We decided to brave the U.S. Census Bureau website (not for the faint of heart or Mac users) to see how the population numbers have changed over the past decade in our neck of the woods. Overall, Colorado gained 727,935 souls for a grand total of 5,029,196. Here in Central Colorado we saw mostly modest increases although many rural communities in the San Luis Valley saw drops in their populations. Also, despite its apparent growth, Salida actually lost population although other communities in Chaffee County saw gains. Lake County and Leadville also saw a decrease in their numbers. Cañon City’s increase is not due to more prisoners – they are not counted in the census.