Boulder is a home rule city in

Boulder County, Colorado Boulder County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado of the United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 330,758. The most populous municipality in the county and the county seat is Boulder. Boulder County comprises th ...

, United States, and its

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

. With a population of 108,250 at the 2020 census, it is the most populous city in the county and the 12th-most populous city in Colorado. It is the principal city of the Boulder metropolitan statistical area, which had 330,758 residents in 2020 and is part of the Front Range Urban Corridor. Boulder is located at the base of the foothills of the

Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in great-circle distance, straight-line distance from the northernmost part of Western Can ...

, at an elevation of above sea level. The city is northwest of the Colorado 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 ...

. Boulder is a

college town A college town or university town is a town or city whose character is dominated by a college or university and their associated culture, often characterised by the student population making up 20 percent of the population of the community, bu ...

, hosting the

University of Colorado Boulder The University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder, CU, or Colorado) is a public research university in Boulder, Colorado, United States. Founded in 1876, five months before Colorado became a state, it is the flagship university of the University o ...

, the flagship and largest campus of the

University of Colorado The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: the University of Colorado Boulder, the University of Colorado Colorado Springs, the University of Colorado Denver, and the U ...

system as well as numerous

research institute A research institute, research centre, or research organization is an establishment founded for doing research. Research institutes may specialize in basic research or may be oriented to applied research. Although the term often implies natural ...

s. Starting in 2027, Boulder will become the new home of the

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with 423,234 combined in-person and online viewership in 2023. The festival has acted ...

History

Archaeological evidence shows that Boulder Valley has been continuously inhabited by Native American tribes for over 13,000 years, beginning in the late Pleistocene era. Throughout the Paleo-Indian, Archaic, and Late Prehistoric periods, indigenous peoples moved seasonally between the mountains and plains, taking shelter in winter along the Front Range trough where Boulder now lies. By the 1500s, the area was occupied by Ute tribes, joined by

Arapaho The Arapaho ( ; , ) are a Native American people historically living on the plains of Colorado and Wyoming. They were close allies of the Cheyenne tribe and loosely aligned with the Lakota and Dakota. By the 1850s, Arapaho bands formed t ...

tribes in the early 1800s. The Indigenous Nations who have ties to the Boulder Valley include the

Apache The Apache ( ) are several Southern Athabaskan language-speaking peoples of the Southwestern United States, Southwest, the Southern Plains and Northern Mexico. They are linguistically related to the Navajo. They migrated from the Athabascan ho ...

Cheyenne The Cheyenne ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Great Plains. The Cheyenne comprise two Native American tribes, the Só'taeo'o or Só'taétaneo'o (more commonly spelled as Suhtai or Sutaio) and the (also spelled Tsitsistas, The term for th ...

Comanche The Comanche (), or Nʉmʉnʉʉ (, 'the people'), are a Tribe (Native American), Native American tribe from the Great Plains, Southern Plains of the present-day United States. Comanche people today belong to the List of federally recognized tri ...

Kiowa Kiowa ( ) or Cáuigú () people are a Native Americans in the United States, Native American tribe and an Indigenous people of the Great Plains of the United States. They migrated southward from western Montana into the Rocky Mountains in Colora ...

Pawnee Pawnee initially refers to a Native American people and its language: * Pawnee people * Pawnee language Pawnee is also the name of several places in the United States: * Pawnee, Illinois * Pawnee, Kansas * Pawnee, Missouri * Pawnee City, Nebraska * ...

Shoshone The Shoshone or Shoshoni ( or ), also known by the endonym Newe, are an Native Americans in the United States, Indigenous people of the United States with four large cultural/linguistic divisions: * Eastern Shoshone: Wyoming * Northern Shoshon ...

Sioux The Sioux or Oceti Sakowin ( ; Dakota/ Lakota: ) are groups of Native American tribes and First Nations people from the Great Plains of North America. The Sioux have two major linguistic divisions: the Dakota and Lakota peoples (translati ...

