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La Junta, Colorado

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2289930

La Junta, Colorado

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La Junta, Colorado

La Junta HOON-tə is a home rule municipality in, the county seat of, and the most populous municipality in Otero County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 7,322 at the 2020 United States census. La Junta is located on the Arkansas River in southeastern Colorado 68 miles (109 km) east of Pueblo. The city is home to Otero College and hosts the annual Tarantula Fest.

La Junta (Spanish for 'the junction') was named for the fact it rested at the intersection of the Santa Fe Trail and a pioneer road to Pueblo. The town developed near Bent's Fort, a fur trading post of the 19th century. The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway passed through La Junta, with a branch line to Denver separating here.

During World War II, La Junta had an Army Air Force Training Base outside town. An Air Force detachment of the Strategic Air Command remained there until modern flight simulators developed in the 1980s rendered live flight unnecessary for pilot training maneuvers. At least one military aircraft crashed closeby during such training maneuvers.

The area is high plains terrain, dry with short grass prairie and sagebrush, and is part of the Southwestern Tablelands ecological region. This area of Colorado is often the warmest. Summer brings numerous days above 100 °F (37.8 °C). The hottest temperature recorded in La Junta was 110 °F (43.3 °C) on June 28, 1990, and June 24, 2012, while the coldest temperature recorded was −23 °F (−30.6 °C) on January 20, 1948.

There were 7,568 people, 2,977 households, and 1,964 families residing in the city.[when?] The population density was 2,652.0 inhabitants per square mile (1,023.9/km2). There were 3,277 housing units at an average density of 1,148.3 per square mile (443.4/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 74.22% White, 1.22% African American, 1.77% Native American, 0.86% Asian, 0.13% Pacific Islander, 18.33% from other races, and 3.48% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 43.60% of the population.

There were 2,977 households, out of which 33.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.0% were married couples living together, 14.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.0% were non-families. 30.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 3.06.

In the city, the population was spread out, with 27.1% under the age of 18, 10.4% from 18 to 24, 24.6% from 25 to 44, 21.4% from 45 to 64, and 16.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 89.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.1 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $29,002, and the median income for a family was $36,398. Males had a median income of $26,325 versus $21,324 for females. The per capita income for the city was $14,928. About 16.8% of families and 21.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 31.4% of those under age 18 and 10.0% of those age 65 or over.

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