The Changing Demographics of Denver's Suburbs

"Denver’s suburbs will be home to a more ethnically diverse population and a lot more aging Baby Boomers by 2040, even as the metro area’s growth slows from the torrid pace it has kept since the 1990s," reports John Aguilar to introduce the first story in an occasional series exploring the changes occurring in Denver's suburbs.

The primary narrative presented in this story: minorities arriving and putting down roots around the metropolitan area. Aguilar provides more detail: "In the next 10 years, the [Colorado] demographer’s office pegs expects growth across metro Denver for Latinos at nearly 30% over the next 10 years, Asians at 36% and the Black population at 13%. Population growth among non-Hispanic whites? Just 4%."

In the Denver metro area, Adams County has the most diverse population. "The state demographer’s office projects the county’s Latino population to overtake the white, non-Hispanic population in the coming decade by about 30,000 people — a growth rate of 35% versus 6% for white residents," reports Aguilar. In part of the city of Aurora, 160 languages are spoken in the school district.

Part of the reason so many Latinos are moving to Denver's suburban areas, according to Aguilar: the relentless escalation in Denver’s home prices in the last several years.

In addition to heaps of data, Aguilar also reports the human angle, talking to recent arrivals to the Denver suburbs—all of whom talk about their new homes in terms of opportunities for job and education. 

And there is also the large numbers of Baby Boomers moving to the suburbs. "The demographer’s office projects that people ages 80 to 84 will leap in population between now and 2030 by 83.4% — the fastest rate by far of any age bracket in Colorado," according to Aguilar. "All told, the number of 65-and-up residents in Colorado is estimated to grow by 39% by 2030, wildly outpacing any other age group in the state."