Despite Colorado’s population exploding over the last decade, a dozen cities and towns lost their status as urban areas due to revised criteria from the U.S. Census Bureau. 

The Census Bureau released a list of places considered urban based on their new criteria Thursday, showing almost 1,000 cities, towns and villages in the U.S. being changed from “urban” to “rural.” The new criteria raised the minimum population threshold from 2,500 to 5,000 people and added a minimum of 2,000 housing units to the definition. 

The new classifications matter because rural and urban areas often qualify for different types of federal funding for transportation, housing, health care, education and agriculture. The federal government doesn’t have a standard definition of urban or rural, but the Census Bureau’s definition often provides a baseline. 

In Colorado, 12 areas classified as urban in 2010 are now classified as rural: Bayfield, Burlington, Cedaredge, Florence, Las Animas, Lochbuie, Monte Vista, Rocky Ford, Silt, Walsenburg, Yuma and the Air Force Academy. 

Eight other areas were newly classified as urban, bringing Colorado’s total number of urban areas down from 64 in 2010 to 60 in 2020. The new urban areas are Castle Rock, Falcon, Frisco, Grand Lake, Pueblo West, Snowmass Village, Telluride-Mountain Village and the Pinery. 

The Census Bureau made the biggest modifications in decades to the definition of an urban area this year. 

Previously, areas were considered urban if they had more than 2,500 residents – a threshold that had been around since 1910. Now, the minimum population is 5,000 residents and areas must have at least 2,000 housing units to be considered urban. The new criteria also removes the distinction between an urbanized area and an urban cluster, combining the two classifications. 

Before the changes, in 2010, 81% of the U.S. was urban and 19% was rural. Now, 79.6% is urban and 20.4% is rural. 

There were 2,646 urban areas in the mainland U.S., Puerto Rico and U.S. islands on the new list. 

By including minimum housing units in the urban definition, many seasonal resort towns can now qualify based on the number of homes instead of full-time residents.

This was the case for Frisco, Grand Lake, Snowmass Village and Telluride-Mountain Village in Colorado. Other areas, including the Air Force Academy, lost their urban status because of this change, as they have high enough populations but lack the minimum housing units.  

Associated Press reporter Mike Schneider contributed to this article.