Hooper and Center

About Hooper and Center

• First, the cams from Hooper that used to share this page with Center, are no more -

CDOT has turned off and removed these important cams, your tax dollars at work?

The Town of Center is located in the San Luis Valley, in both Saguache and Rio Grande counties. The town’s population was 1,929 at the 2020 United States Census, with 1,885 residing in Saguache County and 44 residing in Rio Grande County. The town’s elevation is at 7,645 feet (2,330 meters) and lies in the center of the San Luis Valley, hence its name.

The racial makeup of Center in 2020 was 10.0% White, 0.3% African American, 1% Native American, 0.09% from other races, and 0.09% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino makes up 88.4% of the population. Approximately 64.2% of residents aged 5 and older mainly speak Spanish. 65.8% of residents speak a non-English language at home, with English likely spoken by the remaining 34.2% as their primary language, or in addition to Spanish, as 94.2% of the population are U.S. citizens. If you visit, you will notice that a significant portion, if not most of the signage on stores in Center, is in Spanish or is bilingual.

Climate wise, Center is considered one of the least snowy, inhabited, and non-arid spots in Colorado. It sits in a “banana belt” region that receives significantly less snow than the nearby surrounding mountains and receives on average approximately 30 to 33 inches (76 to 84 centimeter) of snow per year. You can compare that amount to Wolf Creek Pass, which is only 50 miles/80 kilometers away, and where its summit (at 11,904 feet/3,628 meters) receives an average of 430 inches/1,092 cm of natural snow annually.

Center, by Hwys 112 and 285 (CO 112 at US 285 just west of Center: Looking north at the San Juan Mountains)