Pitkin County, Colorado Population and Demographics

In this article, we'll explore the population statistics for Pitkin County, Colorado, including popular demographics data like median age, number of households, household income, gender, employment and unemployment rates, occupations, religion, and more.

We are using the latest American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year survey data from the US Census Bureau, which is accurate up to 2021.

Table of Contents

Population

There is a lot of data that lets us see how many people live in Pitkin County, Colorado. The most basic data is the total population, which is the total number of people living in Pitkin County, Colorado. The estimated population of Pitkin County, Colorado is 17,471 people, with a median age of 45.9.

We can look at the total population in Pitkin County over the last 5 years to see how much it has changed.

Year Population Change 5-Year Change
2021
17,471
 -2.83% -1.56%
2020
17,980
+0.3%
-
2019
17,926
+0.09%
-
2018
17,909
+0.91%
-
2017
17,747
 - -

Population of Pitkin County, Colorado by Race and Ethnicity

We can also look at how the population has changed over the last 5 years by each of the race/ethnicity types as defined by the US Census Bureau.

Race 2021 2017 Change
White
80.8%
85.7%
 -5.72%
Black/African American
0.1%
1.2%
 -91.67%
Native
0.1%
0.2%
 -50.00%
Hispanic
10.6%
9.8%
 +8.16%
Asian
2.3%
1.4%
 +64.29%
Hawaiian/Pacific Islander
0%
0%
 0.00%
Two Or More Races
5.4%
1.2%
 +350.00%
Other
0.7%
0.5%
 +40.00%

This data can be very important for a number of reasons, including social and economic research, planning and development, and marketing to a multi-cultural population.

Note that the Native group includes both Native American and Alaskan Native people.

Population of Pitkin County, Colorado by Age and Gender

The age and gender of a population is another interesting demographic statistic because it lets us track trends in the population over time. For example, we can see how the population has changed over the last 5 years by median age as a total, and also by male and female.

Year Total Male Female
2021 45.9 +6% 41.6 -5.45% 46.4 +10.48%
2020 43.3 +3.59% 44 +3.53% 42 +0.72%
2019 41.8 -0.48% 42.5 +3.16% 41.7 -2.8%
2018 42 -3% 41.2 -2.6% 42.9 -1.38%
2017 43.3 - 42.3 - 43.5 -

The median age of Pitkin County, Colorado gives you an idea of the age distribution, with half of the population being older than the median age and half being younger.

This can then be used to infer and compare against birth rates, parent ages, and more metrics to understand the population. For example, an increasing median age indicates an aging population, which can be a sign of a declining population in terms of birth rates and workforce participation.

Age 2021 2017
(Years) Male Female Male Female
0 to 9 956 -9.06% 490 +33.23% 856 667
10 to 19 860 +36.71% 950 -26.43% 1,119 693
20 to 29 1,072 -4.46% 1,223 -30.95% 1,014 830
30 to 39 1,684 -8.68% 1,042 +13.92% 1,535 1,179
40 to 49 1,005 +3.07% 1,258 -7.96% 1,026 1,146
50 to 59 1,307 0.14% 1,483 -23.86% 1,296 1,145
60 to 69 1,348 +13.53% 1,155 +50.4% 1,505 1,789
70+ 1,131 -10.73% 783 -9.64% 987 684

Median Household Income

The latest median household income of Pitkin County, Colorado is $92,708.00.

In simple terms, the median income is the middle income of a group of people. Half of the people in the group make more than the median income, and half make less. The median income is a good indicator of the overall income of a group of people, and can be used to compare against other metrics such as the average income, per capita income, and more.

Median Income by Age

We can also look at the median income by age to see how the median income varies by age, and how it compares to the overall median income for Pitkin County.

  • Under 25
    $62,143.00
  • 25 to 44
    $88,172.00
  • 45 to 64
    $104,757.00
  • 65 and over
    $90,403.00

Average Household Income

Whenever we ask what is the average household income in Pitkin County, we are actually talking about the mean household income.

