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<br />6'''';, <br />'!NJ <br /><-,.,. <br /> <br />tv <br /><>> <br />C~ <br />c.:.1) <br /> <br />'{~ii;) <br /> <br />..... <br />': ..'::::J <br />......1. <br /> <br />Demographic and Economic.Characteristics <br /> <br />The population of the Upper Colorado River Region grew from 271,000 <br />in 1940 to an estimated 438,000 in 1975. Much .of that growth occurred <br />from 1970 to 1975, when the population increased by over 100,000 people, <br />In terms of its distribution, the population is divided about evenly between <br />the three ASAs which make up the Region. Only four cities in the Region <br />had populations of 10,000 or more in 1970. <br /> <br />'I <br /> <br />Farm population has been declining steadily since the 1940s as farms <br />have been consolidated and as increased mechanization has decreased labor <br />demands. In 1970, the farm population in the Region was only 35,000, while <br />two decades earlier it was 76,000. <br /> <br />The four largest employment sectors in the Region are wholesale and <br />retail trade, professional and governmental services, agriculture, and <br />mining. These sectors were responsible for nearly three out of every five <br />jobs in 1970, <br /> <br />Relative to other employment sectors, and in absolute terms, farm <br />employment has been declining. By 1970, farm employment was less than 10 <br />percent of the total. While total revenue from agriculture has increased <br />dramatically over the past several decades, it has been outpaced by other <br />industries. <br /> <br />To a large degree, economic.activity in the Region has been austained <br />by primary extractive industries. Because of ,large distances to national <br />markets, the only significant manufacturing industries are those which <br />reduce raw material weights or serve local markets. It is likely that the <br />.economy of the Region will continue to be based upon such primary indust- <br />. ries. <br /> <br />A aignificant stabilizing influence on the economy has been the large <br />growth of year-round tourism and recreation. This has led' to rapid in- <br />creases in recreation and urban-related,occupations. This urban-associated. <br />emploYment has replaced mining, farming, and forestry in. . importance , both <br />individually and collectively. <br /> <br />Per capita income in the Upper Colorado River Region was $4;087 in <br />1974. This figure is $I,500 to $1,900 below that for Colorado, the Rocky <br />Mountain region in general, and the United States. Reasons for this dif- <br />ference are: (I) the arid climate and relatively low agricultural produc- <br />tivity, (2) the lack of an industrial manufacturing base with attendant <br />high-skill jobs, and (3) the low population density and lack of major urban <br />centers that generate high income services, <br /> <br />xix <br />