Official Federal Data
El Paso County, Colorado
FIPS 08041 · Colorado Springs, CO · Population 742,999
9 Sources
Updated June 22, 2026
$90,363 ▲
Median Income
$80,734 national
4.1%
Unemployment
4% national
$55.1B ▲
GDP
41.9% ▲
Bachelor's+
35.7% national
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
$90,363 ▲
Per Capita
$46,133 ▲
Mean Household
$116,684 ▲
Poverty Rate
8.5% ▼
Median Income Comparison
El Paso County$90,363
Colorado$95,470
National$80,734
Population Profile
Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 · Tables B01001, B02001, B03003
Cohorts
Under 18 · 23.1%
18-34 · 26.7%
35-54 · 24.9%
55-64 · 11.2%
65+ · 14%
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+
95.1%
High School+
National: 89.6%
▲ +5.5 pts
41.9%
Bachelor's+
National: 35.7%
▲ +6.2 pts
16.8%
Graduate+
National: 14.1%
▲ +2.7 pts
Employment Overview
Source: U.S. Census Bureau · American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
742,999
Population
405,272
Labor Force
Employed
349,582
Unemployment Rate BLS LAUS 2025 annual
4.1%
Mean Commute 3 min below national avg
23.5 min
Work From Home vs 15.1% national
16.8%
Key Takeaways
- Income premium: Households earn well above the national median, supporting strong retail and housing markets.
- Talent advantage: Bachelor's-or-higher attainment exceeds the national average by 6.2 pts, supports knowledge-economy and tech attraction.
- Young population: Median age of 35 is materially below the U.S. norm, a workforce pipeline asset.
Economy & Industry
Bureau of Labor Statistics QCEW · Bureau of Economic Analysis
Key Takeaways
- Largest sector: Health Care and Social Assistance employs 45,486 workers (20.4% of tracked sectors), at an average wage of $63,634.
- Economic scale: Regional GDP of $55.1B (2024).
- Wage stratification: Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services averages $124,384 while Accommodation and Food Services averages $30,978, a 4.0x 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
Professional, Scientific & Technical Services Cluster
Coherent grouping of concentrated sub-sectors, signals supply-chain fit for site selectors
33,977
Cluster Employment
1.60x
Peak LQ
Concentrated Sub-Sectors
Sporting Goods, Hobby, Musical Instrument, Book, and Misc. Retailers
1.62x 4,749
Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services
1.60x 33,977
Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar
1.57x 561
Accommodation
1.57x 5,943
Computer and Electronic Product Manufacturing
1.54x 3,044
Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional Orgs
1.51x 4,263
Attraction Opportunities
LQ < 0.5 with ≥ 50 employed, realistic diversification targets. Source: BLS QCEW
0.07x
Support Activities for Agriculture and Forestry
52 employed
0.15x
Electrical Equipment, Appliance Manufacturing
126 employed
0.16x
Food Manufacturing
574 employed
0.16x
Wood Product Manufacturing
131 employed
0.17x
Transportation Equipment Manufacturing
577 employed
0.20x
Chemical Manufacturing
351 employed
0.20x
Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers
179 employed
0.23x
Machinery Manufacturing
501 employed
Key Takeaways
- Top specialization: Sporting Goods, Hobby, Musical Instrument, Book, and Misc. Retailers concentrates at 1.62x the national norm.
- Cluster depth: 6 sub-sectors register LQ ≥ 1.5, suggesting an interconnected industrial base rather than reliance on a single employer or sector.
- Attraction whitespace: 8 sub-sectors register LQ < 0.5, candidates for diversification or recruitment depending on labor-market fit.
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
$461,000 ▲
Median Home Value vs 2019
$1,696 ▲
Rent/Mo
66.2% ▲
Owner-Occ
4.4% ▼
Vacancy
5.1x
Home Value to Income Ratio - Stretched
vs. ~4.1x national average
HUD Fair Market Rents
Source: HUD · Fair Market Rents FY2026
Studio
$1,196/mo
1 Bedroom
$1,464/mo
2 Bedroom
$1,735/mo
3 Bedroom
$2,413/mo
4 Bedroom
$2,744/mo
30% of monthly median household income (~$2,259/mo) · rents above this line are typically considered cost-burdened.
Key Takeaways
- Stretched market: Home value to income ratio of 5.1x is well above the ~4.1x national average; attainable workforce housing may be a recruitment friction.
- Affordable rent tiers: 3 of 5 HUD Fair Market Rent bedroom tiers sit below the 30%-of-median-income affordability threshold (~$2,259/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
466,985 ▲
Working Age (18-64) vs 2019
Mean Commute 3 min below national avg
23.5 min
Work From Home vs 15.1% national
16.8%
Prime-Age Employed (25-54)
76.8%
of prime-age population
▲ vs 2019
Education & Talent Pipeline
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Table B15003 · College Scorecard
Bachelor's+
41.9% ▲
HS Diploma+
95.1% ▲
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
17.9%
55-64 of working-age population (18-64)
Workforce by Occupation
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Table C24010 · Civilian employed population 16+
Management / Professional
46.6%
Service
15.9%
Sales & Office
20.1%
Construction / Maint.
8%
Production / Transport
9.3%
Bars scaled 2× for visual differentiation; percentage labels show actual share of 349,582 employed workers.
Key Takeaways
- 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
El Paso County shows emerging potential for sporting goods, hobby, musical instrument, book, and misc. retailers attraction, with a 1.62x concentration and 4,749 jobs in this sub-sector.
The interconnected base across sporting goods, hobby, musical instrument, book, and misc. retailers, professional, scientific, and technical services, and museums, historical sites, and similar creates supply-chain attraction leverage rather than single-employer risk, a structural advantage for industrial recruitment.
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
Illustrative example
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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 El Paso County, Colorado, from federal data sources.
What is the population of El Paso County, Colorado?
742,999 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates).
What is the median household income in El Paso County, Colorado?
$90,363 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates).
What is the unemployment rate in El Paso County, Colorado?
4.1% (2025 annual average, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, LAUS).
What is the GDP of El Paso County, Colorado?
$55.1B (U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, CAGDP1).
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