This is calculated by adding up all the incomes of all the households in Pitkin County, and then dividing that number by the total number of households. This is a good way to get a general idea of the average income of a group of people, but it can be skewed by a very high or very low incomes.

The average household income of Pitkin County, Colorado is currently $172,473.00.

In terms of accurately summarizing income at a geographic level, the median income is a better metric than the average income because it isn't affected by a small number of very high or very low incomes.

If you had an area where the average income was greater than the median, it can mean that there is significant income inequality, with income being concentrated in a small number of wealthy households.

21.94% of households in Pitkin County are classed as high income households (making $200,000+ per year).

Household Income Tiers

The US Census Bureau divides households into income tiers based on the median income for the area. This is a good way to compare the income of Pitkin County against other areas.

  • Less than $24,999
    5.54%
  • $25,000 to $49,999
    10.79%
  • $50,000 to $74,999
    21.05%
  • $75,000 to $99,999
    15.15%
  • $100,000 to $149,999
    19.27%
  • $150,000 to $199,999
    6.26%
  • $200,000 or more
    21.94%

Per Capita Income

The per capita income in Pitkin County is $76,883.00.

Per capita income is the average income of a person in a given area. It is calculated by dividing the total income of Pitkin County by the total population of Pitkin County.

This is different from the average or mean income because it includes and accounts for all people in Pitkin County, Colorado, including people like children, the elderly, unemployed people, retired people, and more.

Education Levels

We can also look at the education levels in Pitkin County to see how many people have a high school degree, a bachelor's degree, or a graduate degree.

Educational attainment is a good indicator of the overall education level of a population, and can be used to compare against other metrics such as the average income, per capita income, and more to see how education levels affect income, unemployment rates, and more.

  • Master's degree or higher
    17.75%
  • Bachelor's degree
    59.14%
  • Some college or associate's degree
    3.69%
  • High school diploma or equivalent
    17.38%
  • Less than high school diploma
    2.04%

Employment

Employment rates are all based around the total population in Pitkin County that are over the age of 16.

The total population of Pitkin County over the age of 16 is 14,834.

Of those people, a total of 76.80% are working or actively looking for work. This is called the labor force participation rate.

The participation rate is a useful market measure because it shows the relative amount of labor resources available to the economy.

The employment to total population rate in Pitkin County is 74.60%.

Employment by Age

We can look at the employment rates by age to see how it compares to the overall employment rate.

Age Population Participation Unemployment Rate
16 to 19 years 698 44.70% 0.30%
20 to 24 years 689 79.10% 4.20%
25 to 29 years 1,155 89.40% 1.90%
30 to 34 years 1,346 89.30% 0.60%
35 to 44 years 2,185 87.20% 7.60%
45 to 54 years 2,723 92.00% 0.70%
55 to 59 years 1,073 91.90% 3.30%
60 to 64 years 1,591 79.90% 1.50%
65 to 74 years 2,228 68.50% 3.10%
75 years and over 1,146 9.20% 0.00%

Employment by Race

Another very interesting employment statistic we can look at is the employment and unemployment rates by race in Pitkin County. The table below shows the rates for each of the ethnicity groups types defined by the US Census Bureau.

Age Population Participation Unemployment Rate
White 13,276 78.50% 3.00%
Black or African American 23 17.40% 0.00%
American Indian and Alaska Native 12 100.00% 0.00%
Asian 190 80.00% 0.00%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 0 0.00% 0.00%
Other 403 91.60% 0.00%
Two or more races 930 45.80% 0.00%
Hispanic or Latino 1,502 84.10% 0.10%
Not Hispanic or Latino 12,348 78.70% 3.20%

Occupations

In this section we can look at the most common occupations in Pitkin County as well as the gender breakdown and earnings of them.

The total population of civilian employees that are 16 years old or older in Pitkin County is 11,068, with median earnings of $50,616.00.

