Rifle, Colorado

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Rifle is a city in Garfield County, Colorado, USA. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 6,784. The town is a regional center of the cattle ranching industry located along Interstate 70 and the Colorado River just east of the Roan Cliffs, which dominate the western skyline of the town. The town was founded in 1905 along Rifle Creek, near its mouth on the Colorado. The creek is named for an incident involving white trappers in the late 19th century. According to local lore, one of the trappers accidentally left his rifle along the creek, giving it its name.

[edit] Geography

Rifle is located at 39°32′13″N, 107°46′58″W (39.536992, -107.782709)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 11.2 km² (4.3 mi²). 11.1 km² (4.3 mi²) of it is land and 0.1 km² (0.04 mi²) of it (0.92%) is water.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 6,784 people, 2,493 households, and 1,710 families residing in the city. The population density was 610.6/km² (1,581.1/mi²). There were 2,586 housing units at an average density of 232.7/km² (602.7/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 91.54% White, 0.44% African American, 0.68% Native American, 0.27% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 4.75% from other races, and 2.28% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 16.26% of the population.

There were 2,493 households out of which 41.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.8% were married couples living together, 8.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.4% were non-families. 25.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.68 and the average family size was 3.22.

In the city the population was spread out with 30.9% under the age of 18, 9.2% from 18 to 24, 34.4% from 25 to 44, 17.1% from 45 to 64, and 8.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females there were 106.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 105.7 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $42,734, and the median income for a family was $48,714. Males had a median income of $36,517 versus $25,527 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,376. About 3.4% of families and 6.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.8% of those under age 18 and 9.8% of those age 65 or over.