Broomfield is a consolidated city and county located in the

U.S. The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...

state of Colorado Colorado is a state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas to the east ...

. It has a consolidated government which operates under Article XX, Sections 10–13 of the Constitution of the State of Colorado. Broomfield's population was 74,112 at the 2020 United States census, making it the 15th most populous municipality and the 12th most populous county in Colorado. Broomfield is a part of the

Denver–Aurora–Lakewood, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area Denver is the central city of a conurbation region in the U.S. state of Colorado. The conurbation includes one continuous region consisting of the six central counties of Adams, Arapahoe, Broomfield, Denver, Douglas, and Jefferson. The Denver regi ...

and the Front Range urban corridor.

History

The Broomfield post office opened on September 26, 1884. Historians speculate that the town was named for the

sorghum ''Sorghum bicolor'', commonly called sorghum () and also known as great millet, broomcorn, guinea corn, durra, imphee, jowar, or milo, is a species in the Poaceae, grass genus ''Sorghum (genus), Sorghum'' cultivated for its grain. The grain i ...

grown in the area, also known as broomcorn, which had stalks that were sold to make brooms and whisk brooms. Several railroads figure in the development of this area. The

Colorado Central Railroad The Colorado Central Railroad was a United States, U.S. railroad company that operated in Colorado and southeastern Wyoming in the late 19th century. It was founded in the Colorado Territory in the wake of the Colorado Gold Rush to ship gold fr ...

built a

narrow-gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge (distance between the rails) narrower than . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curv ...

line from Golden in 1873; the Denver, Utah and Pacific Railroad arrived in 1881; and the Denver, Marshall and Boulder Railway built a line through what is now Broomfield in 1886. The Denver, Utah and Pacific was widened to

standard gauge A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), international gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge in Europe, and SGR in East Africa. It is the ...

in 1889. One of the early names for the area was Zang's Spur, after the railroad spur serving Adolph Zang's grain fields. The Denver–Boulder Turnpike was constructed through the Broomfield area to speed automobile travel between the state capital of

Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

and the university city of

Boulder In geology, a boulder (or rarely bowlder) is a rock fragment with size greater than in diameter. Smaller pieces are called cobbles and pebbles. While a boulder may be small enough to move or roll manually, others are extremely massive. In ...

. Construction of the

toll road A toll road, also known as a turnpike or tollway, is a public or private road for which a fee (or ''Toll (fee), toll'') is assessed for passage. It is a form of road pricing typically implemented to help recoup the costs of road construction and ...

began in 1950 and the turnpike was opened to traffic on January 19, 1952, with the sole toll plaza at Broomfield with access to U.S. Route 287 through the town. The toll to travel from Federal Boulevard in Adams County to Broomfield was 10 cents and the toll from Broomfield to Boulder was 15 cents, or 25 cents for the whole route. The City of Broomfield was incorporated on June 6, 1961, in the southeastern corner of Boulder County. The Denver–Boulder Turnpike was a common

commuting Commuting is periodically recurring travel between a place of residence and place of work or study, where the traveler, referred to as a commuter, leaves the boundary of their home community. By extension, it can sometimes be any regular o ...

route and Broomfield became a popular residential area. On September 14, 1967, having paid off its construction and operating expenses, the turnpike was made free and became the official route of U.S. Route 36 between Denver, Boulder, and the

Rocky Mountain National Park Rocky Mountain National Park is a List of national parks of the United States, national park of the United States located approximately northwest of Denver in north-central Colorado, within the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains. The park is s ...

. The turnpike became the first public toll road in the United States to become free. In the 1990s, after three decades of aggressive annexation, the City of Broomfield had expanded into Adams, Jefferson, and Weld counties in addition to Boulder. City leaders felt increasing chagrin with the need to deal with four different county governments, four separate county sales tax bases, and four separate court districts. They began pushing to make Broomfield a consolidated city-county similar to

, reasoning that they could provide services more responsively if Broomfield had its own county government. The city sought an amendment to the state constitution to create a new county. The amendment was passed in 1998, after which a three-year transition period followed. On November 15, 2001, Broomfield County became the 64th and least extensive county of Colorado. It is the newest county in Colorado (and in the entire United States, if

county equivalents In the United States, a county or county equivalent is an Administrative division, administrative subdivision of a U.S. state, state or territories of the United States, territory, typically with defined geographic Border, boundaries and some ...

are not included).