, and

Ute Ute or UTE may refer to: * Ute people, a Native American people of the Great Basin * Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah and Ouray Reservation, Utah * Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah * Southern Ute Indian Tribe of the Southern ...

peoples. In the 1800s, Euro-American settlers colonized the area. Boulder was founded in late 1858 when prospectors led by Thomas Aikins arrived at Boulder Canyon during the Colorado Gold Rush. Arapaho leader Niwot allowed them to stay for the winter, but the settlers abused this peaceful approach, and some later took part in the

Sand Creek massacre The Sand Creek massacre (also known as the Chivington massacre, the battle of Sand Creek or the massacre of Cheyenne Indians) was a massacre of Cheyenne and Arapaho people by the U.S. Army in the American Indian Genocide that occurred on No ...

of Arapaho. In early 1859, gold was discovered along Boulder Creek, drawing more miners and merchants to the area. The Boulder City Town Company was formed in February 1859 to establish a settlement at the canyon mouth. The Boulder, Nebraska Territory, post office opened on April 22, 1859. On August 24, 1859, voters of the Pike's Peak mining region approved the formation of the Provisional Government of the Territory of Jefferson, and on November 28, 1859, the extralegal Jefferson Territory created Jackson County with Boulder City as its seat. By 1860, Boulder City had 70 cabins, occupied mainly by Anglo families. Non-whites like Chinese miners and black residents were part of early Boulder, but were rarely pictured. The free

Territory of Colorado The Territory of Colorado was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from February 28, 1861, until August 1, 1876, when it was admitted to the Union as the 38th State of Colorado. The territory was organized i ...

was organized on February 28, 1861, and Boulder County was created on November 1, 1861, with Boulder City as its seat The Arapaho were forced to relocate by the Treaty of Fort Wise. With declining numbers, Niwot's band soon moved to the Cheyenne-Arapaho Reservation. By 1862, the creek had yielded $100,000 in gold, and Boulder's population exceeded 300. On November 7, 1861, the

Colorado General Assembly The Colorado General Assembly is the state legislature of the State of Colorado. It is a bicameral legislature consisting of the Senate and House of Representatives that was created by the 1876 state constitution. Its statutes are codified in ...

passed legislation to locate the University of Colorado in Boulder. The City of Boulder City was incorporated on November 4, 1871. On September 20, 1875, the first cornerstone was laid for the first building (Old Main) on the CU campus. Colorado became a state on August 1, 1876, and the university officially opened on September 5, 1877. The City of Boulder City shortened its name to the City of Boulder. In 1907, Boulder adopted an anti- saloon ordinance. In 1916, statewide

prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic b ...

started in Colorado, and ended with the repeal of national prohibition in 1933.

Housing

Median home prices rose 60% from 2010 to 2015 to $648,200. In 2024, the City Council of Boulder repealed a long-standing law that prevented Boulder from increasing new residential units by more than 1% in a year. In 1959, city voters approved the "Blue Line" city-charter amendment, which restricted city water service to altitudes below , to protect the mountain backdrop from development. In 1967, city voters approved a dedicated sales tax to acquire open space to contain

urban sprawl Urban sprawl (also known as suburban sprawl or urban encroachment) is defined as "the spreading of urban developments (such as houses and shopping centers) on undeveloped land near a city". Urban sprawl has been described as the unrestricted ...

. In 1970, Boulder created a "comprehensive plan" to dictate future zoning, transportation, and urban planning decisions. Hoping to preserve residents' views of the mountains, in 1972, the city enacted an ordinance limiting the height of newly constructed buildings. In 1974, a Historic Preservation Code was passed. In 1976, a ''residential-growth management'' ordinance, the Danish Plan, was passed.

Geography

The city of Boulder is located in the Boulder Valley, where the

meet the

Great Plains The Great Plains is a broad expanse of plain, flatland in North America. The region stretches east of the Rocky Mountains, much of it covered in prairie, steppe, and grassland. They are the western part of the Interior Plains, which include th ...

. The

Flatirons The Flatirons are rock formations in the western United States, near Boulder, Colorado, consisting of flatirons. There are five large, numbered Flatirons ranging from north to south (First through Fifth, respectively) along the east slope of ...

, slabs of sedimentary stone tilted up on the foothills, are located west of the city and are a widely recognized symbol of Boulder. Boulder Creek is the primary flow of water through Boulder. The creek was named before the city's founding and its etymology is unknown. It is from Boulder Creek that the city is believed to have taken its name. Boulder Creek has significant water flow, derived primarily from snow melt and minor springs west of the city. The creek flows into St. Vrain Creek east of

Longmont Longmont is a home rule municipality located in Boulder and Weld counties, Colorado, United States. Its population was 98,885 . Longmont is located northeast of the county seat of Boulder. It is named after Longs Peak, a prominent mountain th ...

