20,780 people (2024 Census estimate, +6.6% since 2020)
1,013 square miles of land · 21 people per square mile
“Highest” and “lowest” are just order, not grades: a high rank for poverty or hazard losses means more of it. Each figure's source is in its section below.
18 active community water systems list Chaffee County in the area they serve, reporting 15,438 people served in all (a system that crosses county lines counts its whole population).
| SALIDA CITY OF surface water · local government · CO0108700 | 5,666 served |
| BUENA VISTA TOWN OF groundwater (surface-influenced) · local government · CO0108300 | 3,776 served |
| PONCHA SPRINGS TOWN OF groundwater · local government · CO0108650 | 2,118 served |
| BUENA VISTA CORRECTIONAL FACILITY groundwater · state · CO0108350 | 1,700 served |
| GAME TRAIL ASSOCIATION INC groundwater · private · CO0108415 | 480 served |
| MESA ANTERO SUBD groundwater · private · CO0108525 | 250 served |
| TRAIL WEST ASSOC groundwater · private · CO0108900 | 249 served |
| CHATEAU CHAPARREL CG groundwater · private · CO0208200 | 240 served |
Source: U.S. EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS), active community systems, . Look up any system's violations and test results with EPA's search using its ID.
About 43 people were held in Chaffee County's jail, in Vera's latest figure (2025). In 2020 it was about 31.
Source: Vera Institute of Justice, Incarceration Trends (built from federal Bureau of Justice Statistics jail surveys). Counties without their own jail, or that share one, may show no figure.
2 school districts have their office in Chaffee County. School taxes are usually the largest part of a property tax bill.
Spent $23.8 million — $21.7 million to run schools, about $16,341 per student, plus $1.1 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $14.2 million local (mostly property tax), $7.1 million state, $3.3 million federal. Long-term debt: $19.9 million.
Spent $18.8 million — $14.9 million to run schools, about $14,439 per student, plus $2.5 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $13.6 million local (mostly property tax), $4.8 million state, $1.2 million federal. Long-term debt: $29 million.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2023 Annual Survey of School System Finances. Districts are listed by the county of their main office; some serve neighboring counties too.
Source: County Health Rankings & Roadmaps 2025 (University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute), which gathers federal data (CDC, Census, and others); measures cover different recent years. Blank lines aren't reported for small counties.
Overall risk: Relatively Low compared with other U.S. counties. FEMA estimates natural hazards cost Chaffee County about $20 million a year on average in buildings, crops and lives. Ability to bounce back (community resilience): Relatively Moderate; social vulnerability: Very Low.
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025), expected annual loss. Ratings compare counties nationwide; they're estimates, not predictions.
83 bridges in Chaffee County: 27 in good condition, 52 fair, and 4 poor (4.8%). “Poor” means a main part — the deck, the beams, or the supports — is rated 4 or lower on the federal 0–9 scale. It doesn't mean unsafe to drive; unsafe bridges are closed.
| US 285 ML over DRAW · built 1957 | 8,600 vehicles a day |
| SH 291 ML over CR 150 ARKANSAS RIVER · built 1959 | 4,300 vehicles a day |
| COUNTY ROAD 162 over CHALK CREEK · built 1953 | 102 vehicles a day |
| COUNTY ROAD 191 over ARKANSAS RIVER · built 1908 | 0 vehicles a day |
Source: Federal Highway Administration, National Bridge Inventory (2025 submission). Includes state, county and city bridges.
Federal grants paid for $12.3 million of work in Chaffee County in fiscal 2025, about $633 per resident — to the county, cities, schools, hospitals, nonprofits and others.
Source: USAspending.gov, grants by place of performance, fiscal 2025 (Oct. 2024 to Sept. 2025). Search it by county to see each award.
From Grants.gov: posted grants listing county governments as eligible, soonest deadline first; research-only and overseas programs left out; list updated 2026-10-13, refreshed weekly. 62 are open in all. Cities, towns, school districts and nonprofits have their own lists there.
General election: Tuesday, November 3, 2026. Ballots mailed to voters: 2026-10-02 to 2026-10-09. Drop boxes open: 2026-10-12. In-person voting at voter centers: 2026-10-19 to 2026-11-03. Last day to register and still get a ballot by mail: 2026-10-26. Last suggested day to mail your ballot back: 2026-10-26. Election Day: 2026-11-03. Last day to fix a signature problem: 2026-11-12.
Source: Colorado Secretary of State, Oct. 2, 2026 · Colorado Secretary of State, Sept. 23, 2026 · Colorado Secretary of State — Election Day FAQs
The budget, property tax rates, audits, local officials and offices for Chaffee County come from the county's own records, which we haven't gathered — not gathered, never hidden. See what a full county site looks like, or ask to have Chaffee County built: brayden.ozark@gmail.com.
More of Colorado: the state government and every county in Colorado.
Nearby counties: Lake County (33 mi) · Gunnison County (41 mi) · Park County (41 mi) · Pitkin County (47 mi) · Saguache County (49 mi) · Fremont County (51 mi).