In 2023, the population of the Denver-Aurora-Lakewood metropolitan area in the United States was about three million people. This was a slight increase from the previous year, when the population was also about 2.99 million people.

Historical dataset of population level and growth rate for the Denver metro area from 1950 to 2025.

Graph and download economic data for Resident Population in Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO (MSA) (DNVPOP) from 2000 to 2022 about Denver, CO, residents, population, and USA.

About this dataset

Context

The dataset tabulates the Denver population over the last 20 plus years. It lists the population for each year, along with the year on year change in population, as well as the change in percentage terms for each year. The dataset can be utilized to understand the population change of Denver across the last two decades. For example, using this dataset, we can identify if the population is declining or increasing. If there is a change, when the population peaked, or if it is still growing and has not reached its peak. We can also compare the trend with the overall trend of United States population over the same period of time.

Key observations

In 2023, the population of Denver was 716,577, a 0.44% increase year-by-year from 2022. Previously, in 2022, Denver population was 713,453, an increase of 0.28% compared to a population of 711,467 in 2021. Over the last 20 plus years, between 2000 and 2023, population of Denver increased by 160,257. In this period, the peak population was 725,508 in the year 2019. The numbers suggest that the population has already reached its peak and is showing a trend of decline. Source: U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP).

Content

When available, the data consists of estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP).

Data Coverage:

• From 2000 to 2023

Variables / Data Columns

• Year: This column displays the data year (Measured annually and for years 2000 to 2023)
• Population: The population for the specific year for the Denver is shown in this column.
• Year on Year Change: This column displays the change in Denver population for each year compared to the previous year.
• Change in Percent: This column displays the year on year change as a percentage. Please note that the sum of all percentages may not equal one due to rounding of values.

Good to know

Margin of Error

Data in the dataset are based on the estimates and are subject to sampling variability and thus a margin of error. Neilsberg Research recommends using caution when presening these estimates in your research.

Custom data

If you do need custom data for any of your research project, report or presentation, you can contact our research staff at research@neilsberg.com for a feasibility of a custom tabulation on a fee-for-service basis.

Inspiration

Neilsberg Research Team curates, analyze and publishes demographics and economic data from a variety of public and proprietary sources, each of which often includes multiple surveys and programs. The large majority of Neilsberg Research aggregated datasets and insights is made available for free download at https://www.neilsberg.com/research/.

Recommended for further research

This dataset is a part of the main dataset for Denver Population by Year. You can refer the same here

Graph and download economic data for Resident Population in Denver County/city, CO (CODENV5POP) from 1970 to 2024 about Denver County, CO; Denver; CO; residents; population; and USA.

In 2023, the metropolitan area of New York-Newark-Jersey City had the biggest population in the United States. Based on annual estimates from the census, the metropolitan area had around 19.5 million inhabitants, which was a slight decrease from the previous year. The Los Angeles and Chicago metro areas rounded out the top three. What is a metropolitan statistical area? In general, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is a core urbanized area with a population of at least 50,000 inhabitants – the smallest MSA is Carson City, with an estimated population of nearly 56,000. The urban area is made bigger by adjacent communities that are socially and economically linked to the center. MSAs are particularly helpful in tracking demographic change over time in large communities and allow officials to see where the largest pockets of inhabitants are in the country. How many MSAs are in the United States? There were 421 metropolitan statistical areas across the U.S. as of July 2021. The largest city in each MSA is designated the principal city and will be the first name in the title. An additional two cities can be added to the title, and these will be listed in population order based on the most recent census. So, in the example of New York-Newark-Jersey City, New York has the highest population, while Jersey City has the lowest. The U.S. Census Bureau conducts an official population count every ten years, and the new count is expected to be announced by the end of 2030.

Graph and download economic data for Employed Persons in Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO (MSA) (LAUMT081974000000005) from Jan 1990 to Aug 2025 about Denver, CO, household survey, persons, employment, and USA.

Graph and download economic data for Civilian Labor Force in Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO (MSA) (LAUMT081974000000006A) from 1990 to 2024 about Denver, CO, civilian, labor force, labor, household survey, and USA.

