Conifer is Colorado's new population center, census data shows

The new population center of Colorado is Conifer — or just east of it, to be precise.

What's new: The U.S. Census Bureau places the balance of the state's population just east of the Jefferson County community and part-way toward Littleton, along the western edge of Deer Creek Canyon Park.

• The coordinates are +39.534747, -105.185361.

Be smart: It's not the place with the most people, but the middle point of us all.

• "If you could see Colorado sprinkled with all the people, [it's] where that center would lie, where everywhere else around that dot is equal," explained Elizabeth Garner, the state's demographer.

Why it matters: A map of the state's mean population centers since 1950 is a visual representation of our population trends, experts say. The population center moved north and slightly to the west.

• The northern shift reflects the increase in people moving to Weld, Adams and Larimer counties.
• The western drift indicates the Western Slope is gaining population and the decline of residents on the Eastern Plains.

Trivia: The population center for Denver is essentially 537 Steele St., between the Congress Park and Cherry Creek neighborhoods.

• The center of the United States is Hartville, Missouri.

See the data

Editor's note: This story has been updated to clarify the population center of Colorado is Conifer, per U.S. Census data.

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