Population growth in Colorado accelerated this year, but it remains significantly below the pre-pandemic pace and gains fell short of what state demographers had expected. Colorado added 36,571 people to its population over the past year, bringing the total to 5,877,610 as of July 1 of this year, according to vintage estimates the U.S. Census Bureau released last week. That is up from a gain of 29,443 people in the July 1, 2022, count and 26,377 in the July 1, 2021, count. But even though population gains were 24% higher in 2023 than they were in 2022, the state remains well short of the 75,000 a year added on average last decade…
