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Colorado's population growth rate has been slowing down recently

Colorado has seen its population growth rate slow drastically in the last two years.

DENVER — As we all know by now, Colorado is quite a popular state for transplants.

However, you may be surprised to find out that the overall population growth in Colorado has actually slowed in recent years. 

According to the state demographer's office, Colorado added more than 26,000 people in 2021 and more than 27,000 in 2022. It's the lowest growth rate Colorado has seen since 1990, when there were just 13,000 new residents.

Colorado saw an average of 70,000 new residents each year from 2010 to 2020.

State Demographer Elizabeth Garner said the slowdown is due in part to a slower birth rate, as well as an increase in deaths over the past two years due to COVID-19. 

When it comes to whether it's a "good thing" or "bad thing," there are arguments for both sides.

"Certainly, we've heard one side that is, you know, we've got too many people, we don't have enough resources. There's congestion, pollution, issues with water. So that's one end, and the other side is we cannot find enough workers to fill all those positions. So that's the other side," Garner said.

The state demographer's office does expect the population growth rate to jump back up in the next few years with retirements at a very high level and the need to fill those jobs.

Garner said the Front Range is also where most of the growth was centered. That trend is expected to continue in the near future. 

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