Denver's 100-Mile Reach Captures 86.2% of Colorado — Here's What That Looks Like

By SimpleMapLab·Published 13 May 2026·Rank #12 of 50 states·↑ All 50 states

86.2% of Colorado’s population — roughly 5.06 M of the state’s 5.86 M residents — lives within 100 miles of Denver. Colorado ranks #12 of 50 states for capital-to-population centrality.

A 100-mile geodesic radius around the Denver, CO state capitol overlaid on Colorado. 86.2% of Colorado's population lives inside the dashed ring.

86.2%

of Colorado’s population within 100 miles of Denver

5.06 M

residents inside the radius (of 5.86 M statewide)

18 mi

from Denver to Colorado’s population centroid

#12

of 50 states ranked by capital-to-population centrality

Open this radius in the map → /tools/map-radius-tool · Denver, CO · 100 mi
The link opens the SimpleMapLab Map Radius Tool with the 100-mile circle already drawn around the Denver capitol. Change the radius to 50, 250, or any value to compare different framings.

Why this happened

Colorado's capital is centrally located but not perfectly placed. Denver's 100-mile circle captures roughly two-thirds to four-fifths of the state's residents — including Denver (the largest city inside, ~1.11 million). The notable exception: Pueblo, sitting 103 miles from the capital. The capital itself sits 18 miles from Colorado's population centroid — a moderate but not extreme offset.

The biggest cities inside the 100-mile radius

The top 5 most-populous places (by aggregated ZIP code population) sitting inside the 100-mile circle around Denver. Cities are listed by total population captured by ZIP centroids in the dataset.

#	City	Population in radius
1	Denver	1,112,106
2	Colorado Springs	619,192
3	Aurora	469,746
4	Littleton	320,158
5	Fort Collins	202,303

The largest city outside the radius

Colorado’s most-populous city outside the 100-mile circle is Pueblo, sitting 103 miles from Denver. The aggregated population of Pueblo’s ZIP codes alone — 115,618 residents — illustrates the gap between Colorado’s political seat and its population centre.

How Colorado compares

The states ranked closest to Colorado on this metric. Click any to compare the radius breakdown directly.

#11 Michigan

Lansing · 88.0% pop. captured

#13 Nebraska

Lincoln · 81.5% pop. captured

#10 Utah

Salt Lake City · 88.5% pop. captured

#14 Minnesota

Saint Paul · 80.3% pop. captured

#9 New Hampshire

Concord · 95.5% pop. captured

Draw it yourself

Open the 100-mile circle around Denver →

The Map Radius Tool lets you change the radius (try 50 mi for an urban-suburban question or 250 mi for “a day’s drive”), drag the centre to compare Denver’s reach with that of Denver, or add a second circle for a side-by-side comparison.

Methodology (brief)

We took the lat/lng of the Colorado state capitol building (39.7392°, -104.9903°) and drew a 100-mile geodesic radius. For every ZIP code in Colorado, we tested whether the ZIP centroid falls inside; if so, its population counts. We then divide by Colorado’s total population to produce the percentage. The full methodology for all 50 states is on the hub page.

Suggested citation: SimpleMapLab (2026). 100 Miles Around Denver: How Much of Colorado Is Inside? Part of the State Capital Radius study. Retrieved from https://www.simplemaplab.com/studies/state-capital-radius/colorado. Licensed under CC-BY 4.0.