The Town of Eaton is a statutory town located in Weld County, Colorado, United States. Eaton was first named Eatonton to avoid conflict with the Easton post office in El Paso county. When Easton had changed its name to Eastonville, the last syllable of Eatonton was dropped, and the town has since been known as Eaton.

Much of the farming country around Eaton, Colorado continues to depend on the irrigation systems engineered by the Eatons and others to this day. Benjamin Eaton later served as Governor of Colorado from 1885 to 1887.

The first citizens of Eaton began to settle in 1880. One of the only occupations available was working on irrigation ditches from Eaton to Greeley.

On September 28, 1892, a petition was submitted to the county judge requesting that Eaton be incorporated. The petition had been signed by 36 residents, including Benjamin Eaton himself. The county judge ordered that an election be held to decide whether or not the remaining residents desired Eaton to be incorporated. 50 votes were cast, every one of them in favor of incorporation. The Town of Eaton was incorporated on December 5, 1892.

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2020 census

As of the 2020 census, Eaton had a population of 5,802. The median age was 36.5 years. 27.4% of residents were under the age of 18 and 16.0% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 98.0 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 93.6 males age 18 and over.

There were 2,096 households in Eaton, of which 37.9% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 64.4% were married-couple households, 11.8% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 19.5% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 18.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older., there were 2,690 people, 1,033 households, and 765 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 1,067 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 91.12% White, 0.04% African American, 0.52% Native American, 0.78% Asian, 5.76% from other races, and 1.78% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 12.64% of the population.

There were 1,033 households, out of which 36.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.0% were married couples living together, 9.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.9% were non-families. 23.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.60 and the average family size was 3.07.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 28.6% under the age of 18, 7.0% from 18 to 24, 26.6% from 25 to 44, 25.0% from 45 to 64, and 12.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 90.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.2 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $47,314, and the median income for a family was $55,144. Males had a median income of $38,839 versus $27,292 for females. The per capita income for the town was $20,816. About 3.4% of families and 5.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.6% of those under age 18 and 10.1% of those age 65 or over.

Notable people

Eaton can claim two active National Football League (NFL) players:

  • Austin Ekeler, current running back for the Washington Commanders, attended and played high school football for The Fightin' Reds at Eaton High School.
  • Trent Sieg, current long snapper for the Las Vegas Raiders, also attended Eaton High and played high school football for the Fightin' Reds.

See also

  • Greeley, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area
  • Denver-Aurora-Greeley, CO Combined Statistical Area
  • Front Range Urban Corridor
  • List of municipalities in Colorado
  • List of populated places in Colorado
  • List of post offices in Colorado

References

  • State of Colorado
  • History Colorado
  • Town of Eaton website