Disclaimer: These data are updated by the author and are not an official product of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland.This project provides two sets of migration estimates for the major US metro areas. The first series measures net migration of people to and from the urban neighborhoods of the metro areas. The second series covers all neighborhoods but breaks down net migration to other regions by four region types: (1) high-cost metros, (2) affordable, large metros, (3) midsized metros, and (4) small metros and rural areas. These series were introduced in a Cleveland Fed District Data Brief entitled “Urban and Regional Migration Estimates: Will Your City Recover from the Pandemic?"The migration estimates in this project are created with data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York/Equifax Consumer Credit Panel (CCP). The CCP is a 5 percent random sample of the credit histories maintained by Equifax. The CCP reports the census block of residence for over 10 million individuals each quarter. Each month, Equifax receives individuals’ addresses, along with reports of debt balances and payments, from creditors (mortgage lenders, credit card issuers, student loan servicers, etc.). An algorithm maintained by Equifax considers all of the addresses reported for an individual and identifies the individual’s most likely current address. Equifax anonymizes the data before they are added to the CCP, removing names, addresses, and Social Security numbers (SSNs). In lieu of mailing addresses, the census block of the address is added to the CCP. Equifax creates a unique, anonymous identifier to enable researchers to build individuals’ panels. The panel nature of the data allows us to observe when someone has migrated and is living in a census block different from the one they lived in at the end of the preceding quarter. For more details about the CCP and its use in measuring migration, see Lee and Van der Klaauw (2010) and DeWaard, Johnson and Whitaker (2019). DefinitionsMetropolitan areaThe metropolitan areas in these data are combined statistical areas. This is the most aggregate definition of metro areas, and it combines Washington DC with Baltimore, San Jose with San Francisco, Akron with Cleveland, etc. Metro areas are combinations of counties that are tightly linked by worker commutes and other economic activity. All counties outside of metropolitan areas are tracked as parts of a rural commuting zone (CZ). CZs are also groups of counties linked by commuting, but CZ definitions cover all counties, both metropolitan and non-metropolitan. High-cost metropolitan areasHigh-cost metro areas are those where the median list price for a house was more than $200 per square foot on average between April 2017 and April 2022. These areas include San Francisco-San Jose, New York, San Diego, Los Angeles, Seattle, Boston, Miami, Sacramento, Denver, Salt Lake City, Portland, and Washington-Baltimore. Other Types of RegionsMetro areas with populations above 2 million and house price averages below $200 per square foot are categorized as affordable, large metros. Metro areas with populations between 500,000 and 2 million are categorized as mid-sized metros, regardless of house prices. All remaining counties are in the small metro and rural category.To obtain a metro area's total net migration, sum the four net migration values for the the four types of regions.Urban neighborhoodCensus tracts are designated as urban if they have a population density above 7,000 people per square mile. High density neighborhoods can support walkable retail districts and high-frequency public transportation. They are more likely to have the “street life” that people associate with living in an urban rather than a suburban area. The threshold of 7,000 people per square mile was selected because it was the average density in the largest US cities in the 1930 census. Before World War II, workplaces, shopping, schools and parks had to be accessible on foot. Tracts are also designated as urban if more than half of their housing units were built before WWII and they have a population density above 2,000 people per square mile. The lower population density threshold for the pre-war neighborhoods recognizes that many urban tracts have lost population since the 1960s. While the street grids usually remain, the area also needs su

Graph and download economic data for Unemployed Persons in Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO (MSA) (LAUMT081974000000004A) from 1990 to 2024 about Denver, CO, household survey, persons, unemployment, and USA.

Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Areas are together termed Core Based Statistical Areas (CBSAs) and are defined by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and consist of the county or counties or equivalent entities associated with at least one urban core (urbanized area or urban cluster) of at least 10,000 population, plus adjacent counties having a high degree of social and economic integration with the core as measured through commuting ties with the counties containing the core. Categories of CBSAs are: Metropolitan Statistical Areas, based on urbanized areas of 50,000 or more population; and Micropolitan Statistical Areas, based on urban clusters of at least 10,000 population but less than 50,000 population.

Plan Information Plan name: Thumb off scale plan Description: Plan ObjectivesObjective: not to dilute less urban and rural voices by putting them in districts with large population centers. D1 & D5: Denver and El Paso counties' population concentrations supports a District for each. D2: Combining Weld and Pueblo counties' hispanic populations into a District gives them a more meaningful voice... and the rest of the district's counties are similar geographically: East flowing watersheds, farming, more rural and religious in character. D3: A unified Western Slope District indicated by common themes of mountains, outdoor recreation and tourist focus, ranching, and West flowing watersheds with it's unique water issues. D4: Boulder-Larimer both educational and technology centers, promoters of open space preservation, etc. D6: Jefferson County anchors west of metro Denver. 7: Western Arapahoe -Douglas counties anchor south Metro 8: Adams-Arapahoe counties similar, having population centers abutting east Denver metro area.

