Craig is a home rule municipality that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Moffat County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 9,060 at the 2020 United States Census. Craig is the principal city of the Craig, CO Micropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Founded by William H. Tucker, Craig was incorporated as a city on July 15, 1908. The town was named for one of the town's financial backers, Reverend William Bayard Craig. Craig became the county seat when Moffat County was created out of the western portion of Routt County on February 27, 1911. In the same area as Craig, at the confluence of the Yampa River (then known as the Bear River) and Fortification Creek, were previous towns known as Yampa (as early as 1885) and Windsor (as early as 1878). In 1878, the area consisted of a number of ranches and at least two businesses: Himley's Ferry (which allowed crossing of the Yampa River) and Peck's Store (a one-room trading post). In the 1970s and early 1980s, the largest power generation plant in Colorado and several coal mines were constructed near Craig.

Geography

At the 2020 United States Census, the city had a total area of 13.138 km2, all of which was land.

Climate

Under the Köppen climate classification, Craig has a humid continental climate (Dfb). Summer days are hot with cool nights and very high diurnal temperature variation, while winters are cold and snowy with lows near zero. The record high temperature is 101 °F, which occurred first on July 9, 2021, July 10, 2021, and most recently July 17, 2023, while the record low is -51 °F, which occurred on February 6, 1989.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 9,189 people, 3,525 households, and 2,432 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,886.6 PD/sqmi. There were 3,851 housing units at an average density of 790.6 /mi2. The racial makeup of the city was 92.56% White, 0.30% African American, 0.96% Native American, 0.42% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 3.84% from other races, and 1.89% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 10.80% of the population. There were 3,525 households, out of which 38.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.3% were married couples living together, 9.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.0% were non-families. 25.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.53 and the average family size was 3.05. In the city, the population was spread out, with 28.5% under the age of 18, 9.6% from 18 to 24, 30.1% from 25 to 44, 21.9% from 45 to 64, and 9.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 106.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 103.4 males. The median income for a household in the city was $41,091, and the median income for a family was $45,504. Males had a median income of $38,038 versus $21,806 for females. The per capita income for the city was $18,140. About 6.9% of families and 8.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.5% of those under age 18 and 6.5% of those age 65 or over.

Transportation

Craig is the terminus of a Union Pacific Railroad (UP) branch line that connects with the UP main line at Bond. The line was originally built by the Denver and Salt Lake Railway to connect Denver with Salt Lake City but was only completed as far west as Craig. , the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) is studying state-run passenger train service between Denver and Craig via Winter Park and Steamboat Springs. U.S. 40 is the primary east–west highway serving Craig, while Colorado State Highway 13 runs south to Interstate 70 and north to the Wyoming border, where it becomes Wyoming State Highway 789 and eventually connects with Interstate 80. Craig-Moffat Airport is the local airfield. Scheduled passenger jet airline service is available at the Yampa Valley Airport, located near the town of Hayden, 15 mi east of Craig. Steamboat Springs Transit's regional bus service has multiple daily roundtrips between Craig and Steamboat Springs via Hayden, Milner, and Steamboat II, while CDOT's Bustang Outrider intercity bus service has one daily Craig–Denver roundtrip.

Hunting

Craig is, according to the local chamber of commerce, "Elk Hunting Capital of the World".

Notable people