Editing Colorado (section)

===Counties===
{{Colorado counties map|float=right}}
{{Main|List of counties in Colorado}}

The State of Colorado is divided into 64 [[County (United States)|counties]]. Two of these counties, the [[Broomfield, Colorado|City and County of Broomfield]] and the [[Denver|City and County of Denver]], have [[consolidated city-county|consolidated city and county governments]]. Counties are important units of government in Colorado since there are no [[civil township]]s or other [[minor civil division]]s.

The most populous county in Colorado is [[El Paso County, Colorado|El Paso County]], the home of the [[Colorado Springs, Colorado|City of Colorado Springs]]. The second most populous county is the [[Denver|City and County of Denver]], the state capital. Five of the 64 counties now have more than 500,000 residents, while 12 have fewer than 5,000 residents. The ten most populous Colorado counties are all located in the [[Front Range Urban Corridor]]. [[Mesa County, Colorado|Mesa County]] is the most populous county on the [[Colorado Western Slope]].{{efn|name=2023 county estimates|[[United States Census Bureau]] estimates of county population as of July 1, 2023<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/tables/2020-2023/counties/totals/co-est2023-pop-08.xlsx|title=Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Counties in Colorado: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2023 (CO-EST2023-POP-08)|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]], [[United States Department of Commerce]]|date=March 2024|access-date=March 20, 2024}}</ref>}}

{{panorama|image=Pikes Peak and Garden of the Gods (25846068782).jpg|height=288|width=100%|align=center|caption=[[Pikes Peak]] and [[Garden of the Gods]] in [[El Paso County, Colorado]]|alt=Photo of Pikes Peak and Garden of the Gods in El Paso County, Colorado}}

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+<big>The 16 most populous Colorado counties</big><br/>
|-
!scope=col|2023 rank{{efn|name=2023 county estimates}}
!scope=col|[[List of counties in Colorado|County]]
!scope=col|[[List of county seats in Colorado|County seat]]
!scope=col|[[List of Colorado municipalities by population|Most populous city]]
!scope=col|2023 population{{efn|name=2023 county estimates}}
|-
!scope=row align=center|1
|[[El Paso County, Colorado|El Paso County]]
|[[Colorado Springs, Colorado|Colorado Springs]]
|Colorado Springs
|align=right|744,215
|-
!scope=row align=center|2
|colspan=3 data-sort-value=Denver|[[Denver|City and County of Denver]]<!-- |[[Denver]] -->{{efn|As a [[List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county|consolidated city and county]], the [[Denver|City and County of Denver]] is its own [[County seat#United States|county seat]].<ref name=MuniIncCO/>}}<!-- |Denver -->
|align=right|716,577
|-
!scope=row align=center|3
|[[Arapahoe County, Colorado|Arapahoe County]]
|[[Littleton, Colorado|Littleton]]{{efn|[[Littleton, Colorado]] also extends into [[Jefferson County, Colorado|Jefferson]] and [[Douglas County, Colorado|Douglas counties]].}}
|[[Aurora, Colorado|Aurora]]{{efn|[[Aurora, Colorado]] also extends into [[Adams County, Colorado|Adams]] and [[Douglas County, Colorado|Douglas counties]].}}
|align=right|656,061
|-
!scope=row align=center|4
|[[Jefferson County, Colorado|Jefferson County]]
|[[Golden, Colorado|Golden]]
|[[Lakewood, Colorado|Lakewood]]
|align=right|576,366
|-
!scope=row align=center|5
|[[Adams County, Colorado|Adams County]]
|[[Brighton, Colorado|Brighton]]{{efn|[[Brighton, Colorado]] also extends into [[Weld County, Colorado|Weld County]].}}
|[[Thornton, Colorado|Thornton]]{{efn|[[Thornton, Colorado]] also extends into [[Weld County, Colorado|Weld County]].}}
|align=right|533,365
|-
!scope=row align=center|6
|[[Douglas County, Colorado|Douglas County]]
|[[Castle Rock, Colorado|Castle Rock]]
|[[Highlands Ranch, Colorado|Highlands Ranch]]{{efn|[[Highlands Ranch, Colorado]] is a [[census-designated place]].}}
|align=right|383,906
|-
!scope=row align=center|7
|[[Larimer County, Colorado|Larimer County]]
|[[Fort Collins, Colorado|Fort Collins]]
|Fort Collins
|align=right|370,771
|-
!scope=row align=center|8
|[[Weld County, Colorado|Weld County]]
|[[Greeley, Colorado|Greeley]]
|Greeley
|align=right|359,442
|-
!scope=row align=center|9
|[[Boulder County, Colorado|Boulder County]]
|[[Boulder, Colorado|Boulder]]
|Boulder
|align=right|326,831
|-
!scope=row align=center|10
|[[Pueblo County, Colorado|Pueblo County]]
|[[Pueblo, Colorado|Pueblo]]
|Pueblo
|align=right|169,422
|-
!scope=row align=center|11
|[[Mesa County, Colorado|Mesa County]]
|[[Grand Junction, Colorado|Grand Junction]]
|Grand Junction
|align=right|159,681
|-
!scope=row align=center|12
|colspan=3 data-sort-value=Broomfield|[[Broomfield, Colorado|City and County of Broomfield]]<!-- |[[Broomfield, Colorado|Broomfield]] -->{{efn|As a [[List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county|consolidated city and county]], the [[Broomfield, Colorado|City and County of Broomfield]] is its own [[County seat#United States|county seat]].<ref name=MuniIncCO/>}}<!-- |Broomfield -->
|align=right|76,860
|-
!scope=row align=center|13
|[[Garfield County, Colorado|Garfield County]]
|[[Glenwood Springs, Colorado|Glenwood Springs]]
|[[Rifle, Colorado|Rifle]]
|align=right|62,707
|-
!scope=row align=center|14
|[[La Plata County, Colorado|La Plata County]]
|[[Durango, Colorado|Durango]]
|Durango
|align=right|56,407
|-
!scope=row align=center|15
|[[Eagle County, Colorado|Eagle County]]
|[[Eagle, Colorado|Eagle]]
|[[Edwards, Colorado|Edwards]]{{efn|[[Edwards, Colorado]] is a [[census-designated place]].}}
|align=right|54,381
|-
!scope=row align=center|16
|[[Fremont County, Colorado|Fremont County]]
|[[Cañon City, Colorado|Cañon City]]
|Cañon City
|align=right|50,318
|}