Fremont County occupies 1,533 square miles of dramatic south-central Colorado terrain where the Arkansas River cuts through the Rocky Mountains, creating the Royal Gorge — a 1,000-foot-deep canyon that is one of Colorado’s most spectacular natural landmarks. The county seat, Cañon City (~17,300), sits at the canyon’s eastern mouth at an elevation of 5,332 feet, where the high plains meet the mountains in a landscape that has supported farming, ranching, mining, railroads, tourism, and one uniquely concentrated industry: corrections. Fremont County holds a distinction that is simultaneously practical and sobering — it is the county with the largest proportion of incarcerated residents of any county in the United States. With 15 correctional facilities, including the only federal Supermax prison in the country (ADX Florence), more than half the jobs in the county stem from the corrections industry, and approximately 20% of the county’s counted population is held in its prisons.
All landlord-tenant matters in Fremont County are governed by Colorado Revised Statutes (CRS) Title 38, Article 12, including the 2024 reforms (HB 24-1098 just-cause eviction, SB 24-094 habitability). The county’s median household income is approximately $61,027; median property value is $324,000 (2024, up 14.9% year-over-year); and the poverty rate in Cañon City is approximately 13.4%. The corrections workforce — officers and staff at the state and federal facilities — represents the county’s most financially stable and consistent tenant pool. Tourism (Royal Gorge Bridge and Park, Royal Gorge Route Railroad, whitewater rafting on the Arkansas) is a secondary economic driver. Evictions are filed in Fremont County Combined Court in Cañon City (11th Judicial District).
SB 24-094: 72hr begin remedial action; 24hr life-safety
Late Fee Grace Period
7 days; max $50 or 5% past-due rent
Security Deposit Return
30 days; triple damages for wrongful withholding
Court
Fremont County Combined Court — Cañon City (11th Judicial District)
HB 25-1249
Security deposit cap: 1 month’s rent (effective Jan 1, 2026)
Fremont County Landlord Rules & Colorado Law
CRS Title 38 provisions and Fremont County-specific considerations for landlords in the Cañon City area
Category
Details
Prison Census Distortion
Fremont County leads the nation in the proportion of its counted population that is incarcerated. Approximately 20% of the county’s census-counted population is held in its 15 correctional facilities — state prisons in and around Cañon City, and the Federal Correctional Complex near Florence. This means that county-level demographic statistics — median age, sex ratio, income, race — are significantly distorted by the prison population counted at facility addresses. The reported male-to-female ratio in Cañon City (108.1 males per 100 females) partially reflects this effect. For landlords, the actual civilian rental market is much smaller than raw population figures suggest. The relevant civilian workforce is the corrections officer and support staff community, not the incarcerated population.
Corrections Economy & Stable Tenant Profiles
More than half the jobs in Fremont County stem directly from the corrections industry. The Colorado Department of Corrections operates nine state facilities in and around Cañon City, including the Colorado State Penitentiary (state death row and execution chamber), Centennial Correctional Facility, Fremont Correctional Facility, Arrowhead Correctional Center, Four Mile Correctional Center, and Skyline Correctional Center. The Federal Bureau of Prisons operates the Federal Correctional Complex near Florence, which includes the Administrative Maximum Penitentiary (ADX) — the only federal Supermax prison in the United States. Corrections officers and federal BOP staff are among the most financially stable tenant profiles available in any rural Colorado county: government wages, strong benefits packages, union protections for state employees, and federal pay scales for BOP staff. These workers represent a low-default, long-tenure tenant population that is the primary target for serious Fremont County landlords.
Just-Cause Eviction (HB 24-1098)
Effective April 19, 2024. Landlords must have cause to evict or non-renew residential tenants who have occupied a unit for 12+ months. No-fault non-renewals require 90 days’ written notice. Valid causes include: nonpayment, material lease violations, criminal activity, nuisance, landlord/family occupancy, sale, substantial renovation, or withdrawal from market. Exemptions: owner-occupied SFH/duplex/triplex, sub-12-month tenancies, STRs, employer housing. Given the corrections workforce’s tendency toward long, stable tenancies, most Fremont County landlords renting to CO or BOP staff will encounter HB 24-1098’s protections routinely — these are tenants who stay, and the just-cause framework protects them at renewal.
Habitability (SB 24-094) & Arkansas Valley Climate
Effective May 3, 2024. Landlords must begin remedial action within 72 hours of written notice of uninhabitable conditions, and within 24 hours for life-safety issues. Cañon City sits at 5,332 feet in the Arkansas River valley, with a climate that is significantly warmer and drier than Colorado’s higher-elevation communities — the city is sometimes called the “Climate Capital of Colorado” for its mild winters. However, cold snaps do occur, and heating system failures remain 24-hour life-safety obligations. The Arkansas River corridor is also subject to occasional flash flooding in the canyon area. Landlords of properties near waterways should be aware of flood zone designations and ensure flood insurance as appropriate.
