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PantryPath Research · Rural & Persistent Poverty Atlas

Rural poverty in Colorado

1 persistent-poverty county

Colorado has 1 persistent-poverty counties and 47 nonmetro counties — home to 3,571 residents living in counties with 30+ years of 20%-or-higher poverty. The state's all-ages poverty rate is 9.4% and child poverty is 10.9%.

1

Persistent-poverty counties

47

Nonmetro counties (RUCC 4–9)

4K

Residents in PPCs

64

Total counties

Colorado by county

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Toggle between the rural hunger risk score, all-ages poverty, child poverty, the Rural-Urban Continuum Code, and the binary persistent-poverty flag. Hover a county for its ERS typology and ACS poverty rate.

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Colorado at a glance

Poverty rate

9.4%

All ages, ACS S1701

Child poverty

10.9%

Under 18

PPC share

1.6%

Of counties in state

Nonmetro share

73.4%

RUCC 4–9

Pantries / 100K

2.00

PantryPath verified

Risk score (mean)

0.24

Composite 0–1

"Pantries / 100K" divides Colorado's 116 verified PantryPath pantries by the state population — a minimum-density indicator, not a saturated census. See methodology.

County-level hotspots

Top five counties across 64 in Colorado.

Highest rural hunger risk

Composite 0–1 score

  1. 1 Costilla 0.69
  2. 2 Bent 0.43
  3. 3 Baca 0.40
  4. 4 Dolores 0.38
  5. 5 Jackson 0.37

Highest poverty rate

ACS all-ages

  1. 1 Bent 31.7%
  2. 2 Baca 24.1%
  3. 3 Otero 23.6%
  4. 4 Costilla 22.3%
  5. 5 Dolores 18.8%

Persistent-poverty counties

PPCs ranked by current poverty

  1. 1 Costilla 22.3%

Every county in Colorado

All 64 counties with RUCC, typology flags, and ACS poverty data.

