblo, CO MSA South Central Colorado
11 Laramie County, Wyoming 100,512 +9.56% 91,738 +12.41% 81,607 2,688 Cheyenne, WY MSA Southeast Wyoming
12 City and County of Broomfield, Colorado 74,112 +32.61% 55,889 +42.57% 39,202 34 Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO MSA North Central Colorado
13 Fremont County, Colorado 48,939 +4.52% 46,824 +1.47% 46,145 1,534 Cañon City, CO MSA South Central Colorado
14 Elbert County, Colorado 26,062 +12.89% 23,086 +16.17% 19,872 1,851 Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO MSA North Central Colorado
15 Teller County, Colorado 24,710 +5.82% 23,350 +13.60% 20,555 559 Colorado Springs, CO MSA South Central Colorado
16 Park County, Colorado 17,390 +7.31% 16,206 +11.59% 14,523 2,211 Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO MSA North Central Colorado
17 Clear Creek County, Colorado 9,397 +3.40% 9,088 −2.51% 9,322 396
18 Gilpin County, Colorado 5,808 +6.75% 5,441 +14.38% 4,757 150
Total 18 counties 5,055,344 +16.65% 4,333,742 +17.50% 3,688,342 25,153 8 core-based statistical areas 3 urban regions

Municipalities edit

The 19 municipalities of the Front Range Urban Corridor with a population of at least 50,000

2020 rank Municipality 2020 census Change 2010 census Change 2000 census
1 City and County of Denver, Colorado 715,522 +19.22% 600,158 +8.21% 554,636
2 City of Colorado Springs, Colorado 478,961 +15.02% 416,427 +15.39% 360,890
3 City of Aurora, Colorado 386,261 +18.82% 325,078 +17.61% 276,393
4 City of Fort Collins, Colorado 169,810 +17.94% 143,986 +21.35% 118,652
5 City of Lakewood, Colorado 155,984 +9.09% 142,980 −0.80% 144,126
6 City of Thornton, Colorado 141,867 +19.44% 118,772 +44.17% 82,384
7 City of Arvada, Colorado 124,402 +16.88% 106,433 +4.19% 102,153
8 City of Westminster, Colorado 116,317 +9.62% 106,114 +5.13% 100,940
9 City of Pueblo, Colorado 111,876 +4.95% 106,595 +4.38% 102,121
10 City of Greeley, Colorado 108,795 +17.12% 92,889 +20.74% 76,930
11 City of Centennial, Colorado 108,418 +8.01% 100,377 NA NA
12 City of Boulder, Colorado 108,250 +11.16% 97,385 +2.86% 94,673
13 City of Longmont, Colorado 98,885 +14.62% 86,270 +21.35% 71,093
14 City of Loveland, Colorado 76,378 +14.24% 66,859 +32.11% 50,608
15 City and County of Broomfield, Colorado 74,112 +32.61% 55,889 +46.03% 38,272
16 Town of Castle Rock, Colorado 73,158 +51.68% 48,231 +138.48% 20,224
17 City of Cheyenne, Wyoming 65,132 +9.53% 59,466 +12.18% 53,011
18 City of Commerce City, Colorado 62,418 +35.95% 45,913 +118.73% 20,991
19 Town of Parker, Colorado 58,512 +29.17% 45,297 +92.28% 23,558

Wyoming jurisdictions edit

In the State of Wyoming, the Front Range Urban Corridor includes the Town of Albin, the Town of Burns, the City of Cheyenne, the Town of Pine Bluffs, and unincorporated Laramie County.

Colorado jurisdictions edit

In the State of Colorado, the Front Range Urban Corridor includes:

Gallery of the most populous Front Range municipalities edit

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ "Gross Domestic Product by County and Metropolitan Area, 2022" (PDF). www.bea.gov. Bureau of Economic Analysis.
  2. ^ "QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved November 11, 2021.
  3. ^ "Report: Front Range Passenger Rail Moving Forward". Railway Age. 2021-07-01. Retrieved 2021-12-20.
  4. ^ "Megaregions". Archived from the original on May 16, 2017. Retrieved October 1, 2014.

External links edit