State food-access profile · 64 counties

Food access in Colorado

How far Colorado residents live from a supermarket, where the food deserts are, and the SNAP, poverty, and vehicle-access context, from the USDA Food Access Research Atlas (2019) and the Census ACS (2024).

Compiled by Plainfoodaccess, Food Access Editorial Process · June 23, 2026

21.5%
low-access pop.: 173
food-desert tracts: 8.5%
on SNAP: 64
counties

The statewide picture

About 1.1M Colorado residents - 21.5% - live in a low-access area, and 173 census tracts across the state are USDA-designated food deserts.

1.1M
low-access residents: 254K
food-desert residents: 5.1%
households, no vehicle: 9.5%
below poverty line

Shares are population-weighted across the state's tracts, not an average of county percentages. Low access = >1 mile (urban) / >10 miles (rural) from a supermarket.

Where Colorado stands nationally

Every state colored by its population-weighted low-access share, Colorado is ringed. Click any state to compare.

USDA Economic Research Service, Food Access Research Atlas (2019), population-weighted · Census ACS 2024 context

The USDA Food Access Research Atlas evaluates every census tract in Colorado against the same rule used nationwide: a tract is low-access when many residents live more than one mile from a supermarket in urban areas, or more than ten miles in rural areas. Across 64 counties and 5.9M residents, Colorado's population-weighted low-access share is 21.5%.

A tract becomes a food desert only when its low-access residents are also low-income. That applies to 173 tracts in Colorado, home to roughly 254K low-income, low-access residents. SNAP participation across the state averages 8.5% of households, and 5.1% of households have no vehicle, the transport gap that turns distance into a real barrier. The county table below is sorted with the highest low-access share first, so the top rows are where distance, income, and vehicle gaps most consistently overlap.

Counties

21.5%

Low-access (pop-weighted)