, which is a tributary of the

South Platte River The South Platte River is one of the two principal tributaries of the Platte River. Flowing through the U.S. states of Colorado and Nebraska, it is itself a major river of the American Midwestern United States, Midwest and the American Sou ...

. At the 2020 United States census, the city had a total area of , including of water. The 40th parallel, 40 degrees north latitude, runs through Boulder and can be easily recognized as Baseline Road today. Boulder lies in a wide basin beneath Flagstaff Mountain just a few miles east of the continental divide and about northwest of Denver. Arapahoe Glacier provides water for the city, along with Boulder Creek, which flows through the center of the city.

Denver International Airport Denver International Airport , often referred to by locals as DIA, is an international airport in the Western United States, primarily serving metropolitan Denver, Colorado, as well as the greater Front Range Urban Corridor. At , Effective Ju ...

is located east-southeast of Boulder.

Environment

In 1899, government preservation of open space around Boulder began, with the

Congress of the United States The United States Congress is the legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a bicameral legislature, including a lower body, the U.S. House of Representatives, and an upper body, the U.S. Senate. They both ...

approving the allocation of of mountain backdrop/watershed extending from South Boulder Creek to Sunshine Canyon.

Wildlife protection

Boulder has created an Urban Wildlife Management Plan which sets policies for managing and protecting urban wildlife. The city's Parks and Recreation and Open Space and Mountain Parks departments have volunteers who monitor parks, including wetlands, lakes, etc., to protect ecosystems. From time to time, parks and hiking trails are closed to conserve or restore ecosystems. Traditionally, Boulder has avoided using chemical

pesticides Pesticides are substances that are used to pest control, control pest (organism), pests. They include herbicides, insecticides, nematicides, fungicides, and many others (see table). The most common of these are herbicides, which account for a ...

to control the insect population. However, with the threat of

West Nile virus West Nile virus (WNV) is a single-stranded RNA virus that causes West Nile fever. It is a member of the family ''Flaviviridae'', from the genus ''Flavivirus'', which also contains the Zika virus, dengue virus, and yellow fever virus. The virus ...

, the city began an integrative plan to control the mosquito population in 2003 that includes chemical pesticides. Residents can opt out of the program by contacting the city and asking that their areas not be sprayed. Under Boulder law, exterminating

prairie dogs Prairie dogs (genus ''Cynomys'') are herbivorous burrowing ground squirrels native to the grasslands of North America. There are five recognized species of prairie dog: black-tailed, white-tailed, Gunnison's, Utah, and Mexican prairie dogs. ...

requires a permit. In 2005, the city experimented with using goats for weed control in environmentally sensitive areas. Goats naturally consume diffuse

knapweed ''Centaurea'' () is a genus of over 700 species of herbaceous thistle-like flowering plants in the family Asteraceae. Members of the genus are found only north of the equator, mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere; the Middle East and surrounding ...

and

Canada thistle ''Cirsium arvense'' is a perennial species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae, native throughout Europe and western Asia, northern Africa and widely introduced elsewhere.Joint Nature Conservation Committee''Cirsium arvense'' The standa ...

, and although the program was not as effective as it was hoped, goats will still be considered in future weed control projects. In 2010, goats were used to keep weeds under control at the Boulder Reservoir. The city's Open Space and Mountain Parks department manages approximately of protected forest land west of the city, in accordance with a 1999 Forest Ecosystem Management Plan. The plan aims to maintain or enhance native plant and animal species, their communities, the ecological processes that sustain them and to reduce the wildfire risk to forest and human communities.

Climate

Boulder has a temperate climate typical for much of the state and receives many sunny or mostly sunny days each year. Boulder is considered

semi-arid A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a aridity, dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below Evapotranspiration#Potential evapotranspiration, potential evapotranspiration, but not as l ...

(Köppen: ''BSk'') or

humid subtropical A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between la ...

