Weld County was thrust into the media spotlight on the evening of November 1, 1955, whenUnited Airlines Flight 629, aDouglas DC-6B airliner flying fromDenver toPortland, Oregon, exploded in midair and crashed, killing all 44 persons on board the plane and scattering bodies, wreckage and debris over a six-square-mile area of the county. The subsequent investigation of the accident revealed that Denver residentJohn Gilbert Graham had secretly placed a time bomb composed of 25 sticks ofdynamite in a suitcase belonging to his mother, who was a passenger on the airplane. Graham was tried and convicted of the crime, and executed in 1957.
In northeastern Weld County,Minuteman III missile silo "N-8",[6] one of the many unmanned silos there, was the target of symbolic vandalism by Catholic peace activists in 2002.[7][8]
Weld County also holds the distinction of having more confirmedtornado sightings than any other U.S. county from 1950 to 2011, with 252 confirmed reports.[9]
In 2013, conservative Weld County commissioners began a campaign to secede from the State of Colorado to create a new state; a state ballot measure regarding the issue was put on the November 2013 ballot. The legality of this initiative has been questioned by local attorneys.[11] On November 5, 2013, 6 out of 11 Colorado counties voted no for secession, including Elbert, Lincoln, Logan, Moffat, Sedgwick, and Weld counties voted no, while Cheyenne, Kit Carson, Phillips, Washington, and Yuma counties voted yes. "Weld County voters said this is an option we shouldn't pursue and we won't pursue it," said Weld County Commissioner Sean Conway, "But we will continue to look at the problems of the urban and rural divide in this state."[12]
The logo of Weld County, WY.
In 2021, a group known as "Weld County, WY" organized a petition to place a measure on the November 2021 ballot for the county to secede from Colorado to joinWyoming, due to a clash between the conservative politics of Weld County and the liberal government of Colorado.[13]Mark Gordon, the Governor of Wyoming, said when asked about the topic, "We would love that."[14] In response to Gordon's comment, Colorado GovernorJared Polis said, "Hands off Weld County."[15]
Crop fields in western Weld CountyRock formation near thePawnee Buttes
According to theU.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 4,017 square miles (10,400 km2), of which 3,987 square miles (10,330 km2) are land and 30 square miles (78 km2) (0.7%) are water.[16] It is the third-largest county in Colorado by area.
Weld County lies within the relatively flat eastern portion of Colorado; the northeastern portions of the county contain the extensivePawnee National Grassland and the Pawnee Buttes, which jut 350 feet (110 m) above the surrounding terrain and are surrounded by many small canyons and outcroppings. Along the western border, hilly areas indicate the presence of the foothills of the Rocky Mountains further west.
The county is served by two interstate highways:I-25 (US 87) runs through the southwestern corner andI-76 from the south central edge northeastward to the Morgan county border. Other major roads includeUS 85 andUS 34, which intersect nearGreeley, andState Highway 14, which runs throughAult.
As of the2020 census, the county had a population of 328,981. Of the residents, 26.5% were under the age of 18 and 12.6% were 65 years of age or older; the median age was 34.5 years. For every 100 females there were 100.4 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 98.9 males. 80.0% of residents lived in urban areas and 20.0% lived in rural areas.[24][25][26]
Weld County, Colorado – Racial and ethnic composition Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.
There were 113,995 households in the county, of which 38.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 20.5% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 20.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.[25]
There were 119,962 housing units, of which 5.0% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 72.4% were owner-occupied and 27.6% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.4% and the rental vacancy rate was 7.6%.[25]
As of the2000 census,[30] there were 180,936 people, 63,247 households, and 45,221 families residing in the county. Thepopulation density was 45 people per square mile (17 people/km2). There were 66,194 housing units at an average density of 17 units per square mile (6.6 units/km2).
There were 63,247 households, out of which 37.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.60% weremarried couples living together, 9.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.50% were non-families. 21.00% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.90% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.78 and the average family size was 3.25.
In the county, the population was spread out, with 28.20% under the age of 18, 13.20% from 18 to 24, 29.70% from 25 to 44, 20.00% from 45 to 64, and 9.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females there were 100.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.00 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $42,321, and the median income for a family was $49,569. Males had a median income of $35,037 versus $25,757 for females. Theper capita income for the county was $18,957. About 8.00% of families and 12.50% of the population were below thepoverty line, including 14.60% of those under age 18 and 8.50% of those age 65 or over.
Weld County is Colorado's leading producer of cattle, grain and sugar beets, and is the richest agricultural county in the United States east of the Rocky Mountains, and the fourth richest overall nationally. It is also becoming more important as a milk producing county, with close to half of the state's cattle.[31][32] Weld County is also an important area of oil and natural gas production in theDenver-Julesburg Basin.
^Hovey, Edmund Otis (November 30, 1925). "A New Meteoric Stone from Johnstown, Weld County, Colorado".American Museum Novitates. New York City: The American Museum of Natural History.
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