Editor’s note: This is the second of a three-part series examining the cause and result of the declining population of Clear Creek County.
In a state where population has risen steadily for more than a century, Clear Creek County has lost 5 percent of its residents over the past decade.
The declining population is a relatively recent development in Clear Creek, which showed slow and steady growth for more than 100 years. In fact, between 1960 and 2000, the county experienced a 234 percent increase in population.
But in 2002, the county began losing residents, and as of 2012 had lost 5 percent of its population — nearly 500 residents. Today the county has about 9,000 residents, and that number continues to decline.
Nowhere is this trend more obvious than at local schools. Since 2003, the school district has seen a net loss of 286 students, or 24 percent of its enrollment, and that decline has been steady over the past decade.
Insights into why young families are leaving the county can be found on the desk of Carlson Elementary principal Marcia Jochim. A dozen exit interviews indicate parents are pleased with the school but are leaving Clear Creek to look for new job opportunities.
“ ‘The teachers and the staff have gone above and beyond to accommodate whatever issues may arise,’ “ Jochim read from one of the forms. “(But) the same family noted it was leaving for ‘employment opportunities.’ ”
Two years’ worth of voluntary exit interviews detail why parents are pulling their children out of the elementary school.
“I’ve got another one here: ‘Family move, employment opportunity.’ ”
“ ‘Wanted to work closer to home … but the preschool program is excellent.’ ”
“ ‘High housing costs.’ ”
The responses on the exit interviews indicate over and over that jobs, especially entry-level positions, are scarce. Couple that with a lack of affordable housing for young families, and reasons for the county’s population decline come into sharper focus.
According to U.S. Census Bureau data, the median household income in Clear Creek in 2012 was $60,000, with 10 percent of the population below the poverty line, and the average home price in the county was $288,845.
Employment
According to County Commissioner Tim Mauck, Clear Creek took an economic and population hit after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and during the 2007-08 economic recession.
Census data show that in 2007 the county’s population grew slightly, the first increase since 2001, before starting to decline again.
“It’s expensive to live in the mountains, to commute from the mountains. When people lose their jobs, it really doesn’t become economically viable,” Mauck said.
Peggy Stokstad, director of the Clear Creek Economic Development Corp., said that in addition to a steadily declining population over the last 10 years, the county has noticed a decrease in new businesses.
“None of us can put our finger on it,” Stokstad said of the reason for the drop.
The group works to create and retain jobs in Clear Creek County in part by counseling businesses and giving out business loans.
“Our location hurts and helps us because we’re so close to Denver, and many times people view us as a pass-through community,” Stokstad said.
Stokstad says local job growth has remained flat over the past eight years. The county’s largest employer is the Henderson Mine, which provides more than 600 jobs, according to a Clear Creek County Housing Needs Assessment conducted in 2012 by the Community Strategies Institute. The report also says the mine will likely close in 15 to 20 years.
Housing
A year ago, as term-limited county commissioners Kevin O’Malley and Joan Drury were leaving office, they told the Courant their biggest regret was not solving the problem of the county’s dwindling population.
“We felt very strongly that we need young families; we needed kids in our schools and workforce,” Drury said. “A lot of young people who are teachers or whatever would come here and live if they had adequate housing, and that’s my big regret.”
A housing assessment conducted by the county found that affordable housing falls short of demand, with a deficit of approximately 350 units. The assessment also found families trying to rent had a difficult time finding affordable options: “Many lower-income renters are forced to pay rents that they cannot afford in Clear Creek County, which causes them to be cost-burdened.”
The assessment shows that, from 2006 to 2011, no residential building permits were issued in Idaho Springs, only a few were issued in Empire and Silver Plume, and just nine in Georgetown. The majority were issued in unincorporated portions of the county.
Even so, from 2006 to 2009, building permits dropped in the unincorporated county by 43 percent to just eight permits. Since then, the number has slowly climbed. The report shows no multifamily building projects were considered during that time.
Mauck said it’s difficult for young families to find housing that meets their needs and is affordable.
“What does something in the $150,000 to $220,000 range get you?” asked Mauck. “It gets you a house that was built in 1903, doesn’t have a right angle in it, and isn’t energy efficient.”
Mauck said the county is working on putting together a first-time homebuyers program.
“But whatever we do, we always have to ask ourselves, ‘Are we working toward making progress and chipping away at those challenges?’ ” Mauck said.
The county and other agencies are working to implement projects that will address employment and housing issues, which will be explored in the third installment of this series.