(Köppen: ''Cfa'') within 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 ...

due to its relatively high yearly precipitation and average temperatures remaining above year-round. Winter conditions range from generally mild to the occasional bitterly cold. Highs average in the mid to upper 40s °F (7–9 °C). There are 4.6 nights annually where the temperature drops to . Because of

orographic lift Orographic lift occurs when an air mass is forced from a low elevation to a higher elevation as it moves over rising terrain. As the air mass gains altitude it quickly cools down adiabatically, which can raise the relative humidity to 100% and cr ...

, the mountains to the west often dry out the air passing over the

Front Range The Front Range is a mountain range of the Southern Rocky Mountains of North America located in the central portion of the U.S. State of Colorado, and southeastern portion of the U.S. State of Wyoming. It is the first mountain range encounter ...

, shielding the city from precipitation in winter, though heavy snowfalls may occur. Snowfall averages per season. Snow depth is usually shallow. Due to the high elevation, a strong warming sun can quickly melt snow cover during the day and

Chinook wind Chinook winds, or simply Chinooks, are two types of prevailing warm, generally westerly winds in western North America: Coastal Chinooks and interior Chinooks. The coastal Chinooks are persistent seasonal, wet, southwesterly winds blowing in from ...

s bring rapid warm-ups throughout the winter months. Summers are warm, with frequent afternoon thunderstorms. There are roughly 30 days of or above each year.

Diurnal temperature variation In meteorology, diurnal temperature variation is the variation between a high air temperature and a low temperature that occurs during the same day. Temperature lag Temperature lag, also known as thermal inertia, is an important factor in diur ...

is typically large due to the high elevation and semi-arid climate. Daytime highs are generally cooler than those of most Colorado cities with similar elevations. The highest recorded temperature of was on June 25, 2012. The record low was on January 17, 1930. The coldest high temperature, , was on February 4, 1989. The warmest overnight low was on July 20, 1998, with a temperature of

Demographics

Boulder is the principal city of the Boulder, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area.

2020 census

In the 2010 census, there were 97,385 people, 41,302 households, and 16,694 families in the city. The population density was . There were 43,479 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 88.0% White, 0.9% Black or African American, 0.4% Native American, 4.7% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 3.2% some other race, and 2.6% from two or more races. 8.7% of the population were

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race. There were 41,302 households, of which 19.1% had children under 18 living with them, 32.2% were headed by married couples living together, 5.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 59.6% were non-families. 35.8% of all households comprised individuals, and 7.1% were someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.16, and the average family size was 2.84. Boulder's population is younger than the national average, largely due to the presence of university students. The median age at the 2010 census was 28.7 years compared to the U.S. median of 37.2 years. In Boulder, 13.9% of the residents were younger than 18, 29.1% from 18 to 24, 27.6% from 25 to 44, 20.3% from 45 to 64, and 8.9% were 65 or older. For every 100 females, there were 105.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and older, there were 106.2 males. In 2011, the estimated median household income in Boulder was $57,112, and the median family income was $113,681. Male full-time workers had a median income of $71,993 versus $47,574 for females. The per capita income for the city was $37,600. 24.8% of the population and 7.6% of families were below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 17.4% of those under 18 and 6.0% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.

Economy

In 2010, the Boulder MSA had a gross metropolitan product of $18.3 billion, the 110th largest metropolitan economy in the United States. In 2007, Boulder became the first city in the United States to levy a

carbon tax A carbon tax is a tax levied on the carbon emissions from producing goods and services. Carbon taxes are intended to make visible the hidden Social cost of carbon, social costs of carbon emissions. They are designed to reduce greenhouse gas emis ...

. In 2013, Boulder appeared on ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...

'' magazine's list of Best Places for Business and Careers.

Top employers

In the city's 2022 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report, the top employers are:

Arts and culture

Bolder Boulder

Boulder has hosted a 10 km road run, the Bolder Boulder, on

Memorial Day Memorial Day (originally known as Decoration Day) is a federal holiday in the United States for mourning the U.S. military personnel who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces. It is observed on the last Monday of May. It i ...

every year since 1979. The race involves over 50,000 runners, joggers, walkers, and wheelchair racers, making it one of the largest road races in the world. It has the largest non-

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of kilometres ( 26 mi 385 yd), usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There ...

prize purse in road racing. The race culminates at

Folsom Field Folsom Field is an outdoor college football stadium located on the campus of the University of Colorado in Boulder, Colorado. It is the home field of the Colorado Buffaloes of the Big 12 Conference. Opened in 1924, the horseshoe-shaped s ...

with a Memorial Day Tribute. The 2007 race featured over 54,000 runners, walkers, and wheelchair racers, making it the largest race in the US in which all participants are timed and the fifth largest road race in the world.