Women in Pitkin County, Colorado earning approximately 95.10% of the men's earnings.

Population Earnings
Total 11,068 $50,616.00
Male 5,933 $51,458.00
Female 5,135 $48,953.00

Occupations by Category

In the table below, we can break down the population and earnings even further by occupation. The list of occupation categories below will show you how many people are employed in each category and the median earnings of each profession.

Occupation Employed Earnings
Management 1,618 $66,607.00
Business and Financial 485 $72,768.00
Computer and Mathematical 149 $69,639.00
Architecture and Engineering 45 $76,250.00
Life, Physical, and Social Science 155 $69,846.00
Community and Social Service 167 $56,736.00
Legal 190 $112,222.00
Educational and Library 526 $38,571.00
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media 779 $45,521.00
Healthcare Practitioners 562 $108,500.00
Healthcare Support 210 $30,636.00
Firefighters and Protective Service 171 $19,473.00
Law Enforcement 72 $76,042.00
Food Preparation and Serving 779 $51,101.00
Building and Grounds Cleaning 376 $16,036.00
Personal Care and Service 173 $59,306.00
Sales 1,583 $53,183.00
Office and Administrative Support 1,063 $43,067.00
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry 6 $0.00
Construction and Extraction 855 $46,628.00
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair 363 $31,753.00
Production 137 $16,734.00
Transportation and Material Moving 501 $51,697.00

Occupations by Gender

The table below shows the same occupations from the list above, but we have split them by male and female to see how many male and females work in each occupation, the median earnings, and the male to female ratio of earnings.

That last metric is important because it can be used to look at the gender pay gap between men and women.

Occupation Male Female
Population Earnings Population Earnings
Management 865 $75,486.00 753 $53,125.00
Business and Financial 361 $92,853.00 124 $53,527.00
Computer and Mathematical 51 $102,639.00 98 $68,444.00
Architecture and Engineering 16 $0.00 29 $73,036.00
Life, Physical, and Social Science 2 $0.00 153 $69,880.00
Community and Social Service 16 $0.00 151 $65,568.00
Legal 108 $250,001.00 82 $80,167.00
Educational and Library 79 $49,625.00 447 $38,318.00
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media 414 $16,919.00 365 $53,229.00
Healthcare Practitioners 197 $250,001.00 365 $69,313.00
Healthcare Support 63 $0.00 147 $30,295.00
Firefighters and Protective Service 168 $19,518.00 3 $0.00
Law Enforcement 36 $71,964.00 36 $0.00
Food Preparation and Serving 616 $52,440.00 163 $28,188.00
Building and Grounds Cleaning 269 $14,348.00 107 $16,911.00
Personal Care and Service 53 $59,676.00 120 $36,786.00
Sales 739 $30,670.00 844 $65,781.00
Office and Administrative Support 187 $35,583.00 876 $43,391.00
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry 6 $0.00 0 $0.00
Construction and Extraction 855 $46,628.00 0 $0.00
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair 358 $31,829.00 5 $0.00
Production 69 $38,472.00 68 $0.00
Transportation and Material Moving 314 $57,875.00 187 $0.00

Households and Family Size

A household defined bu the US Census Bureau is a group of people who occupy a housing unit. A housing unit is a house, apartment, mobile home, group of rooms, or single room occupied as separate living quarters.

There are currently 7,202 households in Pitkin County, with an average household size of 2.41 people.

A family is defined as a group of two or more people related by birth, marriage, or adoption who live together in the same household.

There are 3,675 families in Pitkin County with an average family size of 3.07 people.

Households by Marital Status

The four categories of household by marital status are:

  • Married-couple family
  • Male householder with no spouse present
  • Female household with no spouse present
  • Nonfamily household

The table below shows the total number of households and families, with the average sizes of each.

