The City of Colorado Springs is the Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of El Paso County, Colorado, United States. Colorado Springs is the second most populous city and the most extensive city in the State of Colorado. It is the principal city of the Colorado Springs, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area and is the second most prominent city of the Front Range Urban Corridor. It is located in east central Colorado, on Fountain Creek, 70 miles (113 km) south of Denver. At 6,035 feet (1,839 m) the city stands over 1 mile (1.6 km) above sea level, though some areas are significantly higher and lower. Colorado Springs is near the base of Pikes Peak, which rises 14,115 feet (4,302 m) above sea level on the eastern edge of the Southern Rocky Mountains.
The United States Air Force Academy opened just north of Colorado Springs in 1958. The city is home to 24 national sports governing bodies, including the United States Olympic Committee, the United States Olympic Training Center, USA Swimming, and USA Hockey.
The city had an estimated population of 478,221 in 2019, and a metro population of approximately 738,939,[11] making it Colorado's second most populous city, behind Denver, and the 39th most populous city in the United States.[12] The Colorado Springs, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area had an estimated population of 712,327 in 2016.[13] The city is in the Front Range Urban Corridor, an oblong region of urban population along the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado and Wyoming, generally following Interstate 25.
The city covers 194.9 square miles (505 km2), making it the most extensive municipality in Colorado.
In 2020, Colorado Springs ranked #13 on the New York Times 52 Places to Go list and #10 in TripAdvisor's Top 25 Trending Destinations. In 2017 and 2018, Colorado Springs received several accolades. In 2018 U.S. News named it the most desirable place to live in the United States.[14] The previous year, Colorado Springs placed second on U.S. News's list of the 125 Best Places to Live in the USA.[15] The Metropolitan Policy Program at Brookings found that Colorado Springs was the fastest-growing city for millennials.[16] Thumbtack's annual Small Business Friendliness Survey found Colorado Springs to be the fourth most business-friendly city in the country.[17]
