Colorado

Colorado covers 103,718 square miles, with a 2017 estimated population of 5,607,154 people – 705,835 living in rural Colorado (USDA-ERS). Denver, the capital, is located in the north-central region of the state. Colorado’s largest cities are Denver, Colorado Springs, Aurora, and Fort Collins. According to 2017 data from the U.S. Census Bureau, 87.3% of the state’s population is white, 4.5% is African-American, 3.4% is Asian, 1.6% is American Indian or Alaska Native, 0.2% is Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, and 21.5% is of Hispanic or Latino origin.

Colorado Rural Healthcare Facilities

According to data.HRSA.gov, as of January 2019 Colorado had:

• 32 Critical Access Hospitals
• 62 Rural Health Clinics
• 70 Federally Qualified Health Center sites located outside of Urbanized Areas
• 12 short term hospitals located outside of Urbanized Areas

Selected Social Determinants of Health for Rural Colorado

While most Coloradans have health insurance coverage, 8% remain uninsured (Kaiser, 2017). According to the USDA Economic Research Service, the average per capita income for Coloradans in 2017 was $54,646 although rural per capita income lagged at $49,836. The ERS reports, based on 2017 ACS data, that the poverty rate in rural Colorado is 12.3%, compared with 10.0% in urban areas of the state. 10.3% of the rural population has not completed high school, while 8.6% of the urban population lacks a high school diploma according to 2013-2017 ACS data reported by ERS. The unemployment rate in rural Colorado is 2.8%, while in urban Colorado, it is 2.8% (USDA-ERS, 2017).

Data Sources
Kaiser Family Foundation State Health Facts; U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts; USDA Economic Research Service: State Fact Sheets

Contacts

There are more organizations related to Colorado in the organizations section.