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Ham radio operators in Colorado: new licenses by county

19,471 licensed amateur radio operators; 613 new in the past 12 months. Updated weekly from FCC data.

At a glance · Data as of

New hams · last 30 days
28
New hams · last 12 months
613
▲ 3% vs prior 12 mo
Active licensed hams
19,471
Upgrades · 12 mo
258
Vanity callsigns · 12 mo
165
Address updates · 12 mo
183
Often a move into the area
Expiring · next 6 mo
1,115

About ham radio in Colorado

Colorado added 613 new amateur radio operators in the past 12 months, about the same as the year before (up 3%). Colorado ranks #13 of 52 states and territories for new licenses. El Paso County leads the state with 80 new hams. Among larger counties, Larimer County is growing fastest. Technicians make up 53% of the state’s licensees, above the U.S. average of 48%, a strong pipeline of new operators who may be ready for an Elmer program.

New hams by month

New hams per month in Colorado, October 2025 to September 2026 616 in total. Highest: 95 in May 2026. Lowest: 3 in October 2025. Up 3% from the prior 12 months. Oct 2025: 3 new hams 3 Oct 2025 Nov 2025: 54 new hams 54 Nov Dec 2025: 49 new hams 49 Dec Jan 2026: 53 new hams 53 Jan 2026 Feb 2026: 47 new hams 47 Feb Mar 2026: 57 new hams 57 Mar Apr 2026: 77 new hams 77 Apr May 2026: 95 new hams 95 May Jun 2026: 61 new hams 61 Jun Jul 2026: 46 new hams 46 Jul Aug 2026: 42 new hams 42 Aug Sep 2026: 32 new hams 32 Sep
Complete calendar months only, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026. The current month is left out until it ends.
Show data table
New hams per month in Colorado
MonthNew hams
Oct 20253
Nov 202554
Dec 202549
Jan 202653
Feb 202647
Mar 202657
Apr 202677
May 202695
Jun 202661
Jul 202646
Aug 202642
Sep 202632
Total616

License classes

Active licensees in Colorado by license class, compared with U.S.
ClassHamsShareU.S.
Technician 10,28953%48%
General 4,49123%25%
Amateur Extra 3,85220%21%
Advanced 5813%3%
Novice / Other 2581%2%

Bar = Colorado share · Tick = U.S. share

In the past 12 months, 96 operators upgraded to General and 143 to Amateur Extra.

How Colorado compares

#13 of 52 states and territories for new hams in the past 12 months

Rates per 1,000 active licensees
Per 1,000 active hamsColoradoU.S.
New hams, past 12 months31.532.3
Upgrades, past 12 months13.314.7
Expiring, next 6 months57.357.3

613 new hams in Colorado this past year. Get next month’s list free.

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Top 10 Colorado counties for new hams

Scroll sideways for more columns →

#CountyNew hams 12 moChange vs prior yearActive hamsNew per 1,000
1El Paso County80▼ 24%3,18225.1
2Jefferson County71▲ 39%2,20732.2
3Larimer County60▲ 46%1,67535.8
4Boulder County54▼ 5%1,69731.8
5Denver County40▼ 2%1,00839.7
6Douglas County40▼ 30%1,51526.4
7Arapahoe County37▼ 27%1,57623.5
8Adams County33▲ 32%96034.4
9Weld County17▼ 53%94418.0
10Broomfield County12▲ 20%32037.5

All Colorado counties

24 counties with their own page. Numbers are new hams in the past 12 months.

Smaller Colorado counties

These 40 counties have too few licensees or too little recent activity for a page of their own, so their numbers are listed here.

Show all 40 smaller counties
CountyActive hamsNew hams · 12 mo
Alamosa County330
Archuleta County952
Baca County120
Bent County81
Cheyenne County20
Clear Creek County390
Conejos County131
Costilla County220
Crowley County141
Dolores County80
Eagle County692
Gilpin County292
Grand County371
Gunnison County482
Hinsdale County60
Huerfano County341
Jackson County10
Kiowa County20
Kit Carson County80
Lake County192
Las Animas County420
Lincoln County170
Logan County353
Mineral County80
Moffat County371
Otero County420
Ouray County360
Phillips County80
Pitkin County391
Prowers County250
Rio Blanco County261
Rio Grande County310
Routt County512
Saguache County180
San Juan County200
San Miguel County200
Sedgwick County40
Summit County672
Washington County120
Yuma County110

Neighboring states

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Figures may be reused with credit to Ham Recruiter (CC BY 4.0).

Questions about hams in Colorado

How many ham radio operators are in Colorado?

19,471 active amateur radio licensees are on file for Colorado as of Oct 1, 2026.

How many new hams were licensed in Colorado last year?

613 people in Colorado received their first FCC amateur radio license in the 12 months ending Oct 1, 2026.

Which Colorado counties have the most new hams?

In the past 12 months: El Paso County (80), Jefferson County (71) and Larimer County (60).

Where does this data come from?

From the FCC Universal Licensing System (ULS) public amateur license database, which we download every Monday. Addresses are matched to counties with the U.S. Census Bureau geocoder. This page shows totals only.

Can I see the names or call signs on this page?

No. Public pages show totals only. Verified Ham Recruiter users can search and export lists for outreach; see how licensee information is handled.

About this data

Data as of . Source: FCC Universal Licensing System (ULS) weekly amateur license database; county from U.S. Census Bureau geocoding. Aggregates only, no individual licensee data is shown. Aggregate figures © Ham Recruiter, CC BY 4.0.

How we count

  • New ham: an active licensee whose first license was granted in the period.
  • Address updates: a change of FCC mailing address, often a move into the area.
  • Counts use each licensee’s current FCC address. Someone licensed here who later moved is counted where they live now.
  • Each license keeps only its most recent event of each type, so two upgrades in one year count once.
  • PO-box-only addresses often can’t be matched to a county, so rural counties are slightly undercounted.

100% of Colorado licensees could be matched to a county.