Editing Center, Colorado

{{short description|Town in Saguache and Rio Grande counties in Colorado, United States}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2024}}
{{Infobox settlement
<!-- Basic info  ---------------->
 | name                     = Center, Colorado
 | official_name            = Town of Center<ref name=COMun>{{cite web|url=https://dola.colorado.gov/lgis/municipalities.jsf|title=Active Colorado Municipalities|publisher=[[Colorado Department of Local Affairs]]|access-date=October 15, 2021}}</ref>
 | settlement_type          = [[List of municipalities in Colorado#Statutory town|Statutory Town]]<ref name=COMun/>
 | motto                    = 
<!-- images and maps  ----------->
 | image_skyline            = Center, Colorado.JPG
 | imagesize                = 
 | image_caption            = Center in winter, December 2012
 | image_flag               = 
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 | image_seal               = 
 | seal_size                = 
 | image_shield             = 
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 | blank_emblem_type        = 
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 | image_map                = File:Rio Grande County and Saguache County Colorado Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Center Highlighted 0812855.svg
 | mapsize                  = 
 | map_caption              = Location of the Town of Center in [[Saguache County, Colorado|Saguache]] and [[Rio Grande County, Colorado|Rio Grande]] [[List of counties in Colorado|counties]], [[Colorado]].
 | image_dot_map            = 
 | dot_mapsize              = 
 | dot_map_caption          = 
 | dot_x                    = 
 | dot_y                    = 
 | pushpin_map              = USA
 | pushpin_label            = Center
 | pushpin_label_position   = right
 | pushpin_map_caption      = Location of the Town of Center in the {{nowrap|[[United States]].}}
<!-- Location ------------------>
 | subdivision_type         = [[List of sovereign states|Country]]
 | subdivision_name         = {{flag|United States}}
 | subdivision_type1        = [[U.S. state|State]]
 | subdivision_name1        = {{flag|Colorado}}
 | subdivision_type2        = [[List of counties in Colorado|Counties]]
 | subdivision_name2        = [[Saguache County, Colorado|Saguache]]<ref name=COMun/><br/>[[Rio Grande County, Colorado|Rio Grande]]
<!-- Politics ----------------->
 | government_footnotes     = 
 | government_type          = [[Colorado municipalities#Statutory town|Statutory Town]]<ref name=COMun/>
 | leader_title             = 
 | leader_name              = 
 | leader_title1            = 
 | leader_name1             = 
 | established_title        = <!-- Settled -->
 | established_date         = 
 | established_title2       = [[municipal corporation|Incorporated]]
 | established_date2        = January 19, 1907<ref name=MuniIncCO>{{cite web | url = http://www.colorado.gov/dpa/doit/archives/muninc.html | title = Colorado Municipal Incorporations | publisher = [[Colorado|State of Colorado]], Department of Personnel & Administration, Colorado State Archives | date = December 1, 2004 | accessdate = September 2, 2007}}</ref>
 | established_title3       = 
<!-- Incorporated (city) -->
 | established_date3        = 
<!-- Area --------------------->
 | unit_pref                = Imperial
 | area_footnotes           = <ref name=2020_Census>{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census/about/rdo/summary-files.html|title=Decennial Census P.L. 94-171 Redistricting Data|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]], [[United States Department of Commerce]]|date=August 12, 2021|access-date=September 4, 2021}}</ref>
 | area_total_km2           = 2.238
 | area_land_km2            = 2.238
 | area_water_km2           = 0.000
<!-- Population ----------------------->
 | population_as_of         = [[2020 United States census|2020]]
 | population_footnotes     = <ref name=2020_Census/>
 | population_total         = 1,929
 | population_density_sq_mi = 2,232
<!-- General information ----------------------->
 | timezone1                = [[Mountain Time Zone|MST]]
 | utc_offset1              = −07:00
 | timezone1_DST            = [[Mountain Time Zone|MDT]]
 | utc_offset1_DST          = −06:00
 | coordinates              = {{coord|37|45|04|N|106|06|38|W|region:US-CO_type:city|display=inline,title}}
 | coordinates_footnotes    = <ref name=gnis/>
 | elevation_ft             = 7645
 | elevation_footnotes      = <ref name=gnis/>
<!-- Area/postal codes & others -------->
 | postal_code_type         = [[ZIP Code]]
 | postal_code              = 81125<ref name=ZIPcode>{{cite web|url=http://zip4.usps.com/zip4/citytown.jsp |title=ZIP Code Lookup |format=[[JavaScript]]/[[HTML]] |publisher=[[United States Postal Service]] |accessdate=September 5, 2007 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070903025217/http://zip4.usps.com/zip4/citytown.jsp |archivedate=September 3, 2007 }}</ref>
 | area_code                = [[Area code 719|719]]
 | blank_name               = [[Federal Information Processing Standards|FIPS code]]
 | blank_info               = 08-12855
 | blank1_name              = [[Geographic Names Information System|GNIS feature ID]]
 | blank1_info              = 2413186<ref name=gnis>{{GNIS|2413186}}</ref>
 | website                  = {{URL|https://www.colorado.gov/townofcenter}}
 | footnotes                = 
}}

