Rockies’ population rises 3 times more than nation’s
Here are some demographic changes from 2000 to 2004 as reported in the Colorado College State of the Rockies Report Card. The report defines the Rockies as Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Nevada, Utah, Arizona and New Mexico. The Rockies’ population grew by 7 percent, faster than the national gain of 2 percent. Colorado’s population increased by 5 percent. The fastest-growing Rockies state was Nevada, at 15 percent. The Rockies nearly mirror the national data on percentage of the population age 5 and older who speak a language other than English at home. Nationwide, the figure was 18 percent in 2000 and 19 percent in 2004, compared with the Rockies’ 20 percent in both 2000 and 2004. In Colorado, the percentage grew by 1 percent, from 15 percent in 2000. Average family size in 2004 in the nation and the Rockies was 3.2 people; in Colorado it was 3. Median home values 2000 to 2004 increased nationwide by 15 percent, in the Rockies by 10 percent and in Colorado by 16 percent. The biggest increase was in Nevada at 30 percent. The largest drop, 7 percent, was in New Mexico.
Colorado had the highest percentage of population in the Rockies who have graduate or professional degrees, 12 percent in 2004, compared with 11 percent in 2000. Median household incomes fell nationwide by 3 percent, in the Rockies by 5 percent, and in Colorado by 7 percent since 2000. But Colorado still reported the highest median household income in the region at $48,198. Average retirement income fell 7 percent nationally, 6 percent in the Rockies and 6 percent in Colorado. The largest plunge was in Idaho, at 15 percent. Families living below the poverty level nationwide grew to 10 percent in 2004, from 9 percent in 2000, the same change shown in the Rockies. In Colorado, 9 percent of families lived in poverty in 2004, compared with 6 percent in 2000.