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Welcome to Calhan!

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THE HIGHEST INCORPORATED NON-MOUNTAIN TOWN IN THE UNITED STATES, HOME OF THE EL PASO COUNTY FAIR

General Information

The Town of Calhan, founded in 1888 as a water station for the Rock Island Line, is a Colorado Statutory Town in El Paso County, Colorado. Straddling U.S. Route 24, the town is approximately halfway between Colorado Springs and Limon, Colorado. As of the 2012 U.S. American Community Survey the population was 796.

Geography

Calhan is located at 39°2′7″N 104°17′59″W (39.035395°, −104.299835°) and has an elevation of 6,508 feet (1983.6 m) above sea level making it the highest non-mountain incorporated town in the United States. The Town has a total area of 0.85 square miles (2.2 km2), all of it land and sits on the southern side of a large depression that, thousands of years ago, was the bottom of a shallow inland sea.

Some areas south and west of Calhan in un-incorporated El Paso County have elevations above 7,000 feet. Approximately 3 miles south of Calhan, Prospectors Point at 7,204 feet (2195.8 m) above sea level is the highest point between the Mississippi River and the Rocky Mountains.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 896 people, 347 households, and 246 families residing in the town. The population density was 1,204.1 people per square mile (467.5/km²). There were 376 housing units at an average density of 505.3 per square mile (196.2/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 96.99% White, 0.22% Native American, 0.67% Asian, 0.22% from other races, and 1.90% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.90% of the population.

There were 347 households out of which 39.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.3% were married couples living together, 10.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.1% were non-families. 25.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.58 and the average family size was 3.11. In the town the population was spread out with 29.7% under the age of 18, 7.4% from 18 to 24, 28.1% from 25 to 44, 20.3% from 45 to 64, and 14.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 86.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.8 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $35,735, and the median income for a family was $50,000. Males had a median income of $32,135 versus $24,659 for females. The per capita income for the town was $19,266. About 3.7% of families and 8.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.4% of those under age 18 and 12.0% of those age 65 or over.