Eagle County, Colorado

Eagle County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 55,731. The county seat is the Town of Eagle and the most populous community is Edwards. The county is named for the Eagle River.

Eagle County comprises the Edwards, Colorado, Micropolitan Statistical Area.

History
Eagle County was created by the Colorado legislature on February 11, 1883, from portions of Summit County. It was named after the Eagle River, which runs through the county. The county seat was originally set in Red Cliff, Colorado, but was moved to the town of Eagle in 1921.

The Ground Hog Mine, near Red Cliff, produced gold and silver in two vertical veins in 1887. One vein, or "chimney", contained gold in crystalline form, cemented by iron, while the other contained wire gold in the form of "ram's horns". One of these ram's horns is now on display in the Harvard Mineralogical Museum.

Geography
The highest elevation in the county is the Mount of the Holy Cross which rises to 14011 ft above sea level. The lowest elevation is on the Colorado River at 6128 ft. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1692 sqmi, of which 1685 sqmi is land and 7.3 sqmi (0.4%) is water.

Much of the county is taken up by White River National Forest, and much of the rest is managed by the Bureau of Land Management. Interstate 70 crosses the county from east to west.

The Eagle River rises in the southeastern part of the county. It receives Gore Creek at Dowds Junction, and joins the Colorado River in the west. The Fryingpan River and the Roaring Fork River intersect the southwest corner of the county.

Adjacent counties

 * Grand County – northeast
 * Summit County – east
 * Lake County – south
 * Pitkin County – southwest
 * Garfield County – west
 * Routt County – northwest

Major highways

 * I-70 (CO).svg Interstate 70
 * US 6.svg U.S. Highway 6
 * US 24.svg U.S. Highway 24
 * Colorado 82.svg State Highway 82
 * Colorado 131.svg State Highway 131
 * US 24.svg U.S. Highway 24
 * Colorado 82.svg State Highway 82
 * Colorado 131.svg State Highway 131

National protected areas

 * White River National Forest
 * Eagles Nest Wilderness
 * Flat Tops Wilderness
 * Holy Cross Wilderness

State protected area

 * Sylvan Lake State Park

Trails

 * Colorado Trail
 * Continental Divide National Scenic Trail
 * Two Elk National Recreation Trail
 * Vail Pass National Recreation Trail

Scenic byways

 * Colorado River Headwaters National Scenic Byway
 * Top of the Rockies National Scenic Byway

Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 41,659 people, 15,148 households, and 9,013 families living in the county. The population density was 25 /mi2. There were 22,111 housing units at an average density of 13 /mi2. The racial makeup of the county was 85.4% White, 0.3% Black or African American, 0.7% Native American, 0.8% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 10.8% from other races, and 1.9% from two or more races. 23.2% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 15,148 households, out of which 32.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.0% were married couples living together, 5.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.5% were non-families. 20.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 1.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.73 and the average family size was 3.17.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 23.5% under the age of 18, 11.4% from 18 to 24, 42.1% from 25 to 44, 20.0% from 45 to 64, and 3.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females there were 121.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 125.80 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $62,682, and the median income for a family was $68,226. Males had a median income of $37,603 versus $30,579 for females. The per capita income for the county was $32,011. About 3.9% of families and 7.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.8% of those under age 18 and 7.6% of those age 65 or over.

Public education
Eagle County is served by Eagle County School District RE-50J. The district operates eight elementary schools, three middle schools, and three high schools across Eagle County.

Private/other education

 * Vail Christian High School (Edwards)
 * Vail Mountain School (Vail)
 * Vail Ski & Snowboard Academy (Minturn)

Higher education
Colorado Mountain College, a community college serving much of western Colorado, operates its Vail Valley campus in Edwards.

Life expectancy
According to a report in JAMA, residents of Eagle County had a life expectancy from birth of 85.94 years in 2014, the third-longest in the United States. Men live 84.4 years on the average and women live 87.6 years. Two contiguous counties, Summit and Pitkin counties, rank numbers one and two in the nation in life expectancy.

Factors contributing to the high life expectancy of the three Colorado counties are "high education, high income, high access to medical care, the people are physically active, obesity is lower than anywhere else – so you're doing it right." said Ali Mokdad, one of the study's co-authors.

Towns

 * Avon
 * Basalt (part; extends into Pitkin County)
 * Eagle
 * Gypsum
 * Minturn
 * Red Cliff
 * Vail

Census-designated places

 * Dotsero
 * Edwards
 * El Jebel
 * Fulford
 * McCoy
 * Wolcott

Other unincorporated places

 * Beaver Creek
 * Bond
 * Burns
 * Eagle-Vail
 * Sheephorn
 * Sweetwater

Ghost towns

 * Gilman
 * Holy Cross City