El Paso County, Colorado
El Paso County is one of the 64 counties of the U.S. state of Colorado. The 2010 Census recorded its population of 622,263 for El Paso County. The Census Bureau's 2018 estimate indicates it is the second-most populous county in Colorado, after the City and County of Denver. The county seat is Colorado Springs, the second most populous city in Colorado.
El Paso County is included in the Colorado Springs, Colorado, Metropolitan Statistical Area.
El Paso County is located in Colorado's 5th congressional district. Since its creation in 1871, El Paso County has typically voted for the Republican presidential candidate in presidential elections; the last Democratic nominee to win the county was Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964. The Democratic Party won El Paso County four additional times prior, and the Populist Party won in 1892, with General James B. Weaver.
In 2004, the voters of Colorado Springs and El Paso County established the Pikes Peak Rural Transportation Authority and adopted a 1% sales tax dedicated to improving the region's transportation infrastructure. Together with state funding for COSMIX and the I-25 interchange with Highway 16, significant progress has been made since 2003 in addressing the transportation needs of the area. In 2012, the county voted to legalize marijuana. On March 12, 2019, the county unanimously voted to become a Second Amendment sanctuary.
History
In July 1858, gold was discovered along the South Platte River in Arapahoe County, Kansas Territory. This discovery precipitated the Pike's Peak Gold Rush. Many residents of the mining region felt disconnected from the remote territorial governments of Kansas and Nebraska, so they voted to form their own Territory of Jefferson on October 24, 1859. The following month, the Jefferson Territorial Legislature organized 12 counties for the new territory including El Paso County. El Paso County was named for the Spanish language name for Ute Pass north of Pikes Peak. Colorado City served as the county seat of El Paso County.The Jefferson Territory never received federal sanction, but on February 28, 1861, U.S. President James Buchanan signed an act organizing the Territory of Colorado. El Paso County was one of the original 17 counties created by the Colorado legislature on November 1, 1861. Part of its western territory was broken off to create Teller County in 1899. Originally based in Old Colorado City, El Paso County's county seat was moved to Colorado Springs in 1873.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of, of which are land and are covered by water.Adjacent counties
- Douglas County - north
- Elbert County - northeast
- Lincoln County - east
- Crowley County - southeast
- Pueblo County - south
- Fremont County - west
- Teller County - west
Major highways
- Interstate 25
- U.S. Highway 24
- U.S. Highway 85
- State Highway 83
- State Highway 94
- State Highway 115
National protected area
- Pike National Forest
State protected area
- Cheyenne Mountain State Park
Historic sites
- Pikes Peak National Historic Landmark
- USAFA Cadet Area National Historic District
- Old Colorado City
- Manitou Springs
Trails
- American Discovery Trail
- Barr National Recreation Trail
- Bear Creek Cañon Park
- Bear Creek Regional Park and Nature Center
- Calhan Paint Mines
- Fountain Creek Nature Center
- The Incline
- New Santa Fe Trail
- Pikes Peak Greenway
- White House Ranch National Recreation Trail
Demographics
Of the 192,409 households, 36.70% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.60% were married couples living together, 10.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.40% were not families. Around 23.90% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.61 and the average family size was 3.11.
In El Paso county, the population pyramid was distributed as there being a slight surplus of males ages 0 to 45 and there after a slight surplus of females which is typical of most US populations. The greater than normal surplus of males between 18 and 35 are mainly due to the presence of five military installations located within the county.
Communities
Cities
- Colorado Springs
- Fountain
- Manitou Springs
Towns
- Calhan
- Green Mountain Falls
- Monument
- Palmer Lake
- Ramah
Census-designated places
- Air Force Academy
- Black Forest
- Cascade-Chipita Park
- Cimarron Hills
- Ellicott
- Fort Carson
- Gleneagle
- Peyton
- Rock Creek Park
- Security-Widefield
- Stratmoor
- Woodmoor
Other unincorporated communities
- Crystola
- Eastonville
- Falcon
- La Foret
- Rush
- Truckton
- Yoder
Government
The Colorado Department of Corrections has its headquarters in an unincorporated area in the county.
