56,823 people (2024 Census estimate, +2.1% since 2020)
1,690 square miles of land · 34 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.
54 active community water systems list La Plata County in the area they serve, reporting 54,464 people served in all (a system that crosses county lines counts its whole population).
| DURANGO CITY OF surface water · local government · CO0134150 | 33,787 served |
| ANIMAS WC groundwater · private · CO0134020 | 3,096 served |
| BAYFIELD TOWN OF surface water · local government · CO0134030 | 2,300 served |
| FOREST LAKES MD groundwater · local government · CO0134360 | 1,699 served |
| LAKE DURANGO WA surface water · private · CO0134530 | 1,577 served |
| PURGATORY MD groundwater · local government · CO0134750 | 1,364 served |
| EDGEMONT RANCH MD surface water · local government · CO0134200 | 1,200 served |
| DURANGO WEST MD NO 2 buys surface water · local government · CO0134190 | 930 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 159 people were held in La Plata County's jail, in Vera's latest figure (2025). In 2020 it was about 130.
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.
3 school districts have their office in La Plata County. School taxes are usually the largest part of a property tax bill.
Spent $113.9 million — $80.4 million to run schools, about $14,755 per student, plus $28 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $47.8 million local (mostly property tax), $45.8 million state, $7.5 million federal. Long-term debt: $105.3 million.
Spent $21.4 million — $18.2 million to run schools, about $14,205 per student, plus $1.1 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $9.5 million local (mostly property tax), $12.4 million state, $1.2 million federal. Long-term debt: $36.6 million.
Spent $14.5 million — $13 million to run schools, about $20,214 per student, plus $477,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $8.2 million local (mostly property tax), $8 million state, $3.2 million federal. Long-term debt: $26.7 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 La Plata County about $39.5 million a year on average in buildings, crops and lives. Ability to bounce back (community resilience): Relatively Moderate; social vulnerability: Relatively Low.
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025), expected annual loss. Ratings compare counties nationwide; they're estimates, not predictions.
105 bridges in La Plata County: 45 in good condition, 59 fair, and 1 poor (1.0%). “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.
| COUNTY ROAD 228 over FLORIDA CANAL · built 1964 | 1,172 vehicles a day |
Source: Federal Highway Administration, National Bridge Inventory (2025 submission). Includes state, county and city bridges.
Federal grants paid for $84.9 million of work in La Plata County in fiscal 2025, about $1,527 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 La Plata 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 La Plata County built: brayden.ozark@gmail.com.
More of Colorado: the state government and every county in Colorado.
Nearby counties: San Juan County (35 mi) · Montezuma County (42 mi) · Archuleta County (44 mi) · Hinsdale County (44 mi) · Dolores County (48 mi) · Mineral County (49 mi).