Durango has become a typical Colorado town over the last 10 years: bigger, older and browner.

La Plata County followed a similar pattern, as did the state as a whole, according to U.S. Census numbers released Wednesday.

The city, county and state are more diverse.

Durango’s Hispanic population grew by 44 percent since the last Census in 2000. That’s double the rate of the town’s overall population growth.

And 300 more American Indians moved into Durango, an increase of nearly 40 percent.

Community groups made a hard push to increase the rate of participation in the Census last year, and that might account for some of the higher numbers of minorities reported, said Crystal Harris, coordinator of the La Plata Unity Project.

“Through outreach and working together, maybe they came out more and accepted the Census people at their door,” Harris said.

Community groups are already starting to grapple with delivering services to a more diverse population. For example, Harris said, the Unity Project is trying to find more interpreters for medical offices and service groups, she said.

“That’s always been a huge need,” Harris said.

The Census tracks six different racial categories. It does not consider Hispanic to be a separate race, so people who identify themselves to the Census as Hispanic might also be white, American Indian or another race.

Hispanics now account for more than 1 million Coloradans, a fifth of the sate population.

The last decade saw tremendous population growth in the Four Corners and most areas of the state.

Durango stood at 16,887 residents on Census day. Its 21 percent growth rate outpaced the state average.

La Plata County grew by 7,393 residents from 2000 to 2010, a nearly 17 percent growth rate that closely tracked the statewide average.

The county’s population in the 2000 census was 43,941; by 2010, that number had grown to 51,334.

Statewide, population grew from about 4.3 million to 5 million.

Colorado has a new population capital. El Paso County, home to Colorado Springs, surpassed Denver County as the state’s largest, with 622,263 and 600,158 people respectively.

However, Denver remained the state’s largest city, with Colorado Springs in second place.

The city, county and state are also getting slightly older. Detailed numbers on ages were not available Wednesday, but the release did list people of voting age – 18 and older.

While the numbers of children grew, the adult population grew faster. Children now make up 15.7 percent of the Durango population and 24.4 percent of the state population – about a percentage point less in both the city and state compared to a decade ago.

La Plata County’s under-18 population dropped by more than 2 percentage points, to 20.5 percent.

Wednesday’s numbers also included housing vacancies as of last April 1.

Slightly more than 10 percent of Durango’s 7,851 housing units stood vacant last spring. The data do not say whether the houses are vacant because they can’t be sold or because they belong to second-home owners.

Archuleta County stood out for having nearly 40 percent of its homes vacant.

“We have a lot of second-home owners here,” said Deneice Stacy, president of the Pagosa Springs Area Association of Realtors.

Pagosa’s real estate market is starting to bounce back from the recession, but a third of the sales last year were on foreclosed homes, Stacy said.

“It’s better, but prices are still suppressed because we have a lot of foreclosures in the area,” she said.

Wednesday’s release is the first detailed snapshot of Colorado’s population in 2010. The Census will release increasingly detailed information throughout the year.

jhanel@durangoherald.com