 200px|right|thumb|second douglas county office building in castle rock  200px|right|thumb|the "rock" of castle rock, colorado douglas county is the eighth-most populous of the 64 counties of the u.s. state of colorado. as of the 2010 census, the population was 285,465. the county seat is castle rock. douglas county is part of the denver-aurora-lakewood, co metropolitan statistical area. it is located midway between colorado's two largest cities, denver and colorado springs. douglas county has the highest median household income of any colorado county or statistical equivalent. it is ranked eighth nationally in that category, and has the highest of any county or equivalent not in the northeastern us. ==overview== douglas county is lightly wooded, mostly with ponderosa pine, with broken terrain characterized by mesas, foothills and small streams. cherry creek and plum creek rise in douglas county and flow north toward denver and into the south platte river. both were subject to flash flooding in the past, plum creek being partially responsible for the denver flood of 1965. cherry creek is now dammed. most residents commute to workplaces elsewhere in the metropolitan area outside of the county. suburban development is displacing the ranching economy of the county. == history == douglas county was one of the original 17 co
1861_establishments_in_Colorado_Territory Colorado_counties Douglas_County,_Colorado Populated_places_established_in_1861