Baca County area

Baca County, Colorado covers 2,557.4 square miles: 2,555 square miles of land and 2.372 square miles of water. Its county seat is Springfield. An estimated 3,347 people lived there in 2025.

Official Census measurements · GEOID 080092026 Gazetteer · retrieved September 27, 2026
Land area2,555 mi²
Water area2.372 mi²
Population (2025)3,347
People per mi²1.3

County outline

Generalized outline of Baca County, Colorado
2025 Census cartographic boundary, fitted to this frame. County maps are not at a common scale. The 2026 area measurements below come from the separate Gazetteer release. Map source and limitations.

Where Baca County is located

Baca County highlighted on a map of all U.S. county equivalents. About the maps

Area breakdown

Land accounts for 99.9% of Baca County’s measured area and water for 0.1%. Its combined area converts to 6,623.5 square kilometers or approximately 1,636,714 acres.

Green: land · blue: water

MeasurementSquare milesSquare kilometersAcres
Land2,554.9936,617.4011,635,195.5
Water2.3726.1431,518.1
Total2,557.3656,623.5451,636,713.6

How Baca County compares

By original Census land area, Baca County ranks #11 of 64 in Colorado and #214 of 3,222 nationally. National rankings include the 50 states, District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.

Its land area is 1.785 times the Colorado county-equivalent median of 1,431.5 square miles. It accounts for 2.5% of the combined county land area in the state.

See the complete Colorado ranking · What counts as a county equivalent?

Population and density of Baca County

The Census Bureau estimates that 3,347 people lived in Baca County on July 1, 2025. That ranks #3,008 of 3,222 county equivalents nationally and #56 of 64 in Colorado. Since the April 1, 2020 estimates base of 3,506, the population has declined by 159 (−4.5%), compared with +4.1% for Colorado as a whole.

With 2,555 square miles of land, that is 1.3 people per square mile (0.51 per km²), placing Baca County #3,122 nationally for density and #59 in Colorado. The median county equivalent has 47 people per square mile; the Colorado median is 11. Put another way, there are about 489 acres of land per resident.

Estimated population, 2020–2025 · line scaled to this county’s own range
July 1202020212022202320242025
Estimate3,4783,4913,4303,3753,3863,347
Change—+13−61−55+11−39

U.S. Census Bureau, Vintage 2025 population estimates. Estimates are revised each year and are not decennial census counts. Density divides the whole population by the whole county’s land area, so it describes an average, not how settlement is distributed within the county. Population sources and methods.

Cities and towns in Baca County

6 incorporated places lie at least partly in Baca County. Together they are home to 2,136 people (63.8%); the other 1,211 (36.2%) live outside any incorporated place, in unincorporated communities and rural areas.

The largest is Springfield town, with 1,293 residents in the county.

Incorporated placePopulation 2025Since 2020Land mi²
Springfield townCounty seat1,293−2.9%1.126
Walsh town513−5.5%0.447
Pritchett town106−6.2%0.233
Vilas town99−3.9%0.128
Campo town95−5.9%0.144
Two Buttes town30−6.3%0.248

Population: U.S. Census Bureau Vintage 2025 subcounty estimates, counting only the part of each place inside Baca County. Land: 2026 Census Gazetteer, for the whole place even where it extends into other counties. How communities are listed.

Metropolitan area

Baca County is not part of any metropolitan or micropolitan statistical area in the Office of Management and Budget’s July 2023 delineation; 1,306 other county equivalents are also outside one. These areas are built around an urban core of at least 10,000 people plus the counties tied to it by commuting, so counties outside them are generally rural.

ZIP codes

8 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas have land in Baca County; 6 of them have most of their land inside the county, and the others mainly cover neighboring areas.

8102981041810548106481073810848108781090

ZIP Code Tabulation Areas are the Census Bureau’s approximations of USPS ZIP Code service areas, from the 2020 Census relationship files. Lighter codes have less than half of their land in this county. Post-office-box and single-address ZIP Codes have no tabulation area.

Counties bordering Baca County

Baca County shares a land border with 7 county equivalents, including 4 in Oklahoma, Kansas, and New Mexico. It has more land than 5 of them. The largest neighbor is Las Animas County (4,772.9 mi²) and the smallest is Stanton County (680.4 mi²). Together with its neighbors, Baca County forms a block of 17,549.1 mi² of land, of which it holds 14.6%.

Map of Baca County and the 7 county equivalents that border it Cimarron County, Oklahoma: 1,834.8 mi² landLas Animas County, Colorado: 4,772.9 mi² landProwers County, Colorado: 1,638.4 mi² landMorton County, Kansas: 729.7 mi² landBent County, Colorado: 1,512.8 mi² landStanton County, Kansas: 680.4 mi² landUnion County, New Mexico: 3,825.1 mi² land
Baca County (dark) and its bordering county equivalents. Select a neighbor to open its profile. Drawn from the 2025 Census cartographic boundaries in an equal-area projection. How borders are determined.
Bordering county equivalentLand mi²Size vs. BacaCompare
Las Animas County4,772.91.9× largerCompare
Union CountyNew Mexico3,825.11.5× largerCompare
Cimarron CountyOklahoma1,834.81.4× smallerCompare
Prowers County1,638.41.6× smallerCompare
Bent County1,512.81.7× smallerCompare
Morton CountyKansas729.73.5× smallerCompare
Stanton CountyKansas680.43.8× smallerCompare

How big is Baca County compared with U.S. states?