Security Deposits & HB 25-1249
Effective January 1, 2026, HB 25-1249 caps security deposits at one month’s rent. In Fremont County’s market, where rents for a 3-bedroom house near the prison complex might run $1,400–$2,000/month, the one-month cap is manageable but emphasizes the importance of thorough move-in documentation. Return within 30 days (60 days if agreed); itemized statement required; triple damages for wrongful withholding. Late fees: 7-day grace period; max $50 or 5% of past-due rent. One rent increase per 12-month period under Colorado law.
Tourism Economy & Short-Term Rentals
Fremont County’s secondary economic driver is tourism anchored by the Royal Gorge Bridge and Park, the Royal Gorge Route Railroad (scenic excursion train along the Arkansas River through the gorge), and world-class whitewater rafting on the Arkansas River. This tourism base creates a secondary market for short-term rentals, particularly near Cañon City’s historic downtown and along the Arkansas River corridor. STRs in Cañon City should verify current city licensing requirements. STRs are exempt from HB 24-1098’s just-cause provisions, making them an operationally flexible option for landlords in tourist-adjacent areas — though the tourist season is heavily concentrated in summer and fall, creating significant seasonal revenue variance.
Rental Licensing & Local Requirements
Fremont County (unincorporated) has no county-level rental registration or licensing requirement. The City of Cañon City should be consulted for current city-level rental or STR licensing requirements, as municipal policies evolve. Colorado has no statewide residential rental licensing requirement. Out-of-state landlords must comply with Georgia HB 399 — correction: Colorado does not have an equivalent requirement, but out-of-state landlords may wish to establish a local property manager relationship for practical management purposes given Fremont County’s geographic remoteness from major metropolitan areas.
CRS Title 38, Article 12 — statutes, procedures, and landlord rights applicable in Fremont County
⚡ Quick Overview
10
Days Notice (Nonpayment)
10
Days Notice (Violation)
30-50
Avg Total Days
$85
Filing Fee (Approx)
💰 Nonpayment of Rent
Notice Type10-Day Demand for Compliance or Possession
Notice Period10 days
Tenant Can Cure?Yes
Days to Hearing7-14 days
Days to Writ48 hours after judgment days
Total Estimated Timeline30-50 days
Total Estimated Cost$150-$500
⚠️ Watch Out
HB 24-1098 (2024) increased notice period from 3 to 10 days for nonpayment. Tenant can cure by paying full rent owed. Late fees cannot be charged during the 10-day period. Landlord must accept partial payment if offered during notice period in some cases.
Serve the required notice based on the eviction reason (nonpayment or lease violation).
Wait for the notice period to expire. If tenant cures the issue (where allowed), the process stops.
File an eviction case with the County Court. Pay the filing fee (~$85).
Tenant is served with a summons and has the opportunity to respond.
Attend the court hearing and present your case.
If you prevail, obtain a writ of possession from the court.
Law enforcement executes the writ and removes the tenant if necessary.
⚠️ Disclaimer: This page provides general information about Colorado eviction laws and does not constitute legal advice.
Eviction procedures can vary by county and may change over time. Local jurisdictions may have additional requirements or tenant protections.
For specific legal guidance, consult a qualified Colorado attorney or local legal aid organization.
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Nation’s highest proportion of incarcerated residents (20%). 15 prisons including ADX Florence — America’s only federal Supermax. Royal Gorge Bridge (highest suspension bridge in the US, built 1929). Colorado’s first dinosaur bone discovered near Cañon City (1869–70). The Royal Gorge War: D&RG vs. AT&SF railroad battle (1877–1879), settled by the US Supreme Court. “Climate Capital of Colorado” — mild winters at 5,332 ft. World-class whitewater rafting on the Arkansas River.
Fremont County
Target the Corrections Workforce
Fremont County’s most reliable tenants are corrections officers and support staff at the state and federal facilities — government wages, strong benefits, long employment tenure, and genuine investment in community stability. Verify employment via state or federal employee ID and pay stubs. BOP (Bureau of Prisons) federal employees earn competitive federal pay scales. State CO corrections officers earn government wages with PERA retirement benefits. Market properties near Cañon City and Florence to this workforce specifically. Tourism season (summer/fall) creates secondary STR opportunity near the Royal Gorge.
