Eagle is the home rule municipality that is the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

of Eagle County, Colorado, United States. The town population was 7,511 at the 2020 United States census, a +15.41% increase since the 2010 census. Eagle is the part of the Edwards, CO Micropolitan Statistical Area. The town has an extensive trail system for mountain biking, hiking and trail running.

History

A post office called Eagle has been in operation since 1891. The town takes its name from Eagle County, which itself takes its name from the Eagle River. Eagle was incorporated in 1905.

Geography

Eagle is located west of the center of Eagle County in the valley of the Eagle River, a west-flowing tributary of the

Colorado River The Colorado River () is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and in northern Mexico. The river, the List of longest rivers of the United States (by main stem), 5th longest in the United St ...

. The town limits extend southward up the valley of Brush Creek. U.S. Route 6 passes through the center of town, and

Interstate 70 Interstate 70 (I-70) is a major east–west Interstate Highway in the United States that runs from Interstate 15, I-15 near Cove Fort, Utah, to Interstate 695 (Maryland), I-695 and Maryland Route 570 (MD 570) in Woodlawn, Baltimo ...

passes through the northern side, with access from Exit 147. Vail is to the east, and Glenwood Springs is to the west. At the 2020 United States census, the town had a total area of including of water.

Climate

The climate of Eagle is characterized by cold winters, hot summers, and relatively little precipitation. Under the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

, Eagle has a warm-summer humid continental climate (''Dfb''), but it is borderline

semi-arid A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a aridity, dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below Evapotranspiration#Potential evapotranspiration, potential evapotranspiration, but not as l ...

(''BSk'') due to low rainfall. As a consequence of the city's high elevation, temperatures drop sharply after sunset.

Demographics

As of the 2010 census, there were 6,508 people, 2,183 households, and 1,666 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 2,416 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 87.3%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.4%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.8% Native American, 0.8% Asian, 0.02%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 7.9% some other race, and 2.6% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 22.3% of the population. There were 2,183 households, out of which 49.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 65.5% were headed by

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 6.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.7% were non-families. 16.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 4.1% were someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.96 and the average family size was 3.33. In the town, the population was spread out, with 31.7% under the age of 18, 5.8% from 18 to 24, 35.8% from 25 to 44, 22.7% from 45 to 64, and 4.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33.8 years. For every 100 females, there were 104.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 102.9 males. For the period 2010–14, the estimated median annual income for a household in the town was $81,571, and the median income for a family was $94,875. Male full-time workers had a median income of $65,156 versus $47,902 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the town was $35,426. About 2.0% of families and 4.2% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 2.8% of those under age 18 and 28.2% of those age 65 or over.

Community activism

The Eagle community has an involved community, especially when big issues come up for review. In just three years, there were three

referendum A referendum, plebiscite, or ballot measure is a Direct democracy, direct vote by the Constituency, electorate (rather than their Representative democracy, representatives) on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either bin ...

s. In January 2010, voters defeated a lifestyle center project called Eagle River Station. In January 2012, voters approved allowing the medical marijuana dispensary to stay in business. (The board of trustees originally allowed the business to open but then the new board of trustees decided to withdraw that permit. The owners of the marijuana dispensary then took it to the vote of the people and the business was allowed to stay open.) In May 2012, voters approved the second vote on the now lifestyle center project still called Eagle River Station.

Transportation

Eagle County Regional Airport (

IATA The International Air Transport Association (IATA ) is an airline trade association founded in 1945. IATA has been described as a cartel since, in addition to setting technical standards for airlines, IATA also organized tariff conferences tha ...

:EGE,

ICAO The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO ) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that coordinates the principles and techniques of international air navigation, and fosters the planning and development of international sch ...

:KEGE) is to the west, located between Eagle and the town of Gypsum. Many airlines provide services from Eagle to various destinations during the ski season months, although in the low season months the airport just has services to

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

and

Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

. ECO Transit provides local transportation from Eagle to Dotsero, Gypsum, Edwards, Avon and Vail. *

runs east–west connecting the town to

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the List of United States ...

, on its east end, passing through Columbus,

Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

, Saint Louis, Kansas City, and

, and ends at Interstate 15 in Utah. * U.S. Highway 6 parallels Interstate 70 in Eagle County, running east–west from

Provincetown, Massachusetts Provincetown () is a New England town located at the extreme tip of Cape Cod in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, in the United States. A small coastal resort town with a year-round population of 3,664 as of the 2020 United States census, Provi ...

, to

Bishop, California Bishop (formerly Bishop Creek) is the only incorporated city in Inyo County, California, United States. It is located near the northern end of the Owens Valley within the Mojave Desert, at an elevation of . The city was named after Bishop Creek ...

Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad is a Railroad classes, Class I freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pacific is the second largest railroad in the United Stat ...

's tracks cross Eagle, linking the town to Denver, Grand Junction, and

Pueblo Pueblo refers to the settlements of the Pueblo peoples, Native American tribes in the Southwestern United States, currently in New Mexico, Arizona, and Texas. The permanent communities, including some of the oldest continually occupied settlement ...

. The closest

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

station is located in Glenwood Springs, to the west, with daily service of the ''

California Zephyr The ''California Zephyr'' is a Amtrak Long Distance, long-distance passenger train operated by Amtrak between Chicago, Illinois, Chicago and the San Francisco Bay Area (at Emeryville station, Emeryville), via Omaha, Nebraska, Omaha, Denver, Sa ...

''. Bustang, Colorado's state-run bus service, connects Eagle to both Grand Junction and Denver.

Education

Eagle is home to two elementary schools and a middle school: *Brush Creek Elementary School *Eagle Valley Elementary School *Eagle Valley Middle School Eagle Valley High School, located in the neighboring town of Gypsum, serves the students of Eagle.

Notable residents

* Benjamin Kunkel (born 1972), novelist and political economist

References

External links

Town of Eagle websiteCDOT map of the Town of EagleTown of Eagle tourism website – get your official Town of Eagle Adventure GuideVail Valley Partnership - The Chamber and Tourism BureauECO Transit
{{authority control Towns in Eagle County, Colorado Towns in Colorado County seats in Colorado