Special Report

This is How Many People Have Died From COVID-19 in Colorado

Samuel Stebbins

Published: August 25, 2021 4:30 am

Since the first death attributable to COVID-19 was reported in the United States on Feb. 29, 2020, an estimated 621,308 Americans have died — and as the delta variant spreads, that number continues to grow.

Adjusting for population, there have been a total of 190 COVID-19-related deaths for every 100,000 Americans nationwide. In Colorado, deaths attributable to the coronavirus per capita are less common than they are nationwide. Across the state, 7,056 people have died from the coronavirus, equal to about 124 deaths for every 100,000 people. Of all states — and Washington D.C. — Colorado has the 10th lowest death rate per capita.

Any number of factors contribute to variations in COVID-19 fatalities per capita across the United States. One of them is the per capita infection rate. Just as the number of deaths attributable to the virus per capita is lower in Colorado than it is nationwide, COVID-19 infections per capita are too.

To date, there have been 597,281 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Colorado, equal to 10,487 infections per 100,000 people — compared to 11,376 infections per 100,000 people nationwide.

Though it is not always the case, states with higher than average COVID-19 deaths per capita are often also home to larger high-risk populations. One such group is retirement-age Americans, who are at least 90 times more likely to die from the virus if infected than those in the 18 to 29 age group. In Colorado, 14.7% of the population are 65 and older. Nationwide, 16.5% of the population fall into that age group.

All COVID-19 data used in the story is current as of August 23, 2021.

These are all the counties in Colorado where COVID-19 is slowing (and where it’s still getting worse).