County RUCC PPC Flags Poverty Child poverty Population Risk
Adams 1 — Housing 9.4% 13.3% 524,408 0.04
Alamosa 7 — Housing 18.2% 20.8% 16,515 0.30
Arapahoe 1 — Housing 8.5% 11.5% 655,709 0.03
Archuleta 7 — Housing, Retire. 8.3% 10.3% 13,730 0.26
Baca 9 — Pop. loss 24.1% 22.8% 3,460 0.40
Bent 9 — Low emp., Low ed., Housing 31.7% 44.4% 5,524 0.43
Boulder 2 — Housing 11.4% 7.5% 328,317 0.08
Broomfield 1 — — 5.0% 4.6% 75,110 0.02
Chaffee 6 — Housing 10.0% 8.9% 19,876 0.23
Cheyenne 9 — Pop. loss 11.4% 21.6% 1,732 0.35
Clear Creek 1 — Housing 6.8% 4.6% 9,358 0.03
Conejos 9 — Pop. loss 13.8% 14.6% 7,536 0.36
Costilla 9 Yes Pop. loss, Housing, Retire. 22.3% 28.2% 3,571 0.69
Crowley 8 — Low emp., Low ed. 18.2% 15.9% 5,734 0.34
Custer 8 — Retire. 9.7% 8.8% 5,073 0.30
Delta 6 — Housing, Retire. 14.2% 20.1% 31,353 0.24
Denver 1 — Housing 11.2% 14.9% 713,734 0.04
Dolores 9 — Retire. 18.8% 34.0% 2,385 0.38
Douglas 1 — — 3.2% 2.5% 368,283 0.01
Eagle 5 — Housing 8.3% 9.8% 55,374 0.18
El Paso 2 — Housing 8.5% 10.3% 736,008 0.07
Elbert 1 — — 5.3% 5.3% 27,152 0.02
Fremont 4 — Low emp. 14.0% 16.4% 49,394 0.17
Garfield 5 — Housing 9.1% 10.2% 62,034 0.19
Gilpin 1 — Housing 10.0% 16.8% 5,877 0.04
Grand 9 — Housing 9.0% 3.3% 15,794 0.34
Gunnison 7 — Housing 13.1% 11.5% 17,158 0.28
Hinsdale 9 — Housing 4.5% 0.0% 939 0.32
Huerfano 8 — Retire. 17.5% 28.5% 6,946 0.33
Jackson 9 — Pop. loss 18.2% 39.9% 1,422 0.37
Jefferson 1 — — 6.7% 6.8% 579,715 0.03
Kiowa 9 — — 12.8% 6.0% 1,356 0.35
Kit Carson 9 — — 9.1% 8.0% 7,015 0.34
La Plata 6 — Housing 12.4% 19.6% 56,088 0.24
Lake 9 — — 7.2% 6.4% 7,411 0.33
Larimer 2 — Housing 11.1% 8.5% 363,561 0.08
Las Animas 7 — Housing 17.4% 20.5% 14,392 0.29
Lincoln 8 — Low emp. 10.3% 5.7% 5,561 0.30
Logan 6 — — 13.1% 16.4% 21,067 0.24
Mesa 3 — Housing 11.2% 13.3% 157,316 0.12
Mineral 9 — Housing, Retire. 13.0% 9.0% 799 0.35
Moffat 7 — Housing 11.7% 8.4% 13,258 0.27
Montezuma 6 — — 13.2% 15.7% 26,204 0.24
Montrose 5 — Retire. 11.9% 16.3% 43,272 0.20
Morgan 6 — Housing 12.3% 15.2% 29,186 0.24
Otero 6 — Pop. loss, Housing 23.6% 39.2% 18,460 0.28
Ouray 9 — Retire. 5.0% 3.2% 5,024 0.32
Park 1 — — 7.2% 11.9% 17,739 0.03
Phillips 9 — — 15.7% 16.0% 4,491 0.36
Pitkin 7 — Housing 7.2% 6.2% 17,119 0.25
Prowers 7 — Pop. loss, Housing 17.2% 18.3% 11,931 0.29
Pueblo 3 — Housing 15.4% 19.5% 168,726 0.14
Rio Blanco 9 — — 9.0% 9.8% 6,518 0.34
Rio Grande 9 — Pop. loss 14.9% 20.7% 11,394 0.36
Routt 7 — Housing 6.4% 3.6% 24,990 0.25
Saguache 9 — Retire. 17.6% 22.9% 6,511 0.37
San Juan 9 — Housing 16.8% 55.1% 690 0.37
San Miguel 9 — Housing 8.4% 7.1% 8,026 0.33
Sedgwick 9 — Retire. 14.5% 20.5% 2,346 0.36
Summit 5 — Housing 7.4% 7.7% 30,857 0.18
Teller 2 — Housing 7.6% 6.1% 24,774 0.07
Washington 9 — — 7.6% 6.1% 4,839 0.33
Weld 2 — Housing 9.0% 10.3% 340,711 0.07
Yuma 9 — — 15.0% 20.5% 9,921 0.36

Find a food pantry in Colorado

Search Colorado's 116 verified pantries, food banks, and meal programs — filtered by city, open-now status, and service type.

Colorado pantry directory

Colorado SNAP

Income limits, application steps, and EBT card details for residents of persistent-poverty counties and beyond.

Colorado SNAP guide

Emergency food help

National hotlines, 211 referrals, and same-day food options — critical in rural counties where the nearest pantry may be 30+ miles away.

Emergency food

Food deserts atlas

Rural poverty and low food access often overlap. Compare persistent-poverty counties to USDA's low-income / low-access food desert designations.

Colorado food deserts

Methodology

How we combined USDA ERS typology codes, the Rural-Urban Continuum, ACS poverty data, and PantryPath's own pantry directory — plus the risk-score formula.

Full methodology