Baca County has more land than 2 of the 50 states. It is about 1.3 times the land area of Delaware (1,948.6 mi²), while Connecticut, the next larger state, has 1.9 times as much land (4,842.5 mi²). Colorado’s county land could hold about 41 areas the size of Baca County.

Land area: Baca County and the closest-sized states
Delaware1,948.6 mi²
Baca County2,555 mi²
Connecticut4,842.5 mi²

Another way to picture it: the same land area would fill a square about 50.5 miles (81.3 km) on each side. Real county shapes are rarely square, so this is a scale reference rather than a width or driving distance.

State figures are the sums of each state’s county-equivalent land measurements in the same Census release, so states and counties are compared on the same basis. Published state totals can differ slightly because of rounding. Compare all states · Counties bigger than entire states.

What stands out about Baca County?

Baca County has more land than 3,008 of the other 3,221 county equivalents in the dataset.

Land area compared with the typical county equivalent
Baca County2,555 mi²
Colorado median1,431.5 mi²
National median604.5 mi²

A median is the middle county-equivalent measurement, not the average of the largest and smallest. All three bars use the same linear scale. Very small areas may appear as a thin sliver; the labels retain their values.

Does including water change its rank?

Using land plus water places Baca County at #229 nationally by total area, 15 places farther from the top than its land rank. Other county equivalents gain more area when their water measurements are included.

Its water share is 0.1%, compared with a national county-equivalent median of 1.2% — 1.1 percentage points lower. This describes the statistical geography’s land/water mix, not flood exposure or developable land.

Closest positions in the national land ranking

These entries sit immediately beside Baca County in the national ranking. They can be in different states and are not necessarily geographic neighbors.

Land rankCounty equivalentLand mi²Comparison
#213Wrangell City and Borough, Alaska2,556.3Compare
#214Baca County, Colorado2,555This county
#215Plumas County, California2,553.1Compare

Calculated from the same Census release as the area table. Total-area order uses original ALAND + AWATER; water shares and chart labels use published square miles. Calculation details.

Representative coordinates

The Census internal point is 37.309780, -102.543741. It represents a location inside the geography; it is not necessarily the centroid or the address of a courthouse.

Source and precision

U.S. Census Bureau, 2026 Gazetteer Files, Counties. Original ALAND: 6,617,400,568 m²; AWATER: 6,142,192 m². Rankings use ALAND; exact ties use ascending GEOID. Tables preserve Census-published square miles to three decimals, with conversions based on those values.

Download the official county source ZIP ↗ · Methodology

Common questions

How big is Baca County?

Baca County, Colorado has 2,555 square miles (6,617.4 km²) of land and 2.372 square miles of water, for a total area of 2,557.4 square miles. It ranks #214 of 3,222 U.S. county equivalents by land area.

Is Baca County the largest county in Colorado?

No. Baca County ranks #11 of 64 in Colorado by land area. The largest is Las Animas County, with 4,772.9 square miles of land.

What counties border Baca County?

Baca County shares a land border with Cimarron County, Oklahoma, Las Animas County, Prowers County, Morton County, Kansas, Bent County, Stanton County, Kansas, and Union County, New Mexico.

What is the population of Baca County?

The Census Bureau estimates Baca County had 3,347 residents on July 1, 2025, ranking #3,008 of 3,222 county equivalents. That is 1.3 people per square mile of land.

What is the county seat of Baca County?

The county seat of Baca County is Springfield.

What cities and towns are in Baca County?

Baca County has 6 incorporated places. The most populous five are Springfield town, Walsh town, Pritchett town, Vilas town, and Campo town; 1,211 residents live outside any incorporated place.

Is Baca County part of a metropolitan area?

No. Baca County is outside every metropolitan and micropolitan statistical area in the July 2023 OMB delineation.

How many ZIP codes are in Baca County?

8 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas have land in Baca County, and 6 of them have most of their land inside the county. Census ZIP Code Tabulation Areas approximate USPS ZIP Code areas.

How does Baca County compare with U.S. states?

It has more land than 2 of the 50 states, including Delaware (1,948.6 square miles of land).

How many acres of land are in Baca County?

The land measurement converts to approximately 1,635,196 acres. Including water, total area is approximately 1,636,714 acres. One square mile equals 640 acres.

Why might another source show a different area?

Check whether it reports land or total area, its Census vintage, and its rounding. Our guide explains how to reconcile county area figures.

Can this establish a property boundary?

No. Statistical measurements and generalized maps do not establish property lines. Consult the relevant local surveying or land-records authority.

Cite this county

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