Geography

Broomfield is located midway between Denver and Boulder along U.S. Routes 36 and 287 at coordinates at an elevation of . At the 2020 United States census, Broomfield had a total area of , including of water. It is the smallest county by area in Colorado, and the 5th smallest in the United States.

Airport

Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport is located in Broomfield.

Major highways

Interstate 25 Interstate 25 (I-25), also known as the Pan-American Freeway, is a major Interstate Highway in the western United States. It is primarily a north–south highway, serving as the main route through New Mexico, Colorado, and Wyoming. I-25 st ...

U.S. Route 36 (Denver–Boulder Turnpike) * US 85

U.S. Route 85 * US 287

U.S. Route 287 * Colorado 7

State Highway 7 * Colorado 121

State Highway 121 * Colorado 128

State Highway 128 * E-470 (tollway) * Northwest Parkway (tollway)

Adjacent counties

* Weld County — northeast * Adams County — southeast * Jefferson County — southwest * Boulder County — northwest

Climate

According to the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

system, Broomfield has a cold

semi-arid climate A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of se ...

(''BSk''). According to the

United States Department of Agriculture The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is an executive department of the United States federal government that aims to meet the needs of commercial farming and livestock food production, promotes agricultural trade and producti ...

, it is in plant

hardiness zone A hardiness zone is a geographic area defined as having a certain average annual minimum temperature, a factor relevant to the survival of many plants. In some systems other statistics are included in the calculations. The original and most widely ...

6a with an average annual extreme minimum temperature of .

Ecology

According to the A. W. Kuchler U.S. potential natural vegetation types, Broomfield would have a

Bouteloua ''Bouteloua'' is a genus of plants in the grass family Poaceae. Members of the genus are commonly known as grama grass. Description ''Bouteloua'' includes both annual and perennial grasses, which frequently form stolons. Species have an inflo ...

/ buffalograss (''65,'' commonly known as grama grass) vegetation type and a

shortgrass prairie The shortgrass prairie is an ecosystem located in the Great Plains of North America. The two most dominant grasses in the shortgrass prairie are blue grama (''Bouteloua gracilis'') and buffalograss (''Bouteloua dactyloides''), the two less domin ...

(''17'') vegetation form.

Demographics

Broomfield is a part of the

. The 2020 census estimated there were 74,112 people living in Broomfield. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was , making it the second most densely populated county in Colorado behind Denver. The racial and ethnic makeup of the city was 76.0% White, 6.9% Asian, 1.3% African American, 0.6% Native American, 0.1% Pacific Islander, and 10.9% from two or more races; additionally, 13.4% were Hispanic or Latino and, by 2023, 8.8% were foreign-born. In 2023, there were 33,563 households, of which 48.0% were married couples living together, 11.4% were cohabiting couple households, 18.7% had a male householder with no spouse/partner present, and 21.9% had a female householder with no spouse/partner present. 22.5% of households had one or more people under 18 years, and 25.6% of households had one or more people 65 years or older. The average household size was 2.28 people, and the average family size was 2.90 people. In 2023, age distribution figures showed 20.2% of residents under the age of 18 and 16.5% age 65 years or older. The median age was 37.9 years and females made up 49.1% of the population. In 2023, the

median household income The median income is the income amount that divides a population into two groups, half having an income above that amount, and half having an income below that amount. It may differ from the mean (or average) income. Both of these are ways of und ...

in Broomfield was $112,139 and the median family income was $130,920. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the city was $59,679, with 5.3% of the population living below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

and 2.7% without health care coverage. By 2018–2022 estimates, Broomfield had the 3rd highest median household income among Colorado counties and the 40th highest in the United States; for families, the median income was the 2nd highest among Colorado counties and the 18th highest in the United States. In 2023, the educational attainment of residents over age 25 included 97.0% being high school graduates (or higher), 58.8% holding a bachelor's degree (or higher), and 25.6% holding a graduate or professional degree.

