The statewide population data presented in this document should assist education program planners and policymakers in making judgments about the priority educational needs of adults in different areas of Colorado. Arranged into 4 major sections, the document presents over 35 statistical tables about Colorado's population size and growth, age and sex characteristics, urban and rural distribution, race and Spanish-origin, family and household size, marital status, household income, educational characteristics, labor force characteristics, and in-migration. The first section provides background information for users of Census and Source Book data. The second section examines Colorado's population as a whole, with comparisons between 1970 and 1980, and between Colorado and nationwide data. The third section allows comparisons to be made within the state, by presenting population characteristics of people living in eight multi-county areas. The appendices include data for each of Colorado's 63 counties and 4 geographic regions, and a sample survey questionnaire. According to the data, two rural regions, the San Luis Valley and the South East, are less affluent than their urban and metropolitan counterparts, with greater proportions of agricultural and government workers, young children and older people, and adults with less than 12 years of schooling. (LH)