San Miguel County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 8,072. The county is named for the San Miguel River.

History

San Miguel County was given the Spanish language name for "Saint Michael" due to the nearby San Miguel River. On February 27, 1883, Ouray County was split to form San Miguel County. Originally the San Miguel County portion was to retain the name Ouray County with the new portion called Uncompahgre County.

Mining operators in the San Juan mountain area of Colorado formed the San Juan District Mining Association (SJDMA) in 1903, as a direct result of a Western Federation of Miners proposal to the Telluride Mining Association for the eight-hour day, which had been approved in a referendum by 72 percent of Colorado voters. The new association consolidated the power of thirty-six mining properties in San Miguel, Ouray, and San Juan counties. The SJDMA refused to consider any reduction in hours or increase in wages, helping to provoke a bitter strike.

In 1875, the Smuggler gold vein was discovered near Telluride. The Smuggler-Union, Tomboy, and Liberty Bell mines combined produced over a hundred tons of gold by 1920, third in the state of Colorado.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.2%) is water.

Adjacent counties

  • Montrose County - north
  • Ouray County - east
  • San Juan County - southeast
  • Dolores County - south
  • San Juan County, Utah - west

Major highways

  • 20px State Highway 62
  • 20px State Highway 141
  • 20px State Highway 145

National protected areas

  • Lizard Head Wilderness
  • Mount Sneffels Wilderness
  • Old Spanish National Historic Trail
  • Telluride National Historic District
  • Uncompahgre National Forest

Trails and byways

  • Great Parks Bicycle Route
  • San Juan Skyway National Scenic Byway
  • Unaweep/Tabeguache Scenic and Historic Byway
  • Western Express Bicycle Route

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 8,072. Of the residents, 19.3% were under the age of 18 and 14.2% were 65 years of age or older; the median age was 41.0 years. For every 100 females there were 111.9 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 111.5 males. 56.8% of residents lived in urban areas and 43.2% lived in rural areas.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"

|+San Miguel County, Colorado – Racial and ethnic composition<br><small></small>

!Race / Ethnicity <small>(NH = Non-Hispanic)</small>

!Pop 2000

!Pop 2010

!

!% 2000

!% 2010

!

|-

|White alone (NH)

|5,959

|6,514

|style='background: #ffffe6; |6,757

|90.37%

|88.52%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |83.71%

|-

|Black or African American alone (NH)

|10

|19

|style='background: #ffffe6; |20

|0.15%

|0.26%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.25%

|-

|Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)

|49

|33

|style='background: #ffffe6; |47

|0.74%

|0.45%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.58%

|-

|Asian alone (NH)

|49

|52

|style='background: #ffffe6; |55

|0.74%

|0.71%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.68%

|-

|Pacific Islander alone (NH)

|4

|4

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0

|0.06%

|0.05%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.00%

|-

|Other race alone (NH)

|25

|8

|style='background: #ffffe6; |44

|0.38%

|0.11%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.55%

|-

|Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)

|59

|99

|style='background: #ffffe6; |267

|0.89%

|1.35%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |3.31%

|-

|Hispanic or Latino (any race)

|439

|630

|style='background: #ffffe6; |882

|6.66%

|8.56%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |10.93%

|-

|Total

|6,594

|7,359

|style='background: #ffffe6; |8,072

|100.00%

|100.00%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |100.00%

|}

The racial makeup of the county was 85.8% White, 0.3% Black or African American, 1.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% Asian, 0.0% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 4.9% from some other race, and 7.2% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 10.9% of the population.

Of the 3,015 households 22.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.30% were married couples living together, 5.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 52.80% were non-families. 32.70% of households were one person and 2.50% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.18 and the average family size was 2.77.

The age distribution was 17.60% under the age of 18, 9.90% from 18 to 24, 43.30% from 25 to 44, 25.80% from 45 to 64, and 3.40% 65 or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 120.80 males. For every 100 females age eighteen 18 and over, there were 126.40 males.

The median household income was $48,514 and the median family income was $60,417. Males had a median income of $35,922 versus $30,278 for females. The per capita income for the county was $35,329. About 6.60% of families and 10.40% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.10% of those under age 18 and 8.00% of those age 65 or over.

Other statistics

In June 2021, U.S. News & World Report ranked the San Miguel County as having the best life expectancy in the United States at 100+ years old.

Among all counties in Colorado, San Miguel County has the highest percentage of adults over 25 with at least a bachelor's degree, with 65.2% measured between 2019 and 2023.

Politics

For most of the 20th century, San Miguel County was a national bellwether. It voted for the winner in every presidential election from 1912 to 1984. Since 1988, the county has become one of the most Democratic in Colorado and the nation, largely due to the presence of the Telluride Ski Resort and the influx of liberal-minded voters in the 1960s and 1970s. These trends have made San Miguel similar in vein to other heavily Democratic ski resort counties like Blaine County in Idaho, Teton County in Wyoming, and Pitkin County within Colorado. In the 2000 presidential election, San Miguel County was Green Party candidate Ralph Nader's best countywide performance in the country with 17.2% of the vote.

<!-- PresRow should be -->

<!-- U.S. SenRow should be -->

<!-- U.S. SenRow should be -->

<!-- C.O. GovRow should be -->

Communities

Towns

  • Mountain Village
  • Norwood
  • Ophir
  • Sawpit
  • Telluride (county seat)

Census-designated place

  • Placerville

Unincorporated communities

  • Ames
  • Egnar
  • Pandora
  • Sams
  • Slick Rock
  • Tomboy (ghost town)

See also

  • Bibliography of Colorado
  • Geography of Colorado
  • History of Colorado
  • National Register of Historic Places listings in San Miguel County, Colorado
  • Index of Colorado-related articles
  • List of Colorado-related lists
  • List of counties in Colorado
  • Outline of Colorado

References

  • State of Colorado
  • History Colorado
  • San Miguel County Government website
  • Colorado County Evolution by Don Stanwyck