Population
Metro Denver exceeds 2.8 million people, and has a growth rate that has consistently outpaced the national rate every decade since the 1930s. The region grew steadily in the past 10 years, averaging 1.9 percent population growth each year from 1999 to 2009. And by 2030, Metro Denver's population is anticipated to increase to almost 3.8 million.
To proactively plan for the region's growth, the Denver Regional Council of Governments created Metro Vision 2035, a long-range strategy that addresses land-use planning, development, and transportation while preserving Metro Denver's unparalleled quality of life. Metro Vision concentrates development in a defined 750-square-mile urban growth boundary and identifies guidelines for nearly 70 high-density, mixed-use developments in the region, many around transit centers.
A large portion of Metro Denver's population growth is due to in-migration of highly educated workers from other states. The region's net migration averaged about 30,600 people each year during the 1990s. Metro Denver is estimated to have net-migration of 13,595 residents in 2009. The top states for in-migration are California, Texas, Arizona, Florida, New Mexico, and Illinois.
Northern Colorado's population approached 560,000 in 2009. Between 1999 and 2009, Northern Colorado population growth averaged 2.8 percent per year. Annual growth in Larimer County reached 1.8 percent while growth in Weld County averaged 3.6 percent. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the Greeley MSA in Weld County was the nation's fourth-fastest growing metro area between 2000 and 2008.