CO · El Paso County · 478,961 (2020) · 40th-largest US city · elevation about 6,035 ft
Colorado Springs, Colorado
Colorado Springs sits at the eastern foot of Pikes Peak in central Colorado, 70 miles south of Denver. It is the second-largest city in Colorado, the highest-elevation large city in the United States and the fortieth by population.
- State
- Colorado
- County
- El Paso County
- Population (2020)
- 478,961
- Rank
- 40th in the US
- Coordinates
- 38.83°N, 104.82°W
- Time zone
- Mountain
- Metro area
- about 760,000
- State capital
- No – Denver
Where Colorado Springs is
Colorado Springs is at 38.83°N, 104.82°W in El Paso County, of which it is the county seat (not to be confused with El Paso, Texas, 600 miles south). The city covers about 195 square miles at roughly 6,035 feet above sea level, higher than Denver by 750 feet, on the piedmont where the Great Plains meet the Front Range. Pikes Peak (14,115 ft) rises directly west of the city and is visible from almost every part of it. Fountain Creek and Monument Creek meet downtown. Denver, the state capital, is 70 miles north on Interstate 25; Pueblo 45 miles south, and Albuquerque 380 miles south.
Population and rank
The 2020 Census counted 478,961 residents, ranking Colorado Springs 40th in the US and second in Colorado after Denver; it has held second place in the state since passing Aurora, and grew about 15 percent between 2010 and 2020. The Colorado Springs metropolitan area (El Paso and Teller counties) has about 760,000 people, the second-largest metro in the state. El Paso County passed Denver County in the 2020 count to become the most populous county in Colorado. Five military installations, including Fort Carson and the Air Force Academy, account for a large share of the population.
Geography
- Pikes Peak — the easternmost 14,000-foot summit in the Rocky Mountains, with a road and a cog railway to the top; its view inspired "America the Beautiful" in 1893.
- Garden of the Gods — red sandstone fins tilted vertically at the mountain front, a city park on the west side.
- Fountain Creek — flows south from Manitou Springs through the city to the Arkansas River at Pueblo; Monument Creek joins it downtown.
- Palmer Divide — the ridge north of the city that separates the Arkansas and South Platte drainages and brings heavier snow to the north side of town.
Nearest large cities
Denver is a little over an hour north. Beyond Colorado, the nearest large cities are in New Mexico and Kansas. Distances are approximate road miles from downtown.
| City | State | Road distance (mi) | Direction |
|---|---|---|---|
| Denver | CO | 70 | N |
| Albuquerque | NM | 380 | S |
| Oklahoma City | OK | 600 | SE |
| Salt Lake City | UT | 590 | NW |
| Kansas City | MO | 640 | E |
Is Colorado Springs the state capital?
No. Colorado's capital is Denver, 70 miles north, and Colorado Springs has never been the capital — it was founded in 1871 by General William Palmer as a resort town at the end of his Denver & Rio Grande railway. It is the seat of El Paso County and the second-largest city in the state. Colorado Springs is the highest of the 50 largest US cities, about 700 feet above Albuquerque and 750 above Denver.
Related maps
- Colorado map — the state with its 64 counties.
- Denver — the state capital, 70 miles north.
- US cities map.
- Rocky Mountains, highest points and Arkansas River maps.
- Nearby: Denver, Albuquerque, New Mexico.
- Mountain division · Mountain Time Zone.