29,382 people (2024 Census estimate, +12.1% since 2020)
1,850 square miles of land · 16 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.
15 active community water systems list Elbert County in the area they serve, reporting 12,399 people served in all (a system that crosses county lines counts its whole population).
| ELIZABETH TOWN OF groundwater · local government · CO0120010 | 4,523 served |
| SPRING VALLEY MD NO 1 groundwater · private · CO0120717 | 1,788 served |
| ELBERT COUNTY HWY 86 WD groundwater · local government · CO0120245 | 1,040 served |
| KIOWA WATER AND WASTEWATER AUTHORITY groundwater · local government · CO0120015 | 910 served |
| DEER CREEK WD groundwater · private · CO0120246 | 792 served |
| SIMLA TOWN OF groundwater · local government · CO0120025 | 618 served |
| INDEPENDENCE WSD groundwater · private · CO0120384 | 567 served |
| ELKHORN RANCH MD NO 1 groundwater · private · CO0120244 | 530 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 20 people were held in Elbert County's jail, in Vera's latest figure (2025). In 2020 it was about 21.
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.
5 school districts have their office in Elbert County. School taxes are usually the largest part of a property tax bill.
Spent $32.6 million — $30.7 million to run schools, about $12,907 per student, plus $1.2 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $14.1 million local (mostly property tax), $16 million state, $2.2 million federal.
Spent $5.5 million — $5.3 million to run schools, about $14,554 per student, plus $46,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $2 million local (mostly property tax), $3.5 million state, $397,000 federal. Long-term debt: $1.7 million.
Spent $4.8 million — $4.4 million to run schools, about $14,327 per student, plus $159,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $2.1 million local (mostly property tax), $2.9 million state, $527,000 federal.
Spent $4.3 million — $4 million to run schools, about $14,253 per student, plus $85,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $1.4 million local (mostly property tax), $3.2 million state, $188,000 federal. Long-term debt: $1.8 million.
Spent $2 million — $1.9 million to run schools, about $23,790 per student, plus $74,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $764,000 local (mostly property tax), $1.1 million state, $120,000 federal.
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: Very Low compared with other U.S. counties. FEMA estimates natural hazards cost Elbert County about $16.6 million a year on average in buildings, crops and lives. Ability to bounce back (community resilience): Relatively High; social vulnerability: Very Low.
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025), expected annual loss. Ratings compare counties nationwide; they're estimates, not predictions.
85 bridges in Elbert County: 11 in good condition, 69 fair, and 5 poor (5.9%). “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.
| SH 86 ML over KIOWA CREEK · built 1948 | 4,900 vehicles a day |
| SH 86 ML over WEST BIJOU CREEK · built 1966 | 1,600 vehicles a day |
| I 70 BUSINESS SPUR over I 70 ML · built 1958 | 284 vehicles a day |
| COUNTY ROAD 166 over RUNNING CREEK · built 1978 | 120 vehicles a day |
| COUNTY ROAD 170 over EAST BIJOU CREEK · built 1919 | 14 vehicles a day |
Source: Federal Highway Administration, National Bridge Inventory (2025 submission). Includes state, county and city bridges.
Federal grants paid for $1.5 million of work in Elbert County in fiscal 2025, about $56 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 Elbert 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 Elbert County built: brayden.ozark@gmail.com.
More of Colorado: the state government and every county in Colorado.
Nearby counties: Arapahoe County (26 mi) · Lincoln County (39 mi) · El Paso County (40 mi) · Adams County (40 mi) · Douglas County (43 mi) · Denver County (51 mi).