The '''Town of Center''' is a [[List of municipalities in Colorado#Statutory town|Statutory Town]] located in [[Saguache County, Colorado|Saguache]] and [[Rio Grande County, Colorado|Rio Grande]] [[List of counties in Colorado|counties]] in [[Colorado]], United States.<ref name=COMun/> The town's population was 1,929 at the [[2020 United States census]] with 1,885 residing in Saguache County and 44 residing in Rio Grande County.<ref name=2020_Census/>

==Description==
[[Leach Airport]] is located 4 miles east and 3 miles north of town, at County Road 53 and County Road C.<ref>[https://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=embed&hl=en&q=center+leach+field&sll=37.784792,-106.046906&sspn=0.013228,0.027874&ie=UTF8&split=1&filter=0&rq=1&ev=zi&radius=0.76&hq=center+leach+field&hnear=&ll=37.793575,-106.0427&spn=0.013228,0.027874&z=14&iwloc=A&cid=1742539667178779438 Google.com: ''Leach Airport Map and Data'']</ref> The nearest college is [[Adams State College]]; 23 miles to [[Alamosa, Colorado]].

The town lies near the center of the [[San Luis Valley]], hence the name.<ref>{{cite book|last=Dawson|first=John Frank|title=Place names in Colorado: why 700 communities were so named, 150 of Spanish or Indian origin|url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015051116740;view=1up;seq=19|year=1954|publisher=The J. Frank Dawson Publishing Co.|location=Denver, CO|page=13}}</ref>

==Geography==
At the [[2020 United States census]], the town had a total area of {{convert|2.238|km2|acre|order=flip}}, all of it land.<ref name=2020_Census/>

===Climate===
Center has a [[cold desert climate]] ([[Köppen climate classification|Köppen]] ''BWk''), bordering on a [[cold semi-arid climate]] ([[Köppen climate classification|Köppen]] ''BSk'').
{{Weather box
|location = Center 4 SSW, Colorado, 1991–2020 normals, 1941-2020 records: {{convert|7673|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|single line = Yes
|collapsed = Yes
|Jan record high F = 59
|Feb record high F = 65
|Mar record high F = 74
|Apr record high F = 83
|May record high F = 88
|Jun record high F = 95
|Jul record high F = 94
|Aug record high F = 90
|Sep record high F = 89
|Oct record high F = 81
|Nov record high F = 68
|Dec record high F = 61
|year record high F =

|Jan avg record high F = 46.6
|Feb avg record high F = 52.2
|Mar avg record high F = 65.4
|Apr avg record high F = 72.5
|May avg record high F = 79.7
|Jun avg record high F = 87.3
|Jul avg record high F = 88.4
|Aug avg record high F = 86.2
|Sep avg record high F = 81.9
|Oct avg record high F = 74.6
|Nov avg record high F = 61.3
|Dec avg record high F = 50.0
|year avg record high F = 89.6

|Jan high F = 31.6
|Feb high F = 38.0
|Mar high F = 49.4
|Apr high F = 58.1
|May high F = 66.8
|Jun high F = 76.3
|Jul high F = 79.8
|Aug high F = 78.5
|Sep high F = 72.9
|Oct high F = 60.8
|Nov high F = 46.1
|Dec high F = 33.4
|year high F =

|Jan mean F = 17.9
|Feb mean F = 24.0
|Mar mean F = 34.8
|Apr mean F = 42.7
|May mean F = 51.5
|Jun mean F = 59.3
|Jul mean F = 63.8
|Aug mean F = 62.4
|Sep mean F = 56.2
|Oct mean F = 44.7
|Nov mean F = 31.3
|Dec mean F = 19.2
|year mean F =

|Jan low F = 4.2
|Feb low F = 10.0
|Mar low F = 20.2
|Apr low F = 27.3
|May low F = 36.2
|Jun low F = 42.3
|Jul low F = 47.7
|Aug low F = 46.3
|Sep low F = 39.5
|Oct low F = 28.5
|Nov low F = 16.5
|Dec low F = 5.0
|year low F =

|Jan avg record low F = -12.7
|Feb avg record low F = -9.3
|Mar avg record low F = 3.6
|Apr avg record low F = 13.7
|May avg record low F = 24.3
|Jun avg record low F = 33.1
|Jul avg record low F = 40.5
|Aug avg record low F = 39.0
|Sep avg record low F = 27.9
|Oct avg record low F = 14.3
|Nov avg record low F = -1.6
|Dec avg record low F = -12.8
|year avg record low F = -17.5

|Jan record low F = −40
|Feb record low F = −32
|Mar record low F = −16
|Apr record low F = -4
|May record low F = 12
|Jun record low F = 23
|Jul record low F = 31
|Aug record low F = 28
|Sep record low F = 16
|Oct record low F = -4
|Nov record low F = -25
|Dec record low F = −41
|year record low F =

