Despite Recession, Denver Area Grows More Than 6 Percent

Despite a recession, the Denver area’s population has zoomed up more than 6 percent since 2000, according to a regional report released Thursday.

“Even though we’ve been hurt, we’re still one of the strongest metro areas in the nation,” said Jeff Romine, economist for the Denver Regional Council of Governments.

Douglas County had an astounding jump of almost 30 percent in population between 2000 and last January, according to the report, while the towns of Castle Rock and Parker increased more than 50 percent and 44 percent, respectively.

At the same time, Jefferson County’s population stagnated and Centennial’s fell, the DRCOG survey found.

“The growth was disproportionate throughout the region,” Romine said.

The agency tracked population growth from the 2000 Census through January 2003 using housing starts and vacancies and household size.

In most cases, it found more robust growth than the Census Bureau’s own report released Wednesday, which was based on older estimates and based on different measures such as tax returns.

The population of the metro area, which in the DRCOG report includes Gilpin and Clear Creek counties in addition to the main seven, rose about 150,000, or 6.2 percent, since 2000, and about 50,000, or 2.2 percent, in the past year. It now stands at 2,564,040, DRCOG found.

Unlike the Census Bureau, which reported a population drop in Denver, the agency found the city had grown about 1 percent over the past year and more than 2 percent since 2000.

The reason is the continued building boom at infill sites such as Lowry and Stapleton, said state demographer Jim Westkott.

“It’s a no-brainer for us that it has not declined because of the growth and where the new housing is,” Westkott said.

The population growth in the metro area came despite a loss of up to 50,000 jobs during the recession and economic downturn over the past two years.

Romine said the laid-off workers are sticking around, hoping for better times, while the area’s beauty continues to attract outsiders.

“People are staying here even if they are not necessarily in the labor force,” Romine said. “And we still have a great quality of life.”

In addition, unemployment in the Denver area is still lower than in many other parts of the country, he said.

However, the growth is exacerbating the cities’ budget woes as municipalities are forced to provide services to more people on less money, Romine said.

“You can’t get rid of the police officer,” he said.

The report found that growth was not uniform. Adams and Douglas counties and their cities outpaced the rest of the metro area.

Adams County has gained 10.4 percent since 2000, according to DRCOG, while Douglas County recorded the largest number. In addition to Castle Rock and Parker’s big jumps, Commerce City in Adams County saw a 28 percent hike since 2000.

Other areas saw little gains or even lost population, the report found. Centennial in Arapahoe County lost 1.6 percent of its population, but remained over 100,000.

Romine said housing vacancies rose, while household sizes fell in the metro area’s newest city.

Similar trends surfaced in Jefferson County, where the population rose only 1 percent since 2000 and fell in Arvada. Romine said the county got hit harder than most by the lost jobs since it is more of bedroom community. In addition, the county is aging and household sizes are falling, he said.

In all, 16 cities saw population drops. Others include Wheat Ridge, Louisville and Englewood, the report found.

INFOBOX

Source: Denver Regional Council of Governments

Where the growth is

…………2000 …….2003

County….Population..Population..Increase

Adams…….348,618….384,872….10.4%

Arapahoe….487,967….514,943…..5.5%

Boulder…..269,814….280,459…..3.9%

Broomfield…38,272…..42,892….12.1%

Clear Creek…9,322……9,538…..2.3%

Denver……554,636….567,526…..2.3%

Douglas…..175,766….227,687….29.5%

Gilpin……..4,757……5,033…..5.8%

Jefferson…525,507….531,090…..1.1%