1.1M

Low-access residents

8.5%

Avg. SNAP

Costilla

100
Dolores

100
Kiowa

100
San Juan

99.2
Park

53.9
Fremont

51.6
Washington

51.6
Lake

45.2

All counties in Colorado

County	Population	Low-access	SNAP	No vehicle	Poverty
Costilla County	4K	100.0%	29.1%	5.4%	21.0%
Dolores County	2K	100.0%	7.4%	7.1%	21.6%
Kiowa County	1K	100.0%	15.7%	3.1%	11.8%
San Juan County	724	99.2%	8.5%	2.5%	21.3%
Park County	18K	53.9%	3.7%	2.6%	5.0%
Fremont County	50K	51.6%	16.0%	4.5%	13.3%
Washington County	5K	51.6%	11.1%	5.2%	8.1%
Lake County	7K	45.2%	7.6%	4.1%	7.9%
Moffat County	13K	42.1%	12.0%	4.6%	8.4%
Pueblo County	169K	41.6%	19.7%	6.9%	14.6%
Archuleta County	14K	40.9%	6.9%	3.6%	8.2%
Broomfield County	76K	37.8%	3.8%	3.8%	6.2%
Huerfano County	7K	36.3%	19.0%	3.2%	17.3%
Cheyenne County	2K	33.9%	8.8%	0.3%	8.2%
Saguache County	7K	33.8%	24.1%	3.7%	17.8%
Mesa County	159K	32.5%	11.3%	6.0%	10.7%
Las Animas County	14K	31.8%	20.3%	7.1%	18.7%
Prowers County	12K	29.9%	20.1%	7.0%	18.2%
El Paso County	743K	28.5%	9.3%	3.8%	8.5%
Alamosa County	17K	27.7%	28.6%	7.9%	17.2%
Jackson County	1K	27.4%	15.7%	3.2%	14.6%
Douglas County	377K	27.3%	2.1%	2.4%	3.8%
Elbert County	28K	26.5%	3.9%	1.3%	5.3%
Kit Carson County	7K	26.2%	10.5%	5.9%	9.8%
Baca County	3K	25.2%	21.3%	5.5%	24.6%
Custer County	5K	24.3%	7.6%	4.5%	12.7%
Logan County	21K	24.2%	18.0%	6.9%	15.8%
Larimer County	367K	23.3%	7.7%	3.6%	11.2%
Jefferson County	579K	23.2%	5.5%	4.0%	6.7%
Weld County	350K	23.1%	9.1%	3.6%	9.6%
Lincoln County	6K	22.9%	12.3%	4.9%	9.8%
Yuma County	10K	22.9%	13.3%	5.4%	17.9%
Montrose County	44K	22.0%	11.2%	3.6%	11.5%
Sedgwick County	2K	18.6%	18.8%	4.5%	13.0%
Adams County	530K	17.9%	10.3%	4.7%	9.8%
Teller County	25K	17.7%	10.9%	3.1%	7.6%
Garfield County	62K	17.6%	8.0%	5.2%	8.2%
Rio Grande County	11K	17.6%	17.0%	7.2%	18.0%
Boulder County	329K	17.1%	5.9%	5.2%	11.2%
Eagle County	55K	15.8%	3.8%	5.3%	8.7%
Morgan County	30K	15.0%	16.0%	6.5%	14.3%
La Plata County	56K	14.8%	8.7%	2.7%	11.7%
Montezuma County	26K	14.4%	11.9%	5.0%	13.3%
Arapahoe County	660K	13.6%	7.7%	5.3%	8.6%
Mineral County	729	12.8%	7.8%	3.6%	10.0%
Bent County	6K	12.4%	21.4%	3.1%	28.4%
Clear Creek County	9K	12.3%	6.0%	4.4%	6.4%
Routt County	25K	12.1%	5.1%	1.7%	5.2%
Hinsdale County	1K	11.8%	12.3%	1.6%	4.1%
Otero County	18K	11.2%	21.8%	7.6%	22.1%
Chaffee County	20K	10.8%	7.0%	1.7%	8.3%
Denver County	719K	10.8%	8.8%	10.3%	11.2%
Gunnison County	17K	9.8%	7.6%	2.4%	11.3%
San Miguel County	8K	9.8%	3.6%	12.9%	9.3%
Summit County	31K	9.4%	1.7%	2.2%	7.7%
Pitkin County	17K	9.1%	2.7%	4.0%	7.8%
Delta County	32K	8.8%	11.3%	5.1%	14.0%
Rio Blanco County	7K	8.6%	13.8%	4.0%	8.5%
Conejos County	8K	5.6%	16.2%	4.8%	11.7%
Ouray County	5K	5.3%	3.9%	1.3%	4.3%
Phillips County	4K	4.7%	11.3%	5.4%	16.8%
Grand County	16K	2.8%	3.1%	1.4%	7.6%
Crowley County	6K	1.8%	22.4%	4.7%	19.4%
Gilpin County	6K	0.0%	8.9%	5.3%	11.2%

Source: USDA ERS Food Access Research Atlas (2019) + U.S. Census Bureau ACS (2024 5-year). Sorted by low-access share, highest first. USDA ERS Food Access Research Atlas (2019) + U.S. Census Bureau ACS (2024 5-year). Sorted by low-access share, highest first.

What this means for the state

21.5% of Colorado residents, about 1.1M people, live in a low-access area.
173 census tracts are USDA food deserts, home to roughly 254K low-income, low-access residents.
8.5% of households receive SNAP, and 5.1% have no vehicle.
Costilla County has the state's highest low-access share at 100.0%.

USDA low-access figures reflect the 2019 Atlas (2010 tract populations); SNAP, poverty, and vehicle context is the Census ACS 2024 5-year estimates.

Frequently Asked Questions

What share of Colorado has low food access?▼

21.5% of Colorado residents live in low-access areas (population-weighted across the state's tracts), per the USDA Food Access Research Atlas (2019).

How many food deserts are in Colorado?▼

173 census tracts in Colorado are USDA-designated food deserts, both low-access and low-income, home to roughly 254K low-income residents.

What is the SNAP participation rate in Colorado?▼

Across Colorado counties, an average of 8.5% of households receive SNAP (Census ACS 2024), though rates vary between urban and rural areas.

Which county in Colorado has the worst food access?▼

Costilla County has the highest low-access share in Colorado at 100.0%, with 29.1% SNAP participation.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service Food Access Research Atlas (2019 edition), 9,228 of roughly 71,700 U.S. census tracts meet the low-income, low-access food-desert threshold. The state and county figures on this page are aggregated from that tract-level data and joined to the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 2024 5-Year Estimates, released in December 2025. See our methodology for how the population-weighted shares are computed.

Data current as of 2026-06-23 (most recent source-data vintage).

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