|precipitation colour = green
|Jan precipitation inch = 0.13
|Feb precipitation inch = 0.27
|Mar precipitation inch = 0.33
|Apr precipitation inch = 0.53
|May precipitation inch = 0.58
|Jun precipitation inch = 0.63
|Jul precipitation inch = 1.32
|Aug precipitation inch = 1.19
|Sep precipitation inch = 0.70
|Oct precipitation inch = 0.61
|Nov precipitation inch = 0.46
|Dec precipitation inch = 0.46
|year precipitation inch =

|Jan snow inch = 3.50
|Feb snow inch = 2.90
|Mar snow inch = 5.50
|Apr snow inch = 1.80
|May snow inch = 0.60
|Jun snow inch = 0.00
|Jul snow inch = 0.00
|Aug snow inch = 0.00
|Sep snow inch = 0.00
|Oct snow inch = 1.60
|Nov snow inch = 3.10
|Dec snow inch = 6.10
|year snow inch =

|unit precipitation days = 0.01 in
|Jan precipitation days = 2.2
|Feb precipitation days = 2.2
|Mar precipitation days = 2.9
|Apr precipitation days = 3.3
|May precipitation days = 4.4
|Jun precipitation days = 5.0
|Jul precipitation days = 7.5
|Aug precipitation days = 9.3
|Sep precipitation days = 6.4
|Oct precipitation days = 4.3
|Nov precipitation days = 3.0
|Dec precipitation days = 2.7

|unit snow days = 0.1 in
|Jan snow days = 2.0
|Feb snow days = 1.5
|Mar snow days = 2.0
|Apr snow days = 0.7
|May snow days = 0.2
|Jun snow days = 0.0
|Jul snow days = 0.0
|Aug snow days = 0.0
|Sep snow days = 0.0
|Oct snow days = 0.4
|Nov snow days = 1.5
|Dec snow days = 1.7

|source 1 = NOAA<ref name = NOAA>
{{cite web
|url = https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/services/data/v1?dataset=normals-monthly-1991-2020&startDate=0001-01-01&endDate=9996-12-31&stations=USC00051458&format=pdf
|title = Center 4 SSW, Colorado 1991-2020 Monthly Normals 
|access-date = January 7, 2024
}}
</ref>
|source 2 = XMACIS2 (records & monthly max/mins)<ref name = XMACIS>
{{cite web
|url = https://xmacis.rcc-acis.org/
|publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
|title = xmACIS
|access-date = January 7, 2024
}}
</ref>
}}

==Demographics==
{{US Census population|align=left
|1910= 385
|1920= 547
|1930= 1011
|1940= 1515
|1950= 2024
|1960= 1600
|1970= 1470
|1980= 1630
|1990= 1963
|2000= 2392
|2010= 2230
|2020= 1929
|footnote=[[United States census|U.S. Decennial Census]]
}}
As of the [[census]]<ref name="GR2">{{cite web |url=https://www.census.gov |publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]] |accessdate=January 31, 2008 |title=U.S. Census website }}</ref> of 2012, there were 2,271 people, 768 households, and 603 families residing in the town. The population density was {{convert|2,854.3|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. There were 848 housing units at an average density of {{convert|1,011.9|/mi2|/km2|disp=preunit|units&nbsp;|units|}}. The racial makeup of the town was 10.3% [[White (U.S. Census)|White]], 0.3% [[African American (U.S. Census)|African American]], 1% [[Native American (U.S. Census)|Native American]], 0.09% from [[Race (United States Census)|other races]], and 0.09% from two or more races. [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|Latino]] of any race were 87.4% of the population.

There were 768 households, out of which 47.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.3% were [[Marriage|married couples]] living together, 17.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 21.4% were non-families. 18.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.11 and the average family size was 3.56.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 35.2% under the age of 18, 11.1% from 18 to 24, 27.4% from 25 to 44, 17.0% from 45 to 64, and 9.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 28 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.8 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $23,780, and the median income for a family was $26,143. Males had a median income of $20,844 versus $18,036 for females. The [[per capita income]] for the town was $9,289. About 27.1% of families and 27.5% of the population were below the [[poverty line]], including 31.6% of those under age 18 and 22.8% of those age 65 or over.{{clear left}}

==Education==
* Public high schools:
# Center High School - grades 9 - 12
# The Academic Recovery Center of San Luis Valley - grades 9 - 12
* Public elementary/middle schools:
# Haskin Elementary School
# Skoglund Middle School - grades 6 - 8
* Private elementary/middle school in Center:
# High Valley Christian School

==See also==
{{stack|{{portal|Colorado}}}}
[[File:Center Town Hall.JPG|thumb|Center Town Hall]]
* [[List of municipalities in Colorado]]

==References==
{{reflist|22em}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Center, Colorado}}
* {{Official website|https://townofcenter.colorado.gov/}}
* [http://dtdapps.coloradodot.info/staticdata/Downloads/CityMaps/Center.pdf CDOT map of the Town of Center]

{{Saguache County, Colorado}}
{{Rio Grande County, Colorado}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Towns in Rio Grande County, Colorado]]
[[Category:Towns in Saguache County, Colorado]]
[[Category:Towns in Colorado]]