Second Douglas County office building in Castle RockDouglas County Events Center and Fairgrounds inCastle RockThe "rock castle" of Castle Rock, Colorado
Douglas County is part of theDenver metropolitan area. It is located midway between Colorado's two largest cities, Denver andColorado Springs, and contains a portion of Aurora, the state's third-largest city. Douglas County has thehighest median household income of any Colorado county or statistical equivalent. It is ranked seventh nationally in that category.
Douglas County is lightly wooded, mostly withponderosa pine, with broken terrain characterized by mesas,foothills, and small streams.Cherry Creek andPlum Creek rise in Douglas County and flow north toward Denver and into theSouth Platte River. Both were subject to flash flooding in the past, Plum Creek being partially responsible for the Denver flood of 1965. Cherry Creek and Plum Creek are now dammed.
Most residents commute to workplaces elsewhere in the metropolitan area outside of the county. Suburban development is supplementing the traditionalranching economy of the county.
Douglas County was one of the original 17 counties created in the Colorado Territory by the Colorado Territorial Legislature on November 1, 1861. The county was named in honor ofU.S. SenatorStephen A. Douglas[4] ofIllinois, who died five months before the county was created. The county seat was originallyFranktown, but was moved toCalifornia Ranch in 1863, and then to Castle Rock in 1874. Although the county's boundaries originally extended eastward to theKansas state border, in 1874, most of the eastern portion of the county became part ofElbert County.
According to theU.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 844 square miles (2,190 km2), of which 841 square miles (2,180 km2) are land and 2.6 square miles (6.7 km2) (0.3%) are covered by water.[5]
TheRueter–Hess Reservoir, when filled, may provide significant recreation, including fishing, hiking, and nonmotorized boating. If filled to capacity, surface size would be 1,140 acres, making this a fairly significant reservoir in Colorado and Douglas County's largest body of water.
ThePrairie Canyon Ranch, at 4620CO-83, about 10 miles (16 km) south ofFranktown, is a Douglas County Open Space. It is a working cattle ranch on 978 acres (3.96 km2), open to the public on special events.[8][9]
As of the2020 census, the county had a population of 357,978. Of the residents, 25.7% were under the age of 18 and 13.0% were 65 years of age or older; the median age was 39.1 years. For every 100 females there were 98.3 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 96.1 males. 91.0% of residents lived in urban areas and 9.0% lived in rural areas.[15][16][17]
Douglas 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 129,862 households in the county, of which 38.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 18.0% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 18.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.[16]
There were 135,643 housing units, of which 4.3% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 77.1% were owner-occupied and 22.9% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.1% and the rental vacancy rate was 7.8%.[16]
As of thecensus[21] of 2000, 175,766 people, 60,924 households, and 49,835 families were residing in the county. Thepopulation density was 209 people per square mile (81 people/km2). The 63,333 housing units averaged 75 units per square mile (29 units/km2). Theracial makeup of the county was 92.77% White, 2.51% Asian, 0.95% African American, 0.41% Native American, 1.49% from other races, and 1.88% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race made up 5.06% of the population.
Of the 60,924 households, 47.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 73.8% were married couples living together, 5.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 18.2% were not families. About 13.3% 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 2.88, and the average family size was 3.19.
In the county, the population distribution was 31.6% under the age of 18, 4.8% from 18 to 24, 37.9% from 25 to 44, 21.6% from 45 to 64, and 4.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.4 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $82,929, and for a family was $88,482 (these figures had risen to $93,819 and $102,767, respectively, as of a 2007 estimate[22]). Males had a median income of $60,729 versus $38,965 for females. Theper capita income for the county was $34,848. About 1.6% of families and 2.1% of the population were below thepoverty line, including 1.9% of those under age 18 and 3.7% of those age 65 or over.
Douglas County had the highest median household income of any Colorado county or statistical equivalent in 2000. In 2008, itranked eighth in the United States in that category; it was one of two in the top 15 not in the vicinity ofNew York orWashington.
Douglas County is governed by a three-member Board of County Commissioners, which serves as both the executive and legislative authority of the county. The board selects one of its members to serve as Chair, who acts as the county’s presiding officer.[24]
As a primarily suburban county, Douglas County has long been known as a Republican stronghold. In the 2012 election, Mitt Romney won 62% of the vote. However, Douglas County has become more competitive in recent years, with Donald Trump winning 55% of the county's vote in 2016 and only 52% of the vote in 2020 and 2024. In 2024, Kamala Harris achieved the highest vote share for a Democratic presidential nominee in the county since 1964.[26] In2022, incumbent Democratic governor Jared Polis lost the county by a razor-thin margin, winning nearly 49% of the vote.[27] However, Democratic strength is mostly limited to northern Douglas County, includingHighlands Ranch,Lone Tree, andMeridian, while the rest of the county is still strongly Republican.[28]
United States presidential election results for Douglas County, Colorado[29]
Douglas County is served byDouglas County School District RE-1, which covers the entire county.[30] It is the third-largest school district in Colorado. In addition to traditional neighborhood schools, the district includes sixteen charter schools,[31] four option schools, and anonline school . Schools are rated generally high in the area.
TheDouglas County Libraries system has seven branches throughout the county. The library also houses the Douglas County History Research Center, which collects and preserves the history of Douglas County, the High Plains, the Divide area of the Front Range and the State of Colorado, to provide historical research resources to the public.[32]
Douglas County has been recognized by a number of national periodicals:
Money magazine ranked Douglas County number five in the United States for “Job Growth over the Last Eight Years”, August 18, 2009[34]
American City Business Journals (ACBJ) ranked Douglas County fourth in the nation for “Quality of Life”, May 2004[35]
SchoolDigger.com rankedDouglas County School District at number one in the Denver metropolitan area and number 12 in Colorado based on 2009 test scores. (School district rankings were determined by averaging the rankings of individual schools within each of the 122 districts evaluated.)[36]
