Center is a

statutory town In India, the Urban Local Bodies (ULBs), also called municipalities, are self-government institutions responsible for the administration of cities, towns, and transitional areas within a state or Union Territory. The 74th amendment to the Const ...

located in Saguache and

Rio Grande The Rio Grande ( or ) in the United States or the Río Bravo (del Norte) in Mexico (), also known as Tó Ba'áadi in Navajo language, Navajo, is one of the principal rivers (along with the Colorado River) in the Southwestern United States a ...

counties A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

, United States. 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.

History

The Center, Colorado, post office opened on July 1, 1899, and the Town of Center was incorporated on January 18, 1907. The town lies near the center of the

San Luis Valley The San Luis Valley is a region in south-central Colorado with a small portion overlapping into New Mexico. The valley is approximately long and wide, making it the largest alpine valley in the world. It extends from the Continental Divide on ...

, hence the name.

Facilities

Leach Airport is located 4 miles east and 3 miles north of town, at County Road 53 and County Road C.Google.com: ''Leach Airport Map and Data''
/ref> The nearest college is Adams State College; 23 miles to

Alamosa, Colorado Alamosa is the List of municipalities in Colorado#Home rule municipality, home rule city that is the county seat of Alamosa County, Colorado, United States. Alamosa is located along the Rio Grande. The city population was 9,806 in the 2020 Unit ...

Geography

At the 2020 United States census, the town had a total area of , all of it land.

Climate

Center has a

cold desert climate The desert climate or arid climate (in the Köppen climate classification ''BWh'' and ''BWk'') is a dry climate sub-type in which there is a severe excess of evaporation over precipitation. The typically bald, rocky, or sandy surfaces in desert ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

''BWk''), bordering on a

cold semi-arid climate Cold is the presence of low temperature, especially in the atmosphere. In common usage, cold is often a subjective perception. A lower bound to temperature is absolute zero, defined as 0.00K on the Kelvin scale, an absolute thermodynamic ...

(

''BSk'').

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2012, there were 2,271 people, 768 households, and 603 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 848 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 10.3%

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 ...

, 0.3%

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 ...

, 1% Native American, 0.09% from other races, and 0.09% 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 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

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, 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 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 $9,289. About 27.1% of families and 27.5% 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 31.6% of those under age 18 and 22.8% of those age 65 or over.

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

References

External links

State of Colorado

History Colorado
* {{authority control Towns in Rio Grande County, Colorado Towns in Saguache County, Colorado Towns in Colorado