Demographics

thumb|right|Henry Webber House (2010)

thumb|The John Denver Sanctuary in Rio Grande Park

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, Aspen had a population of 7,004. The median age was 41.7 years. 14.6% of residents were under the age of 18 and 16.3% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 102.4 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 103.6 males age 18 and over.

99.8% of residents lived in urban areas, while 0.2% lived in rural areas.

There were 3,540 households in Aspen, of which 19.3% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 31.7% were married-couple households, 29.6% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 31.4% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 43.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The population density was . There were 4,354 housing units at an average density of 1,233.5 per square mile (476.2 per km<sup>2</sup>). The racial makeup of the city was 94.94 percent White, 0.44 percent Black or African American, 0.24 percent Native American, 1.45 percent Asian, 0.08 percent Pacific Islander, 1.64 percent from other races, and 1.2 percent from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6.14 percent of the population.

There were 2,903 households, of which 16.5 percent had children under the age of 18 living with them, 28.8 percent were married couples living together, 5.6 percent had a female householder with no husband present, and 62.7 percent were non-families. Single individuals composed 43.8 percent of all households, and 4.8 percent had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.94 and the average family size was 2.67.

The ages of the population were 13.1 percent under the age of 18, 9.8 percent from 18 to 24, 42.1 percent from 25 to 44, 27.6 percent from 45 to 64, and 7.4 percent who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 115.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 117.5 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $53,750, and the median income for a family was $70,300. Males had a median income of $41,011 versus $32,023 for females. The per capita income for the city was $40,680. About 3.6 percent of families and 8.2 percent of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.4 percent of those under age 18 and 2.6 percent of those age 65 or over.

Housing

Aspen's single-family home prices are among the highest of any town in the country. Real estate supply is restricted due to a moratorium on new housing construction, housing renovation and short-term rentals. The median sales price of a single family home in 2021 in Aspen was $9.5 million.

Affordability of housing is a severe challenge for workers in the Aspen area. Homes purchased through Employee Housing programs typically contain deed restrictions to maintain a degree of affordability for local residents, but even deed-restricted properties in the area can cost close to $1 million.

Sports

thumb|Ski Run from the 2017 World Cup

The Winter X Games sports event has been held in Aspen at Buttermilk (ski area) since 2002. Aspen natives Torin Yater-Wallace and Alex Ferreira are both freestyle skiers who compete in the Winter X Games and have very successful careers. Both Torin and Alex have represented the United States of America in Men's Ski SuperPipe at the Olympic Games.

The Gentlemen of Aspen is the local rugby team. The Gentlemen of Aspen won the Rugby Super League several times: 1997, 2001, and 2002.

Government

thumb|City Hall, formerly Armory Hall|alt=A brick building with trapezoidal roof overhanging the sidewalk on its right side at an intersection. Signs say it is at the 100 block of South Galena Street and the 500 block of East Hopkins Avenue.

Aspen is a home rule municipality

Transportation

  • Roaring Fork Transportation Authority, or RFTA, provides free bus service within Aspen and Snowmass Village, and pay service to the surrounding communities of Basalt, El Jebel, Carbondale, Glenwood Springs, and Rifle. Amtrak serves Glenwood Springs, offering in conjunction with RFTA an environmentally friendly way to travel to Aspen.
  • Aspen's airport is Aspen-Pitkin County Airport, also known as Sardy Field. The airport is an FAA Class 1 airport and has one asphalt runway, wide and long. The airport is commercially serviced by American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and United Airlines.
  • State Highway 82 is the only major road that provides access to Aspen. There are some mountain pass roads that lead to the city, but those require all-terrain vehicles and are typically impassable during the winter. Highway 82 east of Aspen is also impassable due to snow on Independence Pass, leaving Highway 82 west of Aspen as the only means of motor vehicle access during the winter. Highway 82 east of Aspen is typically closed from approximately the end of October to Memorial Day, depending on snow conditions.
  • The bike-sharing system WE-CYCLE serves Aspen and Basalt with 16 stations and 200 bikes. Docking stations and bikes are built by PBSC Urban Solutions.

Historic buildings

<gallery class="center" widths="180px">

File:Aspen Community church south facade.jpg|Aspen Community Church

File:Aspen Wheeler Opera House.jpg|Wheeler Opera House

File:Pitkin County Courthouse Aspen 2015.jpg|Pitkin County Courthouse

File:Aspen Armory Hall or Fraternal Hall.jpg|Armory Hall or Fraternal Hall (Aspen City Hall)

File:Aspen Elks building.jpg|Elks building

File:Aspen Cowenhaven Ute City Banque building.jpg|Cowenhoven Ute City Banque building

File:Aspen Independence building.jpg|Independence building

File:Aspen Hotel Jerome.jpg|Hotel Jerome

</gallery>

Sister cities

Aspen's sister cities are:

  • Abetone Cutigliano, Italy
  • Bariloche, Argentina
  • Chamonix-Mont-Blanc, France
  • Davos, Switzerland
  • Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany
  • Queenstown, New Zealand
  • Shimukappu, Japan

Notable people

See also

  • Aspen anomaly
  • The Aspen Business Luncheon
  • Aspen Center for Physics
  • Aspen Institute
  • Aspen/Snowmass
  • Colorado Silver Boom
  • List of county seats in Colorado
  • List of municipalities in Colorado
  • List of populated places in Colorado
  • List of post offices in Colorado
  • Rifle, CO Micropolitan Statistical Area
  • Smuggler Mine

References

Further reading

  • Berger, Bruce. The Complete Half-Aspenite WHO Press, 2005,
  • Rohrbough, Malcolm. Aspen: The History of a Silver Mining Town 1879–1893 Oxford University Press, 1988,
  • Wentworth, Frank L. Aspen on the Roaring Fork, Sundance Publication, hardcover, (earlier editions exist)
  • City of Aspen
  • State of Colorado
  • History Colorado