El Paso County gives up title as state's largest; Denver takes over

It was a thrilling, momentous, madcap ride, but it's over.

Actually, El Paso County's twoyear status as Colorado's most populous county was mostly an opportunity for bureaucrats to burnish arguments that Denver isn't the state's only urban area that deserves attention at the state Capitol and in Washington.

Denver overtook El Paso County last year as the largest population county in Colorado, according to estimates the U.S. Census Bureau released today. El Paso had been in the top spot since 2005.

The 2007 estimate puts El Paso County at 587,272 residents, an increase of 1 percent from the year before and 14 percent since 2000. That's 1,077 fewer residents than Denver, which is a combined city and county.

"Way to burst my bubble," quipped El Paso County Commissioner Dennis Hisey on receiving the news. "The City and County of Denver have always acted like they were also the State of Denver, so you won't see much of an attitude shift."
The slide to No. 2 doesn't diminish the county's argument that it needs more resources, Hisey said.

"We have more people than we did last year, which continues to put additional demand on already-strained resources, so I don't see anyone thinking this gives us breathing room or solves anything," he said.

State Demographer Elizabeth Garner said Denver's 2 percent population jump in a year came from new houses, mainly in the downtown and Stapleton areas. The figures don't count the six counties that make up Denver's suburbs. Denver doesn't have much more room to grow, so it won't be on top for long.
"Eventually, El Paso County is going to be larger and stay larger," Garner said.