Welcome to Colorado Springs!
Colorado Springs is the second largest city in Colorado, behind Denver to the north, and defines the northeastern tip of the south-central region of the state. The attractive mountain scenery is nearby.
Colorado Springs is a home rule municipality in, and the county seat of, El Paso County, Colorado, United States. It is the most populous city in El Paso County, with a population of 478,961 at the 2020 United States Census, a 15.02% increase since 2010. Colorado Springs is the second-most populous city and the most extensive city in the state of Colorado, and the 40th-most populous city in the United States. It is the principal city of the Colorado Springs, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area and 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 (4,302.31 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 & Paralympic Committee, the United States Olympic Training Center, USA Swimming, and USA Hockey.
In 2018, U.S. News & World Report named it the most desirable place to live in the United States. The previous year, Colorado Springs placed second on U.S. News' list of the 125 Best Places to Live in the USA. The Metropolitan Policy Program at Brookings found that Colorado Springs was the fastest-growing city for millennials. Thumbtack's annual Small Business Friendliness Survey found Colorado Springs to be the fourth most business-friendly city in the country.