Music

Founded in 1958, the

Boulder Philharmonic Orchestra The Boulder Philharmonic Orchestra, founded in 1958, is a professional symphony orchestra based in Boulder, Colorado. It is led by Music Director Michael Butterman. The Boulder Philharmonic's season at Macky Auditorium on the University of Color ...

is a professional orchestra under the leadership of its Music Director Michael Butterman. Founded in 1976 by

Giora Bernstein Giora Bernstein (; born 1933) is a conductor, classical violinist, and Professor Emeritus of Music at the University of Colorado.International Leo Kestenberg Society He was the founder of the Colorado Music Festival and its Artistic Director for 2 ...

, the Colorado Music Festival presents a summer series of concerts in Chautauqua Auditorium. Founded in 1981, the Boulder Bach Festival is an annual festival celebrating the life, legacy, and music of J.S. Bach. The festival is led by Executive Director

Zachary Carrettin Zachary Carrettin is an American violinist, violist, conductor, and music educator. Carrettin is currently the Music Director of Boulder Bach Festival. Education Mr. Carrettin holds Bachelor and Master of Music degrees in violin performance from ...

and Artistic Director Mina Gajic. Founded in 1988, Colorado MahlerFest celebrates the legacy of composer Gustav Mahler through an annual festival. Under Artistic Director

Kenneth Woods Kenneth Allen Woods (born 1968) is an American conductor, composer and cellist, resident in the UK. Early career Woods studied conducting at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. His subsequent conducting mentors have includ ...

, The Colorado MahlerFest Orchestra draws together young professionals, conservatory and university students, and advanced amateurs.

Dance

Boulder is home to multiple dance companies and establishments. Boulder Ballet was founded by former

American Ballet Theatre American Ballet Theatre (ABT) is a classical ballet company based in New York City. Founded in 1939 by Lucia Chase and Richard Pleasant. Through 2019, it had an annual eight-week season at the Metropolitan Opera House (Lincoln Center) in the spr ...

dancer Larry Boyette in the 1970s as part of the Ballet Arts Studios. Lemon Sponge Cake Contemporary Ballet was founded in 2004 by Robert Sher-Machherndl, former principal dancer of the

Dutch National Ballet The Dutch National Ballet ( Dutch: Het Nationale Ballet) is the official and largest ballet company in the Netherlands. Its forerunners were Ballet Der Lage Landen, Ballet of the Nederlandse Opera, Amsterdam Ballet, and Netherlands Ballet (Nederl ...

and

Bavarian State Ballet The Bavarian State Ballet () is a professional ballet company in Munich, Germany. It was founded in 1988 by Konstanze Vernon as an independent company. The ballet had previously been part of the ''Bayerische Staatsoper''. In a broader sense, Bav ...

Conference on World Affairs

The

Conference on World Affairs The Conference on World Affairs (CWA) is an annual conference, featuring panel discussions among experts in international affairs and other areas, founded by sociologist Howard Higman and hosted by the University of Colorado Boulder since 1948. ...

, started in 1948, is an annual one-week conference featuring dozens of discussion panels on contemporary issues.

''eTown''

The internationally syndicated radio program '' eTown'' has its headquarters at eTown Hall, at the intersection of 16th and Spruce Streets, in downtown Boulder. Most tapings of this weekly show are done at eTown Hall.

Polar Bear Plunge

Beginning in 1983, hundreds of people head to the Boulder Reservoir on New Year's Day to take part in the annual

polar bear plunge A polar bear plunge is an event held during the winter where participants enter a body of water despite the low temperature. In the United States, polar bear plunges are usually held to raise money for a charitable organization. In Canada, pol ...

. With rescue teams standing by, participants use a variety of techniques to plunge themselves into the freezing reservoir.