Politics

When the county was formed in 2001, it was a swing county, and it has voted for the winner of Colorado's electoral votes since then. In the 2012 election, incumbent president and Democrat

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

defeated Republican

Mitt Romney Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American businessman and retired politician. He served as a United States Senate, United States senator from Utah from 2019 to 2025 and as the 70th governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007 ...

by roughly five percentage points. In recent years, the county has trended towards the Democratic Party, in line with the rest of the Denver area. In 2016, it voted decisively for

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer and diplomat. She was the 67th United States secretary of state in the administration of Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, a U.S. senator represent ...

Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...

won the county by a larger margin in 2020, and

Kamala Harris Kamala Devi Harris ( ; born October 20, 1964) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 49th vice president of the United States from 2021 to 2025 under President Joe Biden. She is the first female, first African American, and ...

won the county by an even larger margin in 2024. As of May 1, 2025, among 56,180 active registered voters in Broomfield, 15,249 were Democrats, 10,491 were Republicans, and 29,334 were not affiliated with any party.

Economy

In the 1990s, Broomfield and other area suburbs experienced tremendous economic growth, much of it focused in

technology Technology is the application of Conceptual model, conceptual knowledge to achieve practical goals, especially in a reproducible way. The word ''technology'' can also mean the products resulting from such efforts, including both tangible too ...

. The FlatIron Crossing mall is a large shopping and entertainment center, anchored by Dick's Sporting Goods,

Macy's Macy's is an American department store chain founded in 1858 by Rowland Hussey Macy. The first store was located in Manhattan on Sixth Avenue between 13th and 14th Streets, south of the present-day flagship store at Herald Square on West 34 ...

, and

Forever 21 F21 OpCo LLC, trade name, doing business as Forever 21, was a multinational fast-fashion retailer. It was originally founded as Fashion 21 in Highland Park, Los Angeles, Highland Park, Los Angeles in 1984.Forever 21History & Facts, n.d. Retrieved ...

. Crocs, Vail Resorts, MWH Global, Flatiron Construction,

Webroot Webroot Inc. is an American privately-held cybersecurity software company that provides Internet security for consumers and businesses. The company was founded in Boulder, Colorado, US, and is now headquartered in Broomfield, Colorado, and ha ...

, Noodles & Company, and Mrs. Fields are headquartered in Broomfield.

Top employers

According to Broomfield's 2023 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the city are:

Media

The '' Broomfield Enterprise'' is the local newspaper. KBDI-TV, the secondary

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

member station for the Denver area, is licensed to Broomfield.

Recreation

Broomfield's recreational opportunities include the Paul Derda Recreation Center and pool, athletic fields, courts and rinks and open space and trails. Broomfield has an extensive trail system that connects the various lakes and parks. A scenic trail connects the Stearns Lake and the Josh's Pond memorial on the west side of town. Broomfield also has a 9/11 memorial containing a piece of a steel beam from one of the towers. Broomfield also has a skate park with many different features such as bowls, a large half-pipe and several "street" obstacles. The Broomfield Community Center (renovated in 2020) offers a wide variety of fitness classes, senior activities, and hosts swim meets and kids' camps for the whole city and county. A few of the favorite outdoor activities of Broomfield residents are tennis and golf. There are a large number of golf courses and tennis courts open to the public. Broomfield Community Center also hosts other Denver metro cities in their center, mainly for pickleball games and tournaments.

Government

Broomfield's leadership includes the Mayor, the Mayor Pro Tem, the City and County Manager, Attorney, and City Council members.

Mayor

* Mayor — Guyleen Castriotta * Mayor Pro-Tem — Deven Shaff

City officials

* City and County Manager — Jennifer Hoffman * City and County Attorney — Nancy Rodgers Recreation Center

City Council members

* Ward 1 ** Kenny Nguyen ** James Marsh-Holschen * Ward 2 ** Paloma Delgadillo ** Austin Ward * Ward 3 ** Jean Lim ** Deven Shaff * Ward 4 ** Bruce Leslie ** Laurie Anderson * Ward 5 ** Heidi Henkel ** Todd Cohen

Sheriff and county commissioners

Broomfield operates as a

consolidated city-county In local government in the United States, United States local government, a consolidated city-county (#Terminology, see below for alternative terms) is formed when one or more city, cities and their surrounding County (United States), county (Lis ...