Graph and download economic data for Unemployment Rate in Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO (MSA) (LAUMT081974000000003A) from 1990 to 2024 about Denver, CO, household survey, unemployment, rate, and USA.

I have lived all over this great state and have spent time in every corner, so just making a recommendation on a single solitary community will not do. If it pleases the commission, I would like to submit the attached file as a recommendation for 2021's redistricted congressional map. CO-01 - The 1st would shed its northern and eastern portions while shifting south to accommodate the new 8th. It would be an extremely wealthy district containing the upper class suburbs of Denver, as well as Columbine, Ken Caryl, Centennial, and Highlands Ranch. CO-02 - The 2nd would shift eastward, shedding its mountain communities while taking in Greeley and Longmont to become a truly Northern Colorado district. CO-03 - The western-based 3rd would take in the mountain communities of the 2nd while letting go of historically, culturally, and hydrologically separate portions of southern Colorado. CO-04 - The 4th would become a Southern Colorado district, stretching from the south of Colorado Springs to Pueblo, down across the San Luis Valley, and concluding in Durango and Cortez. Additionally, this district would become the 2nd most diverse in the state, and an extremely competitive district at that! CO-05 - The 5th would be based in the north portions of Colorado Springs, an area unique to the south of the city in its demographics, wealth, and ties to the United States Air Force. It would take in the entirety of culturally similar Eastern Colorado, ensuring that this sparsely populated region of ~100,000 people would maintain its voice in Washington. CO-06 - The 6th would move out of Brighton and Thornton, with Parker absorbed in its entirety as it so closely resembles south Aurora in wealth, demographics, and travel habits. Previously the most malformed district the new 6th would be incredibly compact! CO-07 - The 7th remains largely unchanged, save for parts lost to the 8th and a continued move up I-25 as growing neighborhoods continue to sprout up from old farmlands. CO-08 - The 8th would be the most diverse district in the state, taking in the largely Hispanic portions for west Denver and Adams County. Previously divided between the old 1st, 6th, and 7th, this district would ensure a united voice for a previously underrepresented community in Colorado In summary: 4 districts are centered around Denver, matching the 50% of the state's population that lives in Denver, Adams, Arapahoe, Jefferson, Douglas, and Broomfield counties (i.e., the Denver Metro Area minus Boulder County). Four districts represent the four unique "corners" of our state outside of Denver: Southern Colorado, the Eastern Plains, Northern Colorado, and the Western Slope. These districts contain contiguous communities, following highways and major roads to ensure easy travel for our future representatives. Finally, they are of course as equal to one another in population as can be expected, however minor adjustments will likely need to be made once proper census numbers are made available. Thank you for your time. *Please note that previous attempts at this submission were made using .geojson and .csv files, however the website did not recognize them and produced an error. Therefore I have attached a .png, the only other functional format I have available.

Creates four districts with rural county constituencies. Only splits counties near the Denver metro area, plus a portion of El Paso next to Woodland Park. Max deviance.My focus was on low deviation numbers, resulting in a few odd boundaries which could be adjusted:* D2 portion of El Paso County could switch to D5, adding ~2600 deviation.* D2 portion east of Brighton could shift west, adding <1000 deviation.* With higher deviation, the D1/D6/D7 boundaries near southwest Denver could more closely match county boundaries.* Moffat County might be better aligned with D3 than D2, but this would add 13,000 deviation. Maybe shift Baca & Las Animas Counties to D6 and extend D2 into southwest Douglas and west Fremont Counties?Plan Information Plan name: North, East, Southwest, Central Description: Creates four districts with rural county constituencies. Only splits counties near the Denver metro area, plus a portion of El Paso next to Woodland Park. Max deviance <1200. Non-Denver municipalities only split at exclaves.Plan Objectives(1) Keep population deviation as low as possible.(2) Only deviate from county boundaries around the Denver metro area, plus US-24 adjacent to Woodland Park.(3) Don't split municipalities or CDPs, except exclaves (to keep districts contiguous) and the edges of Denver (to keep within population target).A variation on this map could relax goal #2 in order to put Moffat in CD-3, Baca & Las Animas in CD-6, and extend CD-2 into western Fremont and southwest Douglas Counties.Area/perimeter ratio for CD-2 could be increased by putting Brighton in CD-4 and the Weld County I-25 corridor in CD-2. Alternatively, Brighton could be in CD-8 if Thornton was split between CD-8 and CD-2.