Naked Pumpkin Run

Starting in 1998, dozens of people have taken part in a

Halloween Halloween, or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve), is a celebration geography of Halloween, observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christianity, Western Christian f ...

run down the city's streets wearing only shoes and a hollowed-out pumpkin on their heads. In 2009, local police threatened participants with charges of

indecent exposure Indecent exposure is the deliberate public exposure by a person of a portion of their body in a manner contrary to local standards of appropriate behavior. Laws and social attitudes regarding indecent exposure vary significantly in different ...

, and no naked runners were reported in official newscasts, although a few naked runners were observed by locals. Several illegal attempts, resulting in arrests, have been made to restart the run, but no serious effort has been mounted.

Boulder Cruiser Ride

The Happy Thursday Cruiser Ride is a weekly bicycle ride in Boulder Colorado. The Boulder Cruiser Ride grew from a group of friends and friends of friends in the early '90s riding bicycles around Boulder into the social cycling event it is today. Some enthusiasts gather wearing costumes and decorating their bikes; themes are an integral part of the cruiser tradition. Boulder Police began following the cruiser ride as it gained in popularity in the early 2000s. Issues with underage drinking, reckless bicycle riding, and other nuisance complaints led organizers to drop the cruiser ride as a public event. Returning to an underground format, where enthusiasts must become part of the social network before gaining access to event sites, the Boulder Cruiser Ride has continued as a local tradition. On May 30, 2013, over 400 riders attended the Thursday-night Cruiser Ride in honor of "Big Boy", an elk that was shot and killed on New Year's Day by an on-duty Boulder Police officer.

World's Shortest St. Patrick's Day Parade

Each year, the

Independent Order of Odd Fellows The Independent Order of Odd Fellows (IOOF) is a non-political, non-sectarian international fraternal order of Odd Fellowship. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Wildey in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Evolving from the Odd Fellows, Order ...

hosts what they claim is the world's shortest

St. Patrick's Day Saint Patrick's Day, or the Feast of Saint Patrick (), is a religious and cultural holiday held on 17 March, the traditional death date of Saint Patrick (), the foremost patron saint of Ireland. Saint Patrick's Day was made an official Chri ...

Parade, which extends just one city block.

Boulder International Film Festival

Founded in 2005, the

Boulder International Film Festival The Boulder International Film Festival (BIFF) is held annually in March in Boulder, Colorado. BIFF features films by new and emerging filmmakers, as well as industry directors, writers, producers, and actors. There are 25,000 attendances annual ...

is held annually in March and showcases films in different venues around Boulder, including the Boulder Theater.

Sundance Film Festival

Starting in 2027, Boulder will become the new host for the

. Under the terms of the contract, the festival will be held in Boulder for 10 years until 2037, with an option to extend. Boulder is around 10x larger than the original (and only) host city Sundance was based in,

Park City, Utah Park City is a city in Utah, United States. Most of the city is within Summit County, Utah, Summit County, with some portions extending into Wasatch County, Utah, Wasatch County. It is considered to be part of the Wasatch Back. The city is sou ...

. Boulder defeated rival bids from

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. The city is the core of the Salt Lake Ci ...

-Park City and

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

Parks and recreation

Boulder is surrounded by thousands of acres of recreational open space, conservation easements, and nature preserves. Almost 60%, , of open space totaling is open to the public. The unincorporated community of Eldorado Springs, south of Boulder, is home to

rock climbing Rock climbing is a climbing sports discipline that involves ascending climbing routes, routes consisting of natural rock in an outdoor environment, or on artificial resin climbing walls in a mostly indoor environment. Routes are documented in c ...

routes. There are climbing routes available in the city open space, including climbing routes of varying difficulty on the

themselves (traditional protection). Boulder Canyon (sport), directly west of downtown Boulder, has many routes. All three of these areas are affected by seasonal closures for wildlife. Every year on

Groundhog Day Groundhog Day (, , , ; Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia, Lunenburg, Nova Scotia: Daks Day) is a tradition observed regionally in the United States and Canada on February 2 of every year. It derives from the Pennsylvania Dutch superstition that if ...

, Boulder Parks & Open Space hosts a special event at the Chautauqua Ranger Cottage featuring Flatiron Freddy, a stuffed

marmot Marmots are large ground squirrels in the genus ''Marmota'', with 15 species living in Asia, Europe, and North America. These herbivores are active during the summer, when they can often be found in groups, but are not seen during the winter, w ...

instead of a groundhog.

