Welcome to Ouray ...
The city of Ouray is located in Ouray County<1> and is the County Seat for Ouray County.
While we don't have a date for the founding of Ouray, you might consider that their post office opened in 1875.
The city was incorporated March 24, 1884.
From the Census Estimates for 2019, Ouray has a population of 1,050 people<2> (see below for details).
Ouray is 7,690 feet [2,344 m] above sea level.<3> In other words, the altitude of Ouray is about 1½ mile [or ~2¼ km] above sea level.
Time Zone: Ouray lies in the Mountain Time Zone (MST/MDT) and observes daylight saving time
The telephone area code for Ouray: (970)
The ZIP code for Ouray: 81427<4>
Websites for Ouray ...
Official Website: www.ci.ouray.co.us/
Population Details ...
Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Ouray had an population of 1,050 people. This is an increase of 5% since the 2010 Census (or an increase of 29.15% since the 2000 Census).
At the time of the 2010 Census, Ouray had a population of 1,000 people (or 22.54% of the total population of Ouray County). This makes Ouray the county's most populous community.
The population of Ouray represents 0.02% of the total population of Colorado (which has 5,029,196 people), making it the state's 143rd most populous community.
With a 2010 count of 1,000 people, the population of Ouray increased 23% from the 2000 Census (which had a count of 813 people).
More information can be found on the Census Page for Ouray.
Communities Also Named Ouray ...
Using our Gazetteer, we found another community named Ouray - it's located in Utah.
For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Ouray.
Communities near Ouray ...
We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Ouray.
- Telluride
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Telluride
- Telluride is located in San Miguel County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,416 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Telluride <5>
- Mountain Village
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mountain Village have been provided by the GNIS.<6> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain Village
- Mountain Village is located in San Miguel County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,470 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mountain Village <5>
- Ridgway
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridgway
- Ridgway is located in Ouray County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,039 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ridgway <5>
- Silverton
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silverton
- Silverton is located in San Juan County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 679 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Silverton <5>
- Lake City
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake City
- Lake City is located in Hinsdale County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 388 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lake City <5>
- Ophir
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ophir
- Ophir is located in San Miguel County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 190 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ophir <5>
- Sawpit
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sawpit
- Sawpit is located in San Miguel County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 38 people
- Sawpit has also been known as:
- Saw Pit
- Tomboy ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest) - Animas Forks ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Animas Forks
- Animas Forks is located in San Juan County
- Pandora
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pandora
- Pandora is located in San Miguel County
To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.
We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Ouray. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Ouray.
Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Ouray. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Ouray.
We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Ouray. Our list includes 19 papers. See our Newspapers Page for Ouray.
TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Ouray ...
Looking for more information about Ouray? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.
In addition to the Tourism page for Ouray, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for Ouray.
Adding Ouray to Our Gazetteer ...
We originally found mention of Ouray in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.
From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found for Ouray was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<7>
From that list, the Ouray post office opened in 1875.
We also found Ouray in the book titled Business Atlas and Shippers' Guide (1895).
For more details, see References and Mentions for Ouray.
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Ouray: www.ci.ouray.co.us/
The official website for Ouray County: www.co.ouray.co.us/
The official website for State of Colorado: https://www.colorado.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | If you're interested in how the shape of Colorado's counties, including Ouray, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. |
| <2> | Population counts have been provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. For more detail, please visit our Census Page for Ouray. |
| <3> | The elevation is an estimate for the area around Ouray - it will be higher in some places and lower in others. |
| <4> | ZIP Codes have been created by the United States Postal Service (USPS) as a way of grouping addresses to make delivery more efficient. The boundaries of the ZIP Code can be changed, re-assigned, eliminated or overlapped with other ZIP Codes. So keep in mind that any given ZIP Code is only 'loosely' associated with a city (such as Ouray). When looking for a ZIP Code, whether Ouray or elsewhere, it's always best to check the website of the United States Postal Service (USPS). |
| <5> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <6> | The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required. |
| <7> | A copy of their list with background information can be found at: https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/ |