County Maps US

Otero County, Colorado

A county in Colorado, ranked 28 of 64 by population.

CountyFIPS 08089

Within Colorado
Otero County, highlighted, with the areas around it. Boundaries generalised from the 2025 Census cartographic boundary file; neighbour fills carry no data. The dot marks La Junta, the county seat, located via the 2025 Census Gazetteer.

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Population
17,683
-976 (-5.2%) since 2020
Land area
1,262
square miles. A further 0.6% of the total area is water
Population density
14.0
people per square mile, computed rather than published
County seat
La Junta
Seat of county government.
Established
1889
136 years ago
Largest city
La Junta city
Population 6,864.

Sources: US Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025 Population Estimates, released 26 March 2026; US Census Bureau, Gazetteer Files, 2025 Gazetteer Files, released 10 September 2025; Wikidata (CC0), Wikidata. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

Satellite view

Aerial imagery of Otero County with its boundary drawn on top. A map shows you the shape; this shows you what is inside it, and which side of the line a place falls on.

Aerial view of Otero County, Colorado from the USGS National Map, with its boundary outlined
Imagery: USGS National Map, USGS Imagery Only, public domain, requested from USGS by your browser when you reach this point on the page, at 687 by 800 pixels. The boundary is the 2025 Census cartographic boundary file, reprojected to Web Mercator to match the imagery. You can also open the USGS National Map viewer.

Where Otero County ranks

Position among the 64 counties of Colorado, and among all 3,144 US counties and county-equivalents. Computed from the figures on this page.

MeasureValueIn ColoradoNationally
Population17,68328th of 641,952nd of 3,144
Land area1,262 sq mi37th of 64479th of 3,144
Population density14.0 per sq mi29th of 642,423rd of 3,144
Median household income$54,03752nd of 642,532nd of 3,143

Full data for Otero County

Every figure below is attributed to the Census Bureau product it came from, with the vintage of that product.
MeasureValueSource and vintage
Population17,683Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
Population in 202018,659Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
2020 estimates base?18,685Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
Land area1,262 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Water area7.8 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Total area1,270 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Population density?14.0 per sq miComputed: Vintage 2025 estimates divided by 2025 Gazetteer land area
Median household income$54,037American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median home value$168,900American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median age41.8American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Households7,584American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Housing units8,746American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates

Sources: US Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025 Population Estimates, released 26 March 2026; US Census Bureau, Gazetteer Files, 2025 Gazetteer Files, released 10 September 2025; US Census Bureau, American Community Survey, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates, released 29 January 2026. Population density is computed here, not published: it divides the Vintage 2025 population estimate by the 2025 Gazetteer land area, which are two different Census products. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

How the population changed

The Census Bureau publishes the components behind an estimate, not just the total. For the year to July 2025:

Births minus deaths
-93
196 births, 289 deaths
Net migration
-110
More people moved out than moved in.

Source: US Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025 Population Estimates, released 26 March 2026. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

The 5 areas bordering Otero County

Ordered by the length of the border actually shared, which the Census Bureau publishes in its county adjacency file and which no other county reference presents.

Bordering areaStateShared borderPopulation
Crowley CountyColorado45 mi5,677
Bent CountyColorado43 mi5,716
Las Animas CountyColorado42 mi14,391
Pueblo CountyColorado29 mi169,277
Kiowa CountyColorado5.5 mi1,412

Source: US Census Bureau, County Adjacency File, 2025 County Adjacency File, released 15 September 2025. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

All 64 counties of Colorado

Open the interactive Colorado county map, or jump straight to any of them.

Data on this page last rebuilt 30 August 2026. How these figures are produced.