Costilla County, Colorado
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Costilla County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of 2000, the population is 3,663. The county seat is San Luis.
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[edit] History
Costilla County was of the original 17 counties created by the Colorado legislature on November 1, 1861. It was named after the Costilla River in the area. Although San Miguel was originally designated the county seat, county government was moved to San Luis in 1863.
The county's original boundaries had the county extend over much of south-central Colorado. Much of the northern portion became part of Saguache County in 1866, and the western portions were folded into Hinsdale and Rio Grande counties in 1874. Costilla County arrived at its modern boundaries in 1913 when Alamosa County was created from its northwest portions.
[edit] Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 3,187 km² (1,230 mi²). 3,178 km² (1,227 mi²) of it is land and 9 km² (3 mi²) of it (0.27%) is water.
[edit] Adjacent counties
- Huerfano County, Colorado - northeast
- Las Animas County, Colorado - east
- Colfax County, New Mexico - southeast
- Taos County, New Mexico - south
- Conejos County, Colorado - west
- Alamosa County, Colorado - northwest
[edit] Demographics
As of the census2 of 2000, there were 3,663 people, 1,503 households, and 1,029 families residing in the county. The population density was 1/km² (3/mi²). There were 2,202 housing units at an average density of 1/km² (2/mi²). The racial makeup of the county was 60.91% White, 0.79% Black or African American, 2.48% Native American, 1.01% Asian, 0.14% Pacific Islander, 29.46% from other races, and 5.21% from two or more races. 67.59% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 1,503 households out of which 28.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.60% were married couples living together, 11.30% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.50% were non-families. 28.10% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.60% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 2.98.
In the county the population was spread out with 25.00% under the age of 18, 6.60% from 18 to 24, 23.30% from 25 to 44, 28.30% from 45 to 64, and 16.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 99.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.20 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $19,531, and the median income for a family was $25,509. Males had a median income of $22,390 versus $16,121 for females. The per capita income for the county was $10,748. About 21.30% of families and 26.80% of the population were below the poverty line, including 32.40% of those under age 18 and 23.30% of those age 65 or over.