A Landlord’s Guide to Renting in Fremont County, Colorado
Fremont County holds a national distinction that is simultaneously remarkable and easy to misunderstand: it has the highest proportion of incarcerated residents of any county in the United States. Approximately 20% of the county’s census-counted population of roughly 50,000 is held in one of its 15 correctional facilities — nine state prisons operated by the Colorado Department of Corrections in and around Cañon City, and four facilities in the Federal Correctional Complex near Florence, including ADX Florence, the only administrative maximum-security federal prison in the country. For landlords, this statistic is almost entirely irrelevant to the actual rental market, which consists of civilian residents — workers, families, retirees, and tourists — not the incarcerated population. What matters for landlords is what that prison industry has created: one of Colorado’s most stable corrections workforce communities, where government-employed corrections officers and federal Bureau of Prisons staff provide a consistently reliable tenant pipeline.
ADX Florence: America’s Only Federal Supermax
The Administrative Maximum Penitentiary at Florence — known universally as ADX Florence or simply “the Supermax” — is the most secure prison in the United States federal system and houses the most dangerous federal inmates: terrorists, organized crime leaders, and individuals convicted of the most serious federal offenses. Its construction south of Florence was a significant economic event for Fremont County, bringing hundreds of high-paying Bureau of Prisons jobs to the area and establishing the county as the de facto center of American maximum-security incarceration. The Federal Correctional Complex of which ADX is a part also includes a federal prison camp, a medium-security federal correctional institution, and a high-security United States Penitentiary — together employing many hundreds of federal workers who live throughout the Cañon City area and represent some of the county’s highest-income civilian tenants.
The Royal Gorge, the Railroad War, and Colorado’s First Dinosaur
Fremont County’s history is packed with genuinely extraordinary events. The Royal Gorge — a granite canyon a thousand feet deep through which the Arkansas River has carved its way for millennia — was the site of one of the most dramatic episodes in American railroad history: the Royal Gorge War of 1877–1879, in which the Denver and Rio Grande Railway and the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway fought a literal gunfight-punctuated battle for the right to build a rail line through the gorge to the silver mines of Leadville. After gunfights between the rival crews, a legal contest that reached the United States Supreme Court, and months of armed standoff, the D&RG was granted the right to the gorge. The Royal Gorge Route Railroad, which now operates scenic excursion trains through the gorge along this historic right-of-way, is one of Fremont County’s premier tourist attractions.
The Royal Gorge Bridge, completed in 1929 and once the world’s highest suspension bridge at 956 feet above the Arkansas River, remains the centerpiece of the Royal Gorge Bridge and Park and draws hundreds of thousands of visitors annually. And perhaps the most quietly remarkable fact: the first dinosaur bone discovered in Colorado was found near Cañon City in 1869 or 1870, launching a paleontological tradition that continues at Cañon City’s Dinosaur Depot Museum. Cañon City is also known as the “Climate Capital of Colorado” for its unusually mild winters — the Arkansas Valley’s lower elevation and its sheltered position among the mountains produce winters significantly more temperate than most of Colorado at comparable latitudes.
The Rental Market: Corrections Workforce and Tourism
The practical rental market in Fremont County is essentially divided between two tenant populations: the corrections workforce and tourism-season visitors. The corrections workforce — state officers at facilities like the Colorado State Penitentiary, Centennial Correctional Facility, and Fremont Correctional Facility, and federal staff at the Federal Correctional Complex near Florence — provides year-round, long-tenure tenants who are among the most financially reliable in any rural Colorado county. Their income is government-guaranteed, their employment tenure is long, and their lifestyle tends toward stability. Properties near Cañon City’s residential neighborhoods, within reasonable commuting distance of both the state and federal facilities, are the county’s core long-term rental market. The tourism economy creates a secondary STR market, particularly near the Royal Gorge and along the Arkansas River, but this market is heavily seasonal and requires landlords comfortable with vacancy during shoulder and winter months.
Fremont County landlord-tenant matters are governed by CRS Title 38, Article 12. Just-cause eviction (HB 24-1098): 90-day no-fault non-renewal notice required; exemptions for owner-occupied SFH/duplex/triplex, sub-12-month tenancies, STRs, and employer housing. Habitability (SB 24-094): 72-hour begin remedial action; 24-hour for life-safety. Late fees: 7-day grace; max $50 or 5% of past-due rent. Security deposits: HB 25-1249 caps at 1 month’s rent effective January 1, 2026; return within 30 days. Prison census distortion: county-level demographics overstate incarcerated population — civilian rental market is substantially smaller than raw population figures suggest. STR operators: verify current Cañon City licensing requirements before operating. No statewide rent control. One rent increase per 12-month period maximum. Evictions filed in Fremont County Combined Court in Cañon City (11th Judicial District). Consult a licensed Colorado attorney before taking legal action. Last updated: April 2026.
Disclaimer: This page provides general information about landlord-tenant law in Fremont County, Colorado and is not legal advice. Laws change frequently. Always verify current requirements with a licensed Colorado attorney before taking legal action. Last updated: April 2026.
