Official Federal Data
Bent County, Colorado
FIPS 08011 · Population 5,549
9 Sources
Updated June 22, 2026
$50,179 ▲
Median Income
$80,734 national
4.6% ▼
Unemployment
4% national
$175M ▼
GDP
15.7% ▲
Bachelor's+
35.7% national
Small population: 5,549 residents. These figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey 5-year estimates, which carry a wide margin of error for places under 20,000 people. Read each value as an approximate range, and treat year-over-year changes as indicative rather than exact. A small shift can reflect survey sampling, not a real change on the ground.
Demographics & Population
Census Bureau American Community Survey 2020-2024 · 5-Year Estimates
Household Income
Source: U.S. Census Bureau · American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median Household
$50,179 ▲
Per Capita
$22,556 ▲
Mean Household
$62,883 ▲
Poverty Rate
28.4% ▼approx.
Median Income Comparison
Bent County$50,179
Colorado$95,470
National$80,734
Population Profile
Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 · Tables B01001, B02001, B03003
Cohorts
Under 18 · 16%
18-34 · 25.1%
35-54 · 27.7%
55-64 · 12.4%
65+ · 18.9%
Race & Ethnicity
Hispanic or Latino is an ethnic category and overlaps with the race categories above.
Educational Attainment
Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 · Table B15003 · Population 25+
82.9%
High School+
National: 89.6%
▼ 6.7 pts
15.7%
Bachelor's+
National: 35.7%
▼ 20.0 pts
5.3%
Graduate+
National: 14.1%
▼ 8.8 pts
Employment Overview
Source: U.S. Census Bureau · American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
5,549
Population
1,836
Labor Force
Employed
1,730
Unemployment Rate BLS LAUS 2025 annual
4.6% ▼ 0.2 pts YoY
Mean Commute 4 min below national avg
22.2 min
Work From Home vs 15.1% national
6.4%
Key Takeaways
- Income gap: Households earn meaningfully less than the national median, which directly affects retail demand, housing absorption, and tax base.
- Elevated poverty: At 28.4%, the rate is in economically distressed territory and supports federal funding narratives (CDFI, NMTC, EDA).
- Talent gap: Bachelor's-or-higher attainment trails the national average by 20.0 pts, relevant for advanced-services attraction strategy.
Economy & Industry
Bureau of Labor Statistics QCEW · Bureau of Economic Analysis
Key Takeaways
- Largest sector: Retail Trade employs 75 workers (38.7% of tracked sectors), at an average wage of $29,479.
- Economic scale: Regional GDP of $175M (2024).
- Wage stratification: Finance and Insurance averages $71,171 while Retail Trade averages $29,479, a 2.4x spread in the same local economy, with implications for workforce development and talent strategy.
Source: BLS QCEW + BEA Regional GDP.
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Industry Concentration
Location Quotient measures regional specialization vs. national average. LQ > 1.0 = concentrated.
Cluster Depth
Source: BLS QCEW · Sub-sectors with LQ ≥ 1.5 indicate genuine cluster concentration
Dominant Cluster
Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting Cluster
Coherent grouping of concentrated sub-sectors, signals supply-chain fit for site selectors
30
Cluster Employment
7.54x
Peak LQ
Concentrated Sub-Sectors
Crop Production
7.54x 30
Gasoline Stations and Fuel Dealers
2.54x 20
Attraction Opportunities
LQ < 0.5 with ≥ 50 employed, realistic diversification targets. Source: BLS QCEW
Key Takeaways
- Top specialization: Crop Production concentrates at 7.54x the national norm, top-decile concentration, the kind of signature sector that defines a region's economic identity to site selectors.
Source: BLS QCEW sub-sector Location Quotients.
