The Jefferson Territory never received federal sanction, but on February 28, 1861,U.S. PresidentJames Buchanan signed an act organizing theTerritory of Colorado.[3] El Paso County was one of the original 17 counties created by the Colorado legislature on November 1, 1861. Part of its western territory was broken off to createTeller County in 1899. Originally based inOld Colorado City (now part of Colorado Springs, not today'sColorado City betweenPueblo andWalsenburg), El Paso County's county seat was moved to Colorado Springs in 1873.
According to theUnited States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 2,130 square miles (5,500 km2), of which 2,127 square miles (5,510 km2) are land and 2.7 square miles (7.0 km2) (0.1%) are covered by water.[4]
The2020 census showed 730,395 people residing in the County, distributed in 272,683 households and 185,830 families.[10] Thepopulation density was 343.5 people per square mile (132.6 people/km2). There were 287,459 housing units. Theracial makeup of the county was 82.6% White, 6.9% Black or African American, 1.4% Native American, 3.4% Asian, 0.4% Pacific Islander, and 5.4% from two or more races. About 18.9% of the population was Hispanic or Latino of any race.
The population pyramid for El Paso County shows a slight surplus of males aged between birth and 45 years, with a slight surplus of females over age 45, as is typical of most American populations. The greater than normal surplus of males between 18 and 35 is chiefly attributable to the presence of five military installations in the county.[11]
El Paso County is located inColorado's 5th congressional district, except for the far eastern extremities, which are located in the4th. The county is governed by a board of county commissioners. Its current members are Holly Williams in district 1, Carrie Geitner in district 2, Bill Wysong in district 3, Cory Applegate in district 4, and Lauren Nelson in district 5.
In 2004, the voters of Colorado Springs and El Paso County established the Pikes Peak Rural Transportation Authority (PPRTA) and adopted a 1%sales tax dedicated to improving the region's transportation infrastructure. Together with state funding for COSMIX (2007 completion) and theI-25 interchange withHighway 16 (2008 completion), significant progress has been made since 2003 in addressing the transportation needs of the area. In 2012, the county voted to legalize marijuana.[13] On March 12, 2019, the county commissioners unanimously passed a resolution to become aSecond Amendment sanctuary.[14]
El Paso is quite conservative for a large urban county, although it has become less so since the 2010s. Its conservative bent predates the influence of its large military and Evangelical Christian populations. Since its creation in 1871, El Paso County has typically voted for theRepublican presidential candidate in presidential elections; the lastDemocratic nominee to win the county wasLyndon B. Johnson in 1964. Even then,Barry Goldwater got nearly 46% of the county's vote. It has voted Republican in every presidential election since 1920, except for the Democratic landslides of 1936 and 1964.
After Johnson carried it in 1964, a Democrat would not win 40 percent of the county's vote again untilJoe Biden in 2020.Kamala Harris also received above 40% of the county in 2024, with the county swinging to the left unlike the state and country. The county still remains a Republican stronghold, but less overwhelmingly so than in years past. The county also voted in favor of2024 Colorado Amendment 79. Democratic strength is concentrated in the inner portion of Colorado Springs.
ThePikes Peak Library District provides library services through its 15 branches and bookmobiles to the residents of El Paso County, with the exception of Widefield School District 3. The mission of the District is "Providing resources and opportunities that impact individual lives and build community. Seek. Engage. Transform."[23]
Fort Carson, "The Mountain Post", is located just south of Colorado Springs at the base of the Rocky Mountains. It was established in 1942, following Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor. The city of Colorado Springs purchased land south of the city and donated it to the War Department. Construction began immediately and the first building, the camp headquarters, was completed January 31, 1942. Camp Carson was named in honor of the legendary Army scout Gen. Christopher "Kit" Carson, who explored much of the West in the 1800s. Camp Carson became Fort Carson in 1954. An additional training area was purchased in September 1983 and is called Piñon Canyon Maneuver Site (PCMS).
Currently, Fort Carson is the home of 4th Infantry Division and several other units, including 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne), the Colorado National Guard Regional Training Institute and PCMS, which is a maneuver training site for Fort Carson located near Trinidad, Colorado. The installation totals about 137,000 acres and PCMS is roughly 236,000 acres. Fort Carson has around 3,000 family housing units and 66 soldier barracks with 8,132 rooms. Services on the installation include four elementary schools, one middle school, a commissary, an exchange, and Evans Army Community Hospital, as well as Army Community Service facilities to include child development centers and youth centers and family morale, welfare, and recreation facilities to include a bowling alley, golf course, and numerous parks.
Fort Carson's economic impact on Colorado Springs and the surrounding communities was approximately $2.3 billion during fiscal year 2014. Fort Carson has about 24,300 soldiers on the installation, with 44,700 family members. The installation also has around 8,000 veterans and 3,300 civilians.[25]
The Space Force has critical aspects of their service based at Colorado Springs, which carry on missile defense operations and development. The Space Force bases a large section of itsnational missile defense operations here, with Peterson Space Force Base set to operate large sections of the program. The base is also home to Space Force'sSpace Operations Command, and to NORAD headquarters. Peterson SFB is currently the headquarters of the operations-half of Army Space and Missile Defense Command/Army Strategic Command.[citation needed]
Peterson is also headquarters for theUnited States Northern Command, one of theUnified Combatant Commands, which directs all branches of the U.S. military operations in their area of responsibility, which includes the continental United States, Alaska, Canada, and Mexico. In the event of national emergencies, the President or Secretary of Defense can call upon the command for any required military assistance. Service members from every branch of theUS military are stationed at the command.[citation needed]
Peterson SFB is the current, possibly temporary home forUS Space Command, another Unified Combatant Command, whose area of operations is global operations occurring 50 miles or greater above the Earth.
Schriever Space Force Base (formerly Schriever AFB and Falcon AFB)
Schriever Space Force Base is home to several Space Force mission Deltas, responsible for the operation and support of 175 Department of Defense satellites and installation support to 16 major tenant units, with a workforce of more than 7,700 personnel.[26] It is the location of theGlobal Positioning System (GPS) master control station and GPS Operations Center[27] and the US Naval Observatory Alternate Master Clock,[28] used to synchronize GPS satellite time. Schriever is also developing parts of national missile defense and runs parts of the annual wargames used by the nation's military.[citation needed] The base indirectly contributes an estimated $1 billion to the local Colorado Springs, CO area annually.[29]
Bordering the northwestern side of the city are the grounds of the United States Air Force Academy, where cadets train to become officers in theAir Force and Space Force. The campus is famous for its unique chapel, and draws visitors year round. Most of the Air Force Academy's sports programs participate in the Mountain West Conference.[30]
Cheyenne Mountain Space Force Station (formerly Air Force Station)
The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), headquartered on Peterson SFB, has a presence inCheyenne Mountain Space Force Station. When it was built at the height of theCold War, NORAD caused some anxiety for the residents in and around Colorado Springs, who believed the installation would be a primary target during anuclear attack. Although NORAD still operates today, it is primarily given the task of the tracking ofICBMs, and the military has recently decided to place Cheyenne Mountain's NORAD/NORTHCOM operations on warm standby and move operations to nearby Peterson Air Force Base.[31]