Married Male Female Nonfamily
Total Households 3,132 283 260 3,527
Average Household Size 3.15 3.96 3.22 1.57
Total Families 3,132 283 260 0
Average Household Size 3.06 3.03 3.16 0

Poverty

Of the 3,675 families in Pitkin County, 2.00% are considered to be below the poverty threshold.

The table below shows the latest poverty thresholds in Pitkin County:

Household Size Poverty Threshold
1 Person $14,580.00
2 People $19,720.00
3 People $24,860.00
4 People $30,000.00
5 People $35,140.00
6 People $40,280.00
7 People $45,420.00
8 People $50,560.00

Housing

There are 13,261 housing units in Pitkin County, Colorado.

The table below shows the split between occupied and vacant units:

Total Percentage
Occupied 7,202 54.31%
Vacant 6,059 45.69%

15.65% of the total 13,261 housing units in Pitkin County are rental units. This is approximately 2,076 properties.

For owner-occupied housing units, a total of 4,919 are occupied by the owner - or 37.09% of the total.

Rental Rates

The median rent for a property in Pitkin County is $1,534.00.

In the chart below, we can look at the number of rental properties in Pitkin County that fall into a particular rent range. These can then be used to compare with other areas, or to see how they have changed over time.

  • No rent paid
    207
  • Less than $500
    0
  • $500 to $999
    439
  • $1,000 to $1,499
    559
  • $1,500 to $1,999
    585
  • $2,000 to $2,499
    117
  • $2,500 to $2,999
    163
  • $3,000 or more
    213

Property Value

The median value of a property in Pitkin County is $730,300.00.

Just like with rental rates, we can look at the number of properties in Pitkin County that fall into a particular value range.

  • Less than $50,000
    46
  • $50,000 to $99,999
    39
  • $100,000 to $149,999
    268
  • $150,000 to $199,999
    116
  • $200,000 to $299,999
    748
  • $300,000 to $499,999
    815
  • $500,000 to $999,999
    946
  • $1,000,000 or more
    1,941

Property Age

We can also look at the age of properties in Pitkin County. The chart below shows the number of properties in Pitkin County that fall into a particular age range.

  • 1939 or earlier
    438
  • 1940 to 1949
    89
  • 1950 to 1959
    95
  • 1960 to 1969
    1,572
  • 1970 to 1979
    3,308
  • 1980 to 1989
    2,159
  • 1990 to 1999
    2,652
  • 2000 to 2009
    2,303
  • 2010 to 2013
    600
  • 2014 or later
    45

Vehicles per Household

The number of vehicles available per household can be a good indicator of the level of affluence in an area. The chart below shows the number of households in Pitkin County that have a particular number of vehicles available.

  • No vehicles available
    278
  • 1 vehicle available
    2,179
  • 2 vehicles available
    3,201
  • 3 or more vehicles available
    1,544

Commuting to Work

In this section, we can also look at how people in Pitkin County get to work. The chart below shows the number of people in Pitkin County that commute to work in a particular way.

19.4 minutes is the average travel time to work for people in Pitkin County.

These commute times can be compared to other date like income and educational levels to see how they relate to each other and if there are any trends in the data that might suggest a correlation.

  • Less than 5 minutes
    848
  • 5 to 9 minutes
    1,202
  • 10 to 14 minutes
    2,048
  • 15 to 19 minutes
    1,321
  • 20 to 24 minutes
    911
  • 25 to 29 minutes
    301
  • 30 to 34 minutes
    1,791
  • 35 to 39 minutes
    48
  • 40 to 44 minutes
    93
  • 45 to 59 minutes
    546
  • 60 to 89 minutes
    308
  • 90 or more minutes
    31

Summary

We've covered a LOT of demographic and population data for Pitkin County, Colorado in this article! Hopefully you have found it very useful in your research of the area.

If you use any of the data found on this page, please consider linking back to USPopulation.org as the source and if you have any feedback or data requests, click here to contact us.

Places in Pitkin County, Colorado

We have data for 7 places in Pitkin County, Colorado. Click on a place below to see more information about the demographics of that place.