RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Colorado >> Otero County  

Welcome to Otero County ...

Time Zone: Otero County lies in the Mountain Time Zone (MST/MDT) and observes daylight saving time.

The community of La Junta is the Seat for Otero County.

Otero County was founded March 25, 1889 and was created by taking area from Bent County.

From the Census Estimates for 2019, <1> Otero had a population of 18,278 people. This is a decrease of 3.08% since the last Census (which gave a population of 18,859 people in 2010).

At the time of the 2010 Census, Otero represented 0.37% of the total population of Colorado.

Below are some of the communities located in Otero County:

  • Cheraw
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Cheraw is located in Otero County (CO)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cheraw
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 245 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cheraw <2>
  • Fowler
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Fowler is located in Otero County (CO)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fowler
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,149 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fowler <2>
  • La Junta
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
  • Manzanola
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Rocky Ford
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Swink
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Swink is located in Otero County (CO)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swink
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 595 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Swink <2>

Websites of Interest ...

Footnotes ...

<1>On a yearly basis, the US Census Bureau creates an estimate of the county's population. Keep in mind that this is an estimate and not an actual count. The last physical count was the 2010 Census and the next count will be for the 2020 Census.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.