Monday, March 19, 2012

Household formation in Colorado counties, 2001-2010

The Colorado demography office provides annual estimates of population and housing units in Colorado. See here for annual statistics. (Revised data is expected in the next several months.)

In the meantime, we have run some growth comparisons between the counties. The following analysis looks at household formation in each county. Household formation is defined as the change in the number of occupied housing units from one year to the next. 2010 data is presently the most recent data available. See below for the full table.

Each of the counties in the following maps is divided into the following quartiles (with the top quartile being the quartile with the most growth in households):

Top quartile: brown
Second quartile: Green
Third quartile: Orange
Bottom quartile: Yellow, White
(Negative growth: White)

The first map shows the one-year percent change for each county from 2009 to 2010. during this period, the number of households/occupied housing units increased 1.7 percent statewide. There is a surprising amount of household formation in the central plains counties and rural resort counties showed more growth than most of the state. El Paso County was the only metropolitan county that was not in the bottom quartile for growth.



The second map shows the three-year change in households (2007-2010). During this period, the number of households grew 5.4 percent statewide. In this case we see much of the growth taking place along the Front Range north of Pueblo, in the rural resort areas, and in northwestern Colorado. Several plains counties showed a declining number of households. The 3-year time period is essentially a post-recession period that reflect household growth since the national recession began at the end of 2007.



The third map shows a five-year time frame (2005-2010) in which the overall trends found in the 3-year time frame are little changed. During this period, the number of households grew 9.4 percent statewide. Growth is strongest in rural resort areas and in the Front Range north of Pueblo. The growth is more widespread throughout the Western Slope, during this period, however, reflecting oil and gas job growth that was quite strong from 2006 to 2008.



The final map shows the change in the number of households over 10 years (2001-2010). during this period, the number of households grew 15.4 percent statewide. Over a ten-year time period, we find that the strongest growth is found in Broomfield and Douglas counties, and also in Weld, San Juan and Ouray counties. No county on the eastern plains but Elbert is found outside the bottom quartile for this period.



Except for the one-year change from 2009 to 2010, household formation over time clearly shows a general trend in which the strongest growth is in the mountain resort counties, the Front Range north of Pueblo and the Western Slope. The areas with the smallest growth are consistently found along the eastern plains, southeastern Colorado, and in the San Luis Valley.





Area1-year change3-year change5-year change10-year change
COLORADO STATE1.75.49.415.4
     
ADAMS COUNTY1.66.411.621.9
ALAMOSA COUNTY3.54.44.57.5
ARAPAHOE COUNTY2.05.59.014.7
ARCHULETA COUNTY1.71.69.823.7
BACA COUNTY-0.1-3.7-5.2-10.6
BENT COUNTY1.53.6-4.9-7.9
BOULDER COUNTY1.43.65.86.3
BROOMFIELD COUNTY1.46.619.442.7
CHAFFEE COUNTY1.34.96.913.3
CHEYENNE COUNTY-0.1-2.1-7.1-9.4
CLEAR CREEK COUNTY1.3-0.30.42.4
CONEJOS COUNTY1.70.20.64.7
COSTILLA COUNTY1.2-2.1-1.10.3
CROWLEY COUNTY10.86.02.4-1.1
CUSTER COUNTY0.13.27.321.1
DELTA COUNTY1.84.87.112.1
DENVER COUNTY1.46.49.09.0
DOLORES COUNTY0.83.710.412.9
DOUGLAS COUNTY2.07.719.048.1
EAGLE COUNTY3.27.812.219.0
EL PASO COUNTY2.86.811.018.8
ELBERT COUNTY1.54.87.214.9
FREMONT COUNTY2.63.45.26.2
GARFIELD COUNTY1.15.812.519.5
GILPIN COUNTY1.712.015.518.6
GRAND COUNTY3.26.510.918.0
GUNNISON COUNTY0.33.47.912.1
HINSDALE COUNTY-4.2-6.2-2.2-0.5
HUERFANO COUNTY3.92.41.41.7
JACKSON COUNTY1.71.4-1.5-4.1
JEFFERSON COUNTY0.92.94.55.4
KIOWA COUNTY1.3-2.8-5.5-6.6
KIT CARSON COUNTY6.87.25.51.1
LA PLATA COUNTY3.27.010.717.0
LAKE COUNTY6.15.05.1-1.5
LARIMER COUNTY1.15.810.919.0
LAS ANIMAS COUNTY0.00.61.31.6
LINCOLN COUNTY4.62.5-1.5-6.2
LOGAN COUNTY-5.8-4.3-2.4-2.0
MESA COUNTY1.26.513.422.5
MINERAL COUNTY0.3-9.0-7.6-5.9
MOFFAT COUNTY3.96.810.010.3
MONTEZUMA COUNTY1.93.97.713.6
MONTROSE COUNTY1.45.812.522.1
MORGAN COUNTY1.62.93.16.3
OTERO COUNTY1.11.60.2-0.8
OURAY COUNTY2.97.013.525.5
PARK COUNTY2.31.95.515.7
PHILLIPS COUNTY1.31.10.12.3
PITKIN COUNTY3.49.09.89.6
PROWERS COUNTY0.20.2-4.0-5.4
PUEBLO COUNTY1.53.87.613.2
RIO BLANCO COUNTY5.19.915.815.8
RIO GRANDE COUNTY1.00.6-2.81.4
ROUTT COUNTY2.06.811.718.5
SAGUACHE COUNTY1.93.23.010.5
SAN JUAN COUNTY4.24.211.127.8
SAN MIGUEL COUNTY1.61.66.09.0
SEDGWICK COUNTY0.90.8-3.7-5.4
SUMMIT COUNTY6.59.211.613.3
TELLER COUNTY1.73.58.215.4
WASHINGTON COUNTY1.9-0.4-0.8-0.4
WELD COUNTY1.86.714.233.3
YUMA COUNTY0.52.62.83.9