ERIE — Not that long ago, travelers to Erie encountered dirt streets, few amenities and a sparse population. Today, the town’s location — straddling Boulder and Weld counties — has brought new retail, restaurants, employers and residents — enough of the latter to rank this once-sleepy town as the No. 15 fastest-growing city in the nation.
The U.S. Census Bureau’s latest population estimates — released at 12:01 a.m. Eastern Time Thursday — reveal that Erie grew by 9.2% from July 1, 2023, to July 1, 2024. Erie’s population stands at 38,594, up 3,261 from 35,333 the prior year.
Parker is the only other Colorado community to make the Top 100 for communities of 20,000 or more residents, achieving it just barely, ranking No. 100 nationwide, with 4.1% growth.
Erie’s growth has been striking, especially with addition of King Soopers-anchored shopping centers, a Lowe’s home-improvement store, breweries and restaurants.
Fatima Wahedi, owner of the Young Explorers toy store on Briggs Street in Erie, talks about items in her store Wednesday. (Cliff Grassmick/Staff Photographer)“I’ve been in Erie for a very long time and have seen it drastically change and change relatively quickly,” said Rachel Folger, managing broker with Re/Max Elevate in Erie. “When I was in high school here, not that long ago, we still had all-dirt roads through town. We had literally one store, which was Conoco. We called it the Erie Mall. And we rode our horses into town, and that was just the normal small-town life, and that was around 20 years ago.
“It has evolved very quickly since then,” she said, “and we are on quite the fast track for thousands of single-family homes and lots of opportunities for home buyers in different price points, different neighborhood settings.”
Data provided by BoLo Realtors tracks Erie’s median single-family sales price in April at $732,500, lower than neighboring communities in Boulder County.
Builders and developers have flocked to the town, including Nashville, Tennessee-based Southern Land Co., which is building Westerly, an 800-acre master-planned community that will include 3,000 homes at buildout.
Folger said Erie residents have many options, including whether to be in the Boulder Valley School District or the St. Vrain Valley School District. Erie also straddles the Boulder County/Weld County line, providing different ways of life.
“They are extremely different worlds,” Folger said, referring to Boulder and Weld counties.
Weld County, Folger noted, is a Right-to-Farm county, “and we still have a lot of rural properties in Erie, and people who love that ‘small-town … have a couple acres, have your horses, have your chickens,’ but then you go right across the county line and you’re in neighborhoods that have pools and clubhouses. So you still really get to pick what sort of lifestyle you want.”
Todd Gullette, managing broker with Re/Max of Boulder, said Erie and other nearby communities such as Firestone, Frederick and Dacono have a powerful combination: room to grow and proximity to Interstate 25.
“When you combine this notion of having room to grow with the commuting potential of I-25, I think that that’s pretty magical, and I think that’s what’s been consistent over the years,” Gullette said.
Erie ranks No. 15 nationwide in population growth rate from July 2023 to July 2024 in a Census Bureau listing. (U.S. Census Bureau)Rich Werner, president and CEO of Upstate Colorado Economic Development, said Erie is attractive for new residents not only because of proximity to Denver but also because of decisions made by town leaders.
“We’re seeing a natural migration out of Denver into Northern Colorado,” Werner said, “and Erie has put together a lot of the tools that people look for when they’re making those decisions on where to live. That goes for infrastructure. It goes for quality of life. It goes for actually, a really good professional team at the city who is responsive to helping that community grow. So it becomes a preferred choice, right?”
Werner noted that Erie is also cultivating a downtown. Erie Town Center will include retail, office, residential and civic space at Erie Parkway and County Line Road.
And he said the town is laying infrastructure to bring more primary employers to Erie, providing jobs for new and existing residents.
Growth in other towns
While Erie was the fastest-growing Colorado community of 20,000 or more population, it was not tops among all cities and towns in the state. Among communities of all sizes, Elizabeth recorded the fastest growth in Colorado, at 12.2%, with 2,773 residents, up from 2,471.
Communities in the Boulder Valley and Northern Colorado recorded a mixed pattern or population growth. But perennial high-rankers Timnath, in Larimer County, and Severance, in Weld County, recorded the highest regional growth, with Timnath at 8.48% and Severance at 6.63%.
Windsor recorded a 3.3% population increase, reaching a population of 41,734, up 1,342 from 40,392. Windsor ranked No. 143 nationwide for percentage growth. Loveland’s population grew by 1.99%; Broomfield, 1.68%; and Greeley at 1.5%.
Population growth in Boulder, Fort Collins and Longmont was flat, at 0.16%, 0.11% and 0.72%, respectively.
This article was first published by BizWest, an independent news organization, and is published under a license agreement. © 2025 BizWest Media LLC.
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