The Denver metro, which covers six counties around the capital city, grew by 2.8 percent from 2020 to 2024, adding about 82,000 residents, according to recent U.S. Census estimates.
The increase bucks a national trend that saw many major U.S. cities, like New York and Los Angeles, lose residents following the pandemic.
Here’s what drove the population increase from July 2020 to July 2024:
- International immigration. Most of the metro’s population growth can be traced to the arrival of an estimated 56,500 international immigrants.
- Natural population growth. The metro area saw more births than deaths, resulting in a natural population gain of about 46,000 people.
At the same time, the metro also lost about 14,000 people who moved to other parts of the country, according to the Census estimates.
Most of the growth in the metro came from Douglas County, which gained about 34,000 people for an increase of about 9 percent. The metro’s most populous county, Denver, saw smaller gains of about 11,000 people.
Some parts of the metro, including the city of Denver, saw a drop in population after 2020, but are now believed to be above their pre-pandemic populations.
How are other areas doing?
The Denver metro includes Denver, Broomfield, and the counties of Arapahoe, Jefferson, Adams, Douglas, Broomfield, Elbert, Park, Clear Creek and Gilpin, with a total population of about 3.05 million.
Every metro county except for Jefferson County grew from 2020 to 2024.
Most of the other metropolitan areas in Colorado grew, too.
Only the Boulder metro saw a decline — of 0.2 percent.
Meanwhile, some of the nation’s largest cities have seen declines. The Los Angeles metro lost almost 2 percent of its population from 2020 to 2024, while the New York City metro lost 0.3 percent.
Denver still young
State Demographer Kate Watkins said the Denver metro’s ability to attract younger people in their 20s and 30s with outdoor recreation and lifestyle perks has helped grow its population.
“Being a younger city, we tend to have more family formation, household formation, and as a result, a bit more population growth when it comes to births and a slower population decline due to deaths,” she said.
According to data from the state, the largest age group across the counties around Denver is people aged 28 to 33.
Data analysts for the state believe this will allow Denver’s birth rate to continue to outpace the death rate until 2053, continuing natural population growth. In contrast, deaths are expected to outpace births nationwide as soon as 2038.
International immigration had an impact
In addition to births, the metro also got a boost from an influx of international immigrants. Between April 2020 and July 2024, the Census Bureau estimates roughly 56,000 immigrants arrived in the metro.
Denver wasn’t the only area to see the impact of international immigration.
"All of the nation's 387 metro areas had positive net international migration between 2023 and 2024, and it accounted for nearly 2.7 million of the total population gain in metro areas," the Census bureau said in a statement.
Watkins said that boost not only added dollars to the growing housing market, but also the economy as a whole. “It means more income coming into an area, more spending, and the potential for more productivity and business growth.”
Aging population in some suburbs
However, Watkins warns the boost may not last forever as some suburban areas in the metro have an aging population, and some families with school aged kids are moving to lower-cost areas.
This has been felt especially in places like Jefferson County, where schools have been shuttered in recent years due to a dwindling population of school-aged kids. Denver has also closed schools to grapple with demographic changes.
“Things that come with an aging population are the impacts on our labor force, on our demand for goods and services, and even on things like our school age enrollment. So we'll likely continue to see an evolution in Denver and beyond as we continue to age,” Watkins said. “That said, the latest population estimates show growth in the Denver area population, meaning that net migration of the working age population more than offsets net out-migration of families and those 65 plus.”
