[2] Routt County comprises the Steamboat Springs, CO Micropolitan Statistical Area.

It was named in honor of John Long Routt, the last territorial and first state governor of Colorado.

Routt County is also home to the Steamboat Springs campus of Colorado Mountain College.

CMC Steamboat is the only college in the United States that offers a degree in Ski & Snowboard Business, which focuses on the retail, manufacturing, and marketing of snowsports.

The one break in this trend came in 1964, when Lyndon Johnson won Routt by a healthy margin of 63–37.

In 1992, Bill Clinton became the first Democrat to win the county since 1964 and only the second since 1948, carrying it with modest pluralities in both of his bids.

This is the largest margin of victory for a Democratic presidential candidate in the county since the 1916 election.