Salida Colorado Demographics

Traced through Internal Revenue Service records over the past eight years, by far, from 1990 to 1997, the state sending the most new inhabitants to Colorado has been California with a migration of almost 110,000. Texas, New York and Illinois follow with 18,927; 16,090 and 15,410 respectively. These figures come as no surprise.

For years it has been the general feeling that Colorado is seeing a heavy migration from California. What is something of a surprise is that many of the newcomers to Colorado settle in the metro areas. The move to the suburbs and outlying areas is being driven substantially by the exodus of existing residents to more rural areas, including Chaffee County. The general pattern expected to be reflected in the 2000 census is that newcomers move to the city, city dwellers are moving to the suburbs and suburban residents are moving to nearby outlying areas. Although Chaffee county is just outside those "nearby outlying areas," it is still showing the effects of the same trend.

In Chaffee County, it was reported that in the eight years from 1990 to 1997, some 2,217 people moved into the county. Of this total, 38% or 834 people came from within Colorado and the balance came from other states.

Due to the banana belt like climate, the vastly improved medical facilities and the relatively affordable housing market, Chaffee County has recently become a retirement community. Chaffee county still represents a wide array of age groups and backgrounds.

Data provided by the Salida Chamber of Commerce