According to recently updated projections, Colorado Springs will overtake Denver as the state’s largest city by the middle of this century. The State Demography Office forecasts that Colorado will add the equivalent of another Denver metro area between now and 2050, bringing the state’s total population to 8.46 million.

That “new” Denver metro area isn’t expected to land squarely in the existing Denver metro area, of course. Communities along the northern Front Range will get the biggest share of the influx of people, at least according to the state forecast, with the growth within the Colorado Springs city limits outpacing Denver’s during this time period.

Pueblo, meanwhile, is expected to have more modest growth. The state’s numbers indicate the Pueblo metro area, which covers all of Pueblo County, will add about 61,000 residents, up to a total of 224,000. Other metro areas – Greeley, Fort Collins-Loveland, Boulder-Longmont and Grand Junction – are expected to add more people than we will.

Read more at The Pueblo Chieftain.