Welcome to Rifle ...
The city of Rifle is located in Garfield County<1>.
We aren't confident of the location of Rifle, so consider the above location as an estimate.<2>
While we don't have a date for the founding of Rifle, you might consider that their post office opened in 1884.
The city was incorporated August 18, 1905.
From the Census Estimates for 2019, Rifle has a population of 9,811 people<3> (see below for details).
Rifle is 5,450 feet [1,661 m] above sea level.<4> In other words, the elevation of Rifle is about 1 mile [or ~1¾ km] above sea level.
Time Zone: Rifle lies in the Mountain Time Zone (MST/MDT) and observes daylight saving time
The area code for Rifle: (970)
The ZIP code for Rifle: 81650<5>
Websites for Rifle ...
Official Website: www.rifleco.org/
Chamber of Commerce: www.riflechamber.com/
Population Details ...
Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Rifle had an population of 9,811 people. This is an increase of 6.97% since the 2010 Census (or an increase of 44.62% since the 2000 Census).
At the time of the 2010 Census, Rifle had a population of 9,172 people (or 16.27% of the total population of Garfield County). This makes Rifle the county's 2nd most populous community.
The population of Rifle represents 0.18% of the total population of Colorado (which has 5,029,196 people), making it the state's 48th most populous community.
With a 2010 count of 9,172 people, the population of Rifle increased 35.2% from the 2000 Census (which had a count of 6,784 people).
More information can be found on the Census Page for Rifle.
Communities near Rifle ...
We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Rifle.
- New Castle
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Castle
- New Castle is located in Garfield County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,962 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for New Castle <6>
- Silt
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Silt have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silt
- Silt is located in Garfield County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,109 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Silt <6>
- Parachute
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parachute
- Parachute is located in Garfield County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,114 people
- Former name for Parachute:
- Grand Valley
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Parachute <6>
- Battlement Mesa
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Battlement Mesa have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Battlement Mesa
- Battlement Mesa is located in Garfield County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Battlement Mesa <6>
- Chacra
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chacra
- Chacra is located in Garfield County
- Una
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest) - Collbran
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Collbran have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collbran
- Collbran is located in Mesa County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 727 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Collbran <6>
- Plateau City
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Plateau City have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plateau City
- Plateau City is located in Mesa County
- Glenwood Springs
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenwood Springs
- Glenwood Springs is located in Garfield County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 10,222 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Glenwood Springs <6>
- Cardiff
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
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 Rifle. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Rifle.
Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Rifle. 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 Rifle.
We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Rifle. Our list includes 5 papers. See our Newspapers Page for Rifle.
TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Rifle ...
Looking for more information about Rifle? 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 Rifle, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for Rifle.
Adding Rifle to Our Gazetteer ...
We originally found mention of Rifle 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 Rifle was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<8>
From that list, the Rifle post office opened in 1884.
We also found Rifle in the book titled Business Atlas and Shippers' Guide (1895).
For more details, see References and Mentions for Rifle.
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Rifle: www.rifleco.org/
The official website for Garfield County: www.garfield-county.com/
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 Garfield, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. |
| <2> | An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace. |
| <3> | Population counts have been provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. For more detail, please visit our Census Page for Rifle. |
| <4> | The elevation is an estimate for the area around Rifle - it will be higher in some places and lower in others. |
| <5> | 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 Rifle). When looking for a ZIP Code, whether Rifle or elsewhere, it's always best to check the website of the United States Postal Service (USPS). |
| <6> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <7> | 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. |
| <8> | A copy of their list with background information can be found at: https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/ |