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Otero County
Otero County
County
	Otero County Courthouse in La Junta
	Location within the U.S. state of Colorado
	Colorado's location within the U.S.
	Coordinates: 37°54′N 103°43′W / 37.9°N 103.71°W
Country	United States
State	Colorado
Founded	March 25, 1889
Named for	Miguel Antonio Otero
Seat	La Junta
Largest city	La Junta
Area
• Total	1,270 sq mi (3,300 km2)
• Land	1,262 sq mi (3,270 km2)
• Water	7.7 sq mi (20 km2) 0.6%
Population (2020)
• Total	18,690
• Density	15/sq mi (6/km2)
Time zone	UTC−7 (Mountain)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−6 (MDT)
Congressional district	3rd
Website	oterocounty.colorado.gov

Otero County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 18,690.^[1] The county seat is La Junta.^[2] The county was named for Miguel Antonio Otero, one of the founders of the town of La Junta and a member of a prominent Hispanic family.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,270 square miles (3,300 km²), of which 1,262 square miles (3,270 km²) is land and 7.7 square miles (20 km²) (0.6%) is water.^[3]

Adjacent counties

Crowley County - north
Kiowa County - northeast
Bent County - east
Las Animas County - south
Pueblo County - west

Major highways

National protected areas

Trails and byways

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1890	4,192		—
1900	11,522		174.9%
1910	20,201		75.3%
1920	22,623		12.0%
1930	24,390		7.8%
1940	23,571		−3.4%
1950	25,275		7.2%
1960	24,128		−4.5%
1970	23,523		−2.5%
1980	22,567		−4.1%
1990	20,185		−10.6%
2000	20,311		0.6%
2010	18,831		−7.3%
2020	18,690		−0.7%
2023 (est.)	18,136	^[4]	−3.0%
U.S. Decennial Census^[5] 1790-1960^[6] 1900-1990^[7] 1990-2000^[8] 2010-2020^[1]

At the 2000 census there were 20,311 people, 7,920 households, and 5,472 families living in the county. The population density was 16 people per square mile (6.2 people/km²). There were 8,813 housing units at an average density of 7 units per square mile (2.7 units/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 79.02% White, 0.76% Black or African American, 1.43% Native American, 0.70% Asian, 0.08% Pacific Islander, 15.06% from other races, and 2.96% from two or more races. 37.62% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.^[9] Of the 7,920 households 32.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.70% were married couples living together, 12.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.90% were non-families. 27.80% of households were one person and 12.90% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.49 and the average family size was 3.04.

The age distribution was 26.90% under the age of 18, 8.90% from 18 to 24, 24.40% from 25 to 44, 23.40% from 45 to 64, and 16.50% 65 or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 95.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.50 males.

The median household income was $29,738 and the median family income was $35,906. Males had a median income of $26,996 versus $21,001 for females. The per capita income for the county was $15,113. About 14.20% of families and 18.80% of the population were below the poverty line, including 25.90% of those under age 18 and 11.80% of those age 65 or over.

Politics

Otero is a strongly Republican county, although less so than the counties of the Colorado High Plains. It was last won for the Democratic Party by Bill Clinton in 1996. Before that, Otero tended to be a Republican-leaning county at the Presidential level, although it did vote for Wilson twice, FDR in 1932 and 1936, Truman in 1948 and Lyndon Johnson in 1964.

United States presidential election results for Otero County, Colorado^[10]
Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
Year	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2024	5,520	61.84%	3,164	35.45%	242	2.71%
2020	5,756	60.11%	3,605	37.65%	215	2.25%
2016	4,928	58.31%	2,943	34.82%	581	6.87%
2012	4,382	53.49%	3,647	44.52%	163	1.99%
2008	4,393	54.47%	3,547	43.98%	125	1.55%
2004	4,947	60.48%	3,164	38.68%	69	0.84%
2000	4,082	55.83%	2,963	40.52%	267	3.65%
1996	3,356	45.13%	3,386	45.53%	695	9.35%
1992	3,120	37.53%	3,485	41.92%	1,708	20.55%
1988	4,265	51.39%	3,910	47.11%	124	1.49%
1984	5,373	62.37%	3,005	34.88%	237	2.75%
1980	4,801	54.55%	3,294	37.43%	706	8.02%
1976	4,597	51.54%	4,118	46.17%	205	2.30%
1972	6,016	65.75%	2,929	32.01%	205	2.24%
1968	4,690	49.66%	3,891	41.20%	864	9.15%
1964	3,605	37.41%	5,999	62.26%	32	0.33%
1960	6,015	58.80%	4,199	41.05%	15	0.15%
1956	5,964	61.53%	3,722	38.40%	7	0.07%
1952	6,552	63.57%	3,721	36.10%	34	0.33%
1948	4,311	33.08%	8,640	66.30%	81	0.62%
1944	5,002	56.74%	3,791	43.00%	23	0.26%
1940	5,459	54.11%	4,567	45.27%	62	0.61%
1936	3,859	39.49%	5,775	59.10%	138	1.41%
1932	3,974	42.79%	5,107	54.99%	206	2.22%
1928	5,788	74.88%	1,876	24.27%	66	0.85%
1924	4,694	59.19%	1,938	24.44%	1,298	16.37%
1920	3,846	55.93%	2,727	39.66%	303	4.41%
1916	2,678	38.68%	3,963	57.24%	283	4.09%
1912	1,293	20.98%	2,885	46.80%	1,986	32.22%
1908	3,232	44.47%	3,542	48.73%	494	6.80%
1904	2,975	53.98%	2,225	40.37%	311	5.64%
1900	1,913	43.73%	2,266	51.79%	196	4.48%
1896	524	19.13%	2,167	79.12%	48	1.75%
1892	324	18.23%	0	0.00%	1,453	81.77%