. The city council acts simultaneously as the board of county commissioners, and the police chief is simultaneously the county sheriff. The Broomfield Police Department performs all of the duties that would normally be performed by a county sheriff's office, including operating the county jail (detention center), providing security and bailiff services for the Broomfield Municipal, County, and District Courts and the Combined Courts Building, and providing civil process in the county. The police chief can be hired or fired at will by the city council, which makes Broomfield's sheriff, along with Denver's, the only non-elected sheriffs in the state.

Education

Since Broomfield used to be divided among four counties, students living in the city were served by the separate school districts for their county. While the city is now united within one county, it is still separated among 6 school districts: * Boulder Valley School District * 27J Schools * Weld County School District RE-8 * Jefferson County Public Schools * St. Vrain Valley School District * Adams 12 Five Star Schools Of Colorado's 10 largest school districts, 4 ( Jefferson County, Adams 12 Five Star, St. Vrain Valley, and Boulder Valley) have sections in Broomfield. Broomfield features two large public high schools ( Broomfield High School and Legacy High School), two public middle schools, and eight public elementary schools. There are four private schools: Brightmont Academy, a 1-to-1 school for all grade levels; Broomfield Academy, with an academic preschool, an elementary school, and a middle school; Holy Family, a Catholic high school; and Nativity of Our Lord Parish, a Catholic elementary school. Broomfield also contains two K–12 charter schools — Prospect Ridge Academy and Front Range Academy, which has two Broomfield campuses.

Notable people

Notable individuals who were born in or have lived in Broomfield (or both) include: *

Mark Boslough Mark Boslough is an American physicist at Los Alamos National Laboratory, research professor at University of New Mexico, fellow of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry, and chair of the Asteroid Day Expert Panel. He is an expert in the study of ...

, physicist * Drew Brown, musician, guitarist for

OneRepublic OneRepublic is an American pop rock band from Colorado Springs, Colorado, formed in 2002. The lineup currently consists of Ryan Tedder (lead vocals, piano), Zach Filkins (guitar, viola), Drew Brown (musician), Drew Brown (guitar), Brent Kutzle ( ...

and Debate Team * David Hale Hand, son of

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

and

Gaumont-British The Gaumont-British Picture Corporation was a British company that produced and distributed films and operated a cinema chain in the United Kingdom. It was established as an offshoot of France's Gaumont (company), Gaumont. Film production Gaumo ...

animator David Hand * Dianne Primavera, 50th Lieutenant Governor of Colorado and former member of the

Colorado House of Representatives The Colorado House of Representatives is the lower house of the Colorado General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Colorado. The House is composed of 65 members from an equal number of constituent districts, with each distri ...

* Anna Prins, basketball center * Vince Russo, pro wrestling personality and podcaster * Steve Schmuhl, swimmer * Mike Wilpolt, football wide receiver, defensive back, coach *

Cat Zingano Cat Zingano (née Albert; born July 1, 1982) is an American mixed martial artist, currently signed to Bellator MMA, competing in the Women's Featherweight division. Zingano also competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), and on Apri ...

, bantamweight MMA fighter

Sister city

Broomfield has a

sister city A sister city or a twin town relationship is a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties. While there are early examples of inte ...

, as designated by

Sister Cities International Sister Cities International (SCI) is a non-governmental organization (NGO) with the goal of facilitating partnerships between communities within the United States and other countries by establishing sister cities. Sister cities are agreements of ...

: * Ueda,

Nagano Prefecture is a Landlocked country, landlocked Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Nagano Prefecture has a population of 2,007,682 () and has a geographic area of . Nagano Prefecture borders Niigata Prefecture ...

, Japan

References

External links

City and County of BroomfieldState of Colorado

History Colorado
{{authority control Cities in Colorado Colorado counties Denver metropolitan area County seats in Colorado Populated places established in 1961 Consolidated city-counties 1961 establishments in Colorado