Housing & Affordability
Census ACS · HUD Fair Market Rents FY2026
Housing Overview
Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates · Tables B25001, B25077, B25064
$146,900 ▲
Median Home Value vs 2019
$1,162 ▲
Rent/Mo
65.2% ▲
Owner-Occ
13.8% ▼
Vacancy
2.9x
Home Value to Income Ratio - Affordable
vs. ~4.1x national average
HUD Fair Market Rents
Source: HUD · Fair Market Rents FY2026
Studio
$772/mo
1 Bedroom
$777/mo
2 Bedroom
$1,019/mo
3 Bedroom
$1,417/mo
4 Bedroom
$1,598/mo
30% of monthly median household income (~$1,254/mo) · rents above this line are typically considered cost-burdened.
Key Takeaways
- Affordable market: Home value to income ratio of 2.9x is well below the ~4.1x national average; supports talent attraction and family settlement narratives.
- Elevated vacancy: 13.8% vacancy rate. In resort, rural, and seasonal markets much of this is recreational/seasonal (second homes), not available supply; confirm the vacancy-by-reason split before treating it as a redevelopment opportunity.
- Affordable rent tiers: 3 of 5 HUD Fair Market Rent bedroom tiers sit below the 30%-of-median-income affordability threshold (~$1,254/mo).
Source: Census ACS housing tables + HUD Fair Market Rents.
Workforce Pipeline
Labor force readiness, commuting, and workforce composition
Labor Market Overview
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Tables B01001, B23025, B08303, B08301
3,612 ▼
Working Age (18-64) vs 2019
Mean Commute 4 min below national avg
22.2 min
Work From Home vs 15.1% national
6.4%
Prime-Age Employed (25-54)
44%
of prime-age population
▲ vs 2019
Education & Talent Pipeline
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Table B15003 · College Scorecard
Bachelor's+
15.7% ▲
HS Diploma+
82.9% ▼
Regional / Statewide Institutions
Total credentials awarded
40,234/yr
9,646/yr
7,956/yr
7,631/yr
5,700/yr
5,675/yr
3,626/yr
Aging Workforce
Source: Census Bureau ACS · Derived from age & employment tables
19%
55-64 of working-age population (18-64)
Workforce by Occupation
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Table C24010 · Civilian employed population 16+
Management / Professional
33.5%
Service
23%
Sales & Office
10.7%
Construction / Maint.
14.5%
Production / Transport
18.4%
Bars scaled 2× for visual differentiation; percentage labels show actual share of 1,730 employed workers.
Key Takeaways
- Low participation: 39.4% labor force participation suggests untapped capacity; workforce development programs may unlock supply.
- Talent pipeline: 6 regional institutions feed the workforce; the top three combined produce 25,233 annual credentials.
Source: ACS workforce data and College Scorecard.
AI Insights
AI-assisted analysis, drawn from 9 federal data sources
Sample AI Insight
Bent County shows strong potential for crop production attraction, with a 7.54x concentration and 30 jobs in this sub-sector. It ranks in the top decile nationally.
Industry Shift Analysis
Manufacturing Automation Risk
High
Healthcare Growth Forecast
+4.2% CAGR
Remote Work Migration
67/100
Prospect Match Scores
Advanced Manufacturing
92/100
Life Sciences
84/100
Data Centers
71/100
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Data Sources
Updated from official federal government data.
Census ACS 5-Year2024
BLS QCEW2025 annual
BLS LAUS (via FRED)2025 annual
BEA Regional GDP2024
Census CBP2023
HUD Fair Market RentsFY2026
FCC Broadband Map2024
USAspending.govFY2026
College ScorecardAY 2022-23
Frequently Asked Questions
Key economic and demographic figures for Bent County, Colorado, from federal data sources.
What is the population of Bent County, Colorado?
5,549 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates).
What is the median household income in Bent County, Colorado?
$50,179 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates).
What is the unemployment rate in Bent County, Colorado?
4.6% (2025 annual average, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, LAUS).
What is the GDP of Bent County, Colorado?
$175M (U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, CAGDP1).
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