Chaffee County, Colorado
County seat: Salida · Population 20,831 (2025) · 1,013 sq mi
Chaffee County is the 25th most populous of Colorado's 64 counties, with 20,831 people (2025 estimate). Its county seat is Salida. It is part of the Region 13: Central Mountains region, one of the 14 Planning and Management Regions of Colorado. The map shows its 3 cities and towns and the 6 neighboring counties.
Chaffee County facts
- County seat
- Salida
- Population (2025 estimate)
- 20,831 +7% since 2020
- Land area
- 1,013 sq mi 43rd largest of 64
- Water area
- 2 sq mi
- Population density
- 21 per sq mi
- Established
- 1879
- Named after
- Jerome B. Chaffee Entrepreneur and United States Senator from Colorado (1825-1886)
- Largest city
- Salida 5,985
- Median household income
- $84,132
- Cities and towns
- 3 plus 5 CDPs
- ZIP codes
- 7
- Time zone
- Mountain
- FIPS code
- 08015
Cities and towns in Chaffee County
Chaffee County has 3 incorporated cities, towns and villages. Populations count the people living inside Chaffee County; cities that cross a county line also list the other counties.
| Name | Type | Population 2025 | Also in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Salida (county seat) | City | 5,985 | |
| Buena Vista | Town | 3,248 | |
| Poncha Springs | Town | 1,393 |
Unincorporated communities (CDPs)
Census-designated places are communities without their own city government; the county provides their services.
| Community | Population | Also in |
|---|---|---|
| Maysville | 235 | |
| Smeltertown | 188 | |
| Nathrop | 187 | |
| Johnson Village | 129 | |
| Garfield | 93 |
ZIP codes in Chaffee County
7 ZIP codes reach into Chaffee County. ZIP codes ignore county lines, so some also cover a neighboring county.
- 80449 also Park County
- 81201 also Fremont County
- 81211
- 81227
- 81228
- 81236
- 81242
Population of Chaffee County, 2020–2025
Chaffee County grew by 1,356 people (+7%) between April 2020 and July 2025: 177 more deaths than births and a net gain of 1,471 people from migration.
| Year (July 1) | Population |
|---|---|
| 2020 | 19,486 |
| 2021 | 19,731 |
| 2022 | 20,252 |
| 2023 | 20,596 |
| 2024 | 20,796 |
| 2025 | 20,831 |
Neighboring counties
- Gunnison County west · 17,439 people
- Park County northeast · 18,314 people
- Fremont County east · 50,039 people
- Lake County north · 7,552 people
- Saguache County south · 6,732 people
- Pitkin County northwest · 16,625 people
Printable Chaffee County map
The PDF is a vector file with real text: it prints sharp on Letter paper and you can search it for a town. The PNG is 2400 pixels wide for slides and documents. Both are free to use with a credit to WhichCounty.
- PDF (Letter) (95 KB)
- PNG (2400 px) (90 KB)
Paste this code to embed the map on your site:
Sources
- Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Cartographic Boundary Files (1:500,000).
- Population: Census Bureau county and city estimates, Vintage 2025. CDP populations: American Community Survey 2020–2024.
- Places and ZIP codes: Census Bureau 2026 Gazetteer and 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Area relationship files.
- County seat, founding year and name origin: Wikidata (CC0), checked against state sources.
Back to the Colorado county map with all 64 counties. Found an error? Tell us.