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 15,643 residents in 2010. The top states for in-migration are California, Texas, Arizona, Florida, New Mexico, and Illinois.
Northern Colorado’s 2010 population exceeded 564,000, with roughly 53 percent of the population located in Larimer County and 47 percent located in Weld County. Between 2000 and 2010, Northern Colorado average annual population growth (2.6 percent) was more than twice the national growth rate.