Top employers
According to the city's 2014 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the city are:# | Employer | % of County Employment |
1 | Fort Carson | 10.38% |
2 | Peterson Air Force Base | 3.89% |
3 | Schriever Air Force Base | 2.50% |
4 | United States Air Force Academy | 2.48% |
5 | Colorado Springs School District 11 | 1.30% |
6 | Academy School District 20 | 1.05% |
7 | Memorial Health Services | 1.03% |
8 | Penrose-St. Francis Health Services | 0.93% |
9 | City of Colorado Springs | 0.75% |
10 | El Paso County | 0.69% |
Libraries
The Pikes Peak Library District provides library services through its 15 branches and bookmobiles to the residents of El Paso County, with the exception of Widefield School District 3. The mission of the District is "Providing resources and opportunities that impact individual lives and build community. Seek. Engage. Transform."Politics
El Paso is extremely conservative for a large urban county. It is by far the most populous reliably Republican county in Colorado. It has voted Republican in every presidential election since 1920, except for the Democratic landslides of 1936 and 1964, and a Democrat has only garnered 40 percent of the county's vote three times since Roosevelt.Year | Republican | Democratic | Others |
2016 | 56.2% 179,228 | 33.9% 108,010 | 10.0% 31,730 |
2012 | 58.9% 170,952 | 38.5% 111,819 | 2.6% 7,404 |
2008 | 58.7% 160,318 | 39.9% 108,899 | 1.5% 3,958 |
2004 | 66.7% 161,361 | 32.1% 77,648 | 1.2% 2,779 |
2000 | 63.9% 128,294 | 30.8% 61,799 | 5.3% 10,664 |
1996 | 59.0% 102,403 | 32.2% 55,822 | 8.8% 15,216 |
1992 | 51.5% 86,044 | 27.4% 45,827 | 21.1% 35,298 |
1988 | 70.0% 96,965 | 28.9% 39,995 | 1.1% 1,506 |
1984 | 75.0% 88,377 | 23.9% 28,185 | 1.0% 1,210 |
1980 | 63.7% 66,199 | 26.4% 27,463 | 9.9% 10,328 |
1976 | 59.1% 50,929 | 38.2% 32,911 | 2.7% 2,290 |
1972 | 69.1% 53,892 | 27.2% 21,234 | 3.7% 2,859 |
1968 | 53.8% 32,066 | 35.6% 21,232 | 10.7% 6,357 |
1964 | 46.0% 23,822 | 53.8% 27,844 | 0.3% 141 |
1960 | 64.9% 31,625 | 34.9% 17,018 | 0.1% 61 |
1956 | 58.5% 27,282 | 40.5% 18,879 | 1.1% 505 |
1952 | 68.7% 25,272 | 30.5% 11,203 | 0.8% 303 |
1948 | 55.3% 15,705 | 43.3% 12,291 | 1.5% 423 |
1944 | 58.2% 16,392 | 41.4% 11,679 | 0.4% 115 |
1940 | 55.3% 16,766 | 43.9% 13,320 | 0.8% 229 |
1936 | 39.8% 10,965 | 56.8% 15,652 | 3.3% 920 |
1932 | 49.4% 12,017 | 46.6% 11,353 | 4.0% 980 |
1928 | 75.3% 16,243 | 23.5% 5,069 | 1.2% 266 |
1924 | 55.7% 10,215 | 22.6% 4,140 | 21.8% 3,989 |
1920 | 62.8% 9,535 | 33.4% 5,073 | 3.8% 581 |
1916 | 43.6% 7,159 | 51.0% 8,381 | 5.5% 897 |
1912 | 18.7% 2,816 | 37.0% 5,559 | 44.3% 6,671 |
Military installations
El Paso County is home to both Army and Air Force bases. These military installations border the city, to the north, south, and east, aside from Schriever Air Force Base, which is located about 10 miles east of Peterson AFB.Fort Carson
Fort Carson, "The Mountain Post", is located just south of Colorado Springs at the base of the Rocky Mountains. It was established in 1942, following Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor. The city of Colorado Springs purchased land south of the city and donated it to the War Department. Construction began immediately and the first building, the camp headquarters, was completed January 31, 1942. Camp Carson was named in honor of the legendary Army scout, Gen. Christopher "Kit" Carson, who explored much of the West in the 1800s. Camp Carson became Fort Carson in 1954. An additional training area was purchased in September 1983 and is called Piñon Canyon Maneuver Site.Currently, Fort Carson is the home of 4th Infantry Division and several other units, including 10th Special Forces Group, the Colorado National Guard Regional Training Institute and PCMS, which is a maneuver training site for Fort Carson located near Trinidad, Colorado. The installation totals about 137,000 acres and PCMS is roughly 236,000 acres. Fort Carson has around 3,000 family housing units and 66 soldier barracks with 8,132 rooms. Services on the installation include four elementary schools, one middle school, a commissary, an exchange, and Evans Army Community Hospital, as well as Army Community Service facilities to include child development centers and youth centers and family morale, welfare, and recreation facilities to include a bowling alley, golf course, and numerous parks.
Fort Carson's economic impact on Colorado Springs and the surrounding communities was approximately $2.3 billion during fiscal year 2014. Fort Carson has about 24,300 soldiers on the installation, with 44,700 family members. The installation also has around 8,000 veterans and 3,300 civilians.
Peterson Air Force Base
The Air Force has critical aspects of their service based at Colorado Springs, which carry on missile defense operations and development. The Air Force bases a large section of its national missile defense operations here, with Peterson Air Force Base set to operate large sections of the program. Peterson AFB is currently the headquarters of the majority of the Air Force Space Command and the operations-half of Army Space and Missile Defense Command/Army Strategic Command.Peterson is also headquarters for the United States Northern Command, one of the Unified Combatant Commands, which directs all branches of the U.S. military operations in their area of responsibility, which includes the continental United States, Alaska, Canada, and Mexico. In the event of national emergencies, the President or Secretary of Defense can call upon the command for any required military assistance. Service members from every branch of the US military are stationed at the command.