State of the United States
Colorado
Colorado is a state of the United States. It covers about 269,000 km² (104,000 mi²), the 8th largest of the 51 states and districts in Natural Earth’s file for the United States, and about the same size as New Zealand. About 5.8 million people live there (Wikidata, 2020).
500 km
- Colorado
- New Zealand
Facts
| Area, measured | 269,000 km²104,000 mi² |
|---|---|
| Official area | 270,000 km²Wikidata · agrees with our measure |
| Share of the United States | 2.8%of the area of the 51 states and districts |
| Rank by area | 8th of 51states and districts of the United States |
| Population | 5.8 millionWikidata, 2020 · the census year of every unit |
| Density | 21 people per km² |
| Capital | Denver |
| Latitude range | 37°N to 41°N |
| Type | StateUS-CO |
What the numbers say about Colorado
- Colorado covers 2.8% of the area of the United States and ranks 21st of 51 by population, against 8th by area.
- It would take 35.2 states and districts the size of Colorado to cover the United States.
- Colorado holds 1.7% of the 331.4 million people that Wikidata’s 2020 figures give for the 51 states and districts together: about 1 in 57.
- The largest, Alaska, is 5.59× the size of Colorado; the smallest, Washington, D.C., is less than 0.1% of it.
- Closest in size within the United States: Wyoming (253,000 km², 1.06×) and Nevada (287,000 km², 1.07×).
- Counted as a country, Colorado would be larger than 165 of the 239 countries and territories listed on sizeversus, and would rank 75th by area, between Burkina Faso (273,000 km²) and New Zealand (268,000 km²).
- With 5.8 million people it would rank 116th of 238 by population.
- Colorado has 21 people per km², about the density of Sudan, which has 22 per km².
- That makes Colorado the 38th most densely populated of the 51 states and districts, 61% of the average for the United States (35 per km²).
- On a standard web map (Web Mercator), a place at 39°N is drawn about 1.7× too large in area, so Colorado looks bigger there than it is.
- Laid out flat, Colorado stretches about 445 km north to south and 622 km east to west.
- Wikidata's official figure of 270,000 km² agrees with our measured area of 269,000 km², to within 2%.
About the same size as
Beside the regions of other countries
The closest region by area and by people in each of the other countries that have regional pages here, within a factor of 2. All 395 regions side by side.
- ChinaAreaGuangxi1.13× · 237,000 km²PeopleQinghai0.97× · 5.9 million (2020)
- IndiaAreaUttar Pradesh1.12× · 240,000 km²PeopleHimachal Pradesh84% · 6.9 million (2011)
- GermanyAreanone within 2×PeopleHesse0.93× · 6.2 million (2022)
- FranceAreanone within 2×PeopleGrand Est1.04× · 5.6 million (2022)
- ItalyAreanone within 2×PeopleCampania1.00× · 5.8 million (2019)
- SpainAreanone within 2×PeopleValencian Community1.09× · 5.3 million (2024)
- JapanAreanone within 2×PeopleHyogo1.06× · 5.5 million (2021)
- BrazilAreaRio Grande do Sul0.99× · 272,000 km²PeopleMaranhão85% · 6.8 million (2022)
- CanadaAreaNewfoundland and Labrador67% · 403,000 km²PeopleBritish Columbia1.15× · 5.0 million (2021)
- AustraliaAreaVictoria1.18× · 228,000 km²PeopleQueensland1.03× · 5.6 million (2024)
- MexicoAreaChihuahua1.09× · 248,000 km²PeopleGuanajuato0.99× · 5.9 million (2015)
- ThailandAreanone within 2×PeopleBangkok1.02× · 5.7 million (2018)
Where Colorado ranks
Colorado is the 8th largest of the 51 states and districts of the United States.
Ranked within the United States
- 5New Mexico315,000 km²
- 6Arizona295,000 km²
- 7Nevada287,000 km²
- 8Colorado269,000 km²
- 9Wyoming253,000 km²
- 10Oregon252,000 km²
- 11Michigan250,000 km²
All 51 states and districts of the United States, matched to countries
Compare Colorado
- Colorado vs New Zealand
- Burkina Faso vs Colorado
- Philippines vs Colorado
- Colorado vs Denmark
- Finland vs Colorado
- Colorado vs United Kingdom
- Colorado vs Guangxi
- Colorado vs Uttar Pradesh
- Rio Grande do Sul vs Colorado
- Colorado vs Victoria
- Newfoundland and Labrador vs Colorado
- Colorado vs Chihuahua
- Colorado vs Guanajuato
- Colorado vs Campania
Share this outline
Sources and method
- Outline
- Natural Earth, 1:10m Admin 1 - States, Provinces, public domain
- Boundary
- De facto, as drawn by Natural Earth.
- Area
- Measured on the WGS84 ellipsoid from the full-detail outline, shown rounded. The region’s whole area is counted, every island included.
- Official figures
- Area, population and capital from Wikidata (CC0), fetched 2026-11-12
- Population
- Wikidata, 2020. United States’s units share the 2020 figures where Wikidata has them; the year is shown wherever the figure is.
- Matching
- Countries come from Natural Earth’s country file. Places whose status is contested and dependencies are never used as automatic matches. A region under 2,500 km² is matched against the small countries and island nations.
- Data built
- 2026-11-12