Home Buying Guide
Understanding Routt County's demographics.
STEAMBOAT PILOT & TODAY
Routt County, which covers 2,231 square miles of Northwest Colorado, is home to stunning mountain views, rolling ranch lands and dense forests.
The county had 20,405 residents in 2002, according to Census estimates. The population fo Steamboat Springs was 10,200. The population in Steamboat explodes in the winter, when tourists from around the nation and world visit to experience the champagne powder and small-town feel that Steamboat offers.
The county has slightly more men than women, with a total population that is about 54 percent male and 46 percent female. The county's median age is 35 years, and the average family size is 2.92 people.
Routt County is predominantly white. In the 2000 Census, 96.9 percent of the county's residents identified themselves as white. Of those, 93.7 percent were white, non-Hispanic and 3.2 percent were Hispanic. American Indians comprise 0.5 percent of the population as do Asians and Pacific Islanders. Blacks make up just 0.1 percent of the population.
Other communities in Routt County include Clark, Hahn's Peak, Milner, Phippsburg, Toponas, and the towns of Hayden, Oak Creek and Yampa. In 2000, Hayden had 1,634 residents, Oak Creek had 849 residents, and Yampa had 443 residents. In many of these communities, jobs are provided by ranching, agriculture, mining, forestry and power production.
The county's population is projected to increase to almost 32,000 over the next 25 years, according to the Yampa Valley Partners Community Indicators Project.
Home prices are on the rise in most parts of the county, especially in Steamboat Springs, according to the United States Census. The median home value countywide is $268,500, which ranks the Routt County 26th out of 3,141 counties nationwide. Median home values in Steamboat Springs rose 157 percent in the 1990s. Steamboat's $308,100 median value for owner-occupied homes puts it in the top 3 percent in the nation.
In Routt County, 5.9 percent of the population was at or below poverty level in 2000, compared to 9.3 percent of the population in the state of Colorado.
Employment opportunities have changed in Routt County over the last 30 years. The approximately 600 jobs available in agriculture have stayed about the same, while the number of jobs in services, retail trade and construction have all grown from several hundred to several thousand.
The average wage, adjusted for 2000 dollars, in Routt County has risen slightly from $26,419 in 1970 to $26,536 in 2000. Colorado's average wage rose from $29,562 to $36,391 in this same time period. A 2002 study showed a single person would need to earn $13.31 per hour or $27,684 per year in order to earn a living wage in Routt County. A two-parent household with two children would need to earn $35.47 per hour or $73,767 per year in order to earn a living wage.
Routt County offers a lot of space for outdoors enthusiasts to enjoy. About 50 percent of the county's land is publicly owned, with the Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest making up the majority of this area, and State Parks such as Stagecoach Reservoir, Steamboat Lake and Pearl Lake making up most of the rest.