Government

Boulder is a

home rule municipality Statutory city may refer to: * Statutory city (Austria), an Austrian municipality acting as a district administrative authority * Statutory city (Czech Republic), a Czech city with special privileges * Statutory city (United States), a city in the ...

, being

self-governing Self-governance, self-government, self-sovereignty or self-rule is the ability of a person or group to exercise all necessary functions of regulation without intervention from an external authority. It may refer to personal conduct or to any ...

under Article XX of the

Constitution of the State of Colorado The Constitution of the State of Colorado is the foundation of the laws and government of the U.S. state of Colorado. The Colorado State Constitution was drafted on March 14, 1876; approved by Colorado voters on July 1, 1876; and took effect u ...

; Title 31, Article 1, Section 202 of the

Colorado Revised Statutes The ''Colorado Revised Statutes'' (C.R.S.) are a legal code of Colorado, the codified general and permanent statutes of the Colorado General Assembly. Publication The ''Colorado Revised Statutes'' are revised and published by the Revisor o ...

. Politically, Boulder is one of the most liberal and Democratic cities in Colorado when viewed from a Federal and State elections lens. , registered voters in Boulder County were 43.4% Democratic, 14.7% Republican, 1.6% in other parties, and 40.3% unaffiliated. By residents and detractors alike, Boulder is often referred to as the "People's Republic of Boulder". In 1974, the Boulder City Council passed Colorado's first ordinance prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation. Boulder voters repealed the measure by referendum within a year. In 1975, Boulder County Clerk Clela Rorex was the second in the United States ever to grant

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same legal Legal sex and gender, sex. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 38 countries, with a total population of 1.5 ...

licenses, prior to state laws being passed to prevent such issuance. In July 2019, Boulder declared a "climate emergency" and established target dates for achieving 100% renewable electricity, a reduction in

greenhouse gas emissions Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from human activities intensify the greenhouse effect. This contributes to climate change. Carbon dioxide (), from burning fossil fuels such as coal, petroleum, oil, and natural gas, is the main cause of climate chan ...

from city organizations and facilities, an increase in local generation of electricity through renewable sources, and a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from the community. The city created a community-centered process to focus on energy systems, regenerative ecosystems, circular materials economy, land use, and financial systems.

Education

Public schools

The

Boulder Valley School District The Boulder Valley School District No. Re2 is a school district in Colorado, United States. It is headquartered in the BVSD Education Center in unincorporated Boulder County, near Boulder. The district serves Boulder, Gold Hill, Jamestown, ...

(BVSD) administers the public school system in Boulder, aside from a few areas in northeast Boulder, where students attend the St. Vrain Valley School District.

Charter schools

Charter schools A charter school is a school that receives government funding but operates independently of the established state school system in which it is located. It is independent in the sense that it operates according to the basic principle of autono ...

within the city of Boulder include Preparatory High School (9–12), Summit Middle School (6–8), and Horizons Alternative School (K–8).

Private schools

A variety of private high schools, middle schools and elementary schools operate in Boulder.

Colleges and universities

, public university which contributes roughly 46,000 residents (30,000 undergraduate students, 7,000 graduate students and 10,000 staff/faculty) to the population. *

Naropa University Naropa University is a private university in Boulder, Colorado, United States. Founded in 1974 by Tibetan Buddhist teacher Chögyam Trungpa, it is named after the 11th-century Indian Buddhist sage Naropa, an abbot of Nalanda. The university ...

is a private university based on Buddhist principles. It has approximately 400 undergraduate and over 600 graduate students. *

Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts is a Private college, private culinary school with campuses in Boulder, Colorado, Austin, Texas, and online. The school offers culinary arts, Pastry, pastry arts, Hospitality industry, hospitality, food ...

, a culinary school group with campuses in Boulder and

Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...

Science institutes

Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences The Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES) is a research institute that is sponsored jointly by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR) and the Uni ...

(CIRES) * Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere (CIRA) * Center for Astrophysics and Space Astronomy (CASA) * Colorado Center for Astrodynamics Research (CCAR) *

Geological Society of America The Geological Society of America (GSA) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the advancement of the geosciences. History The society was founded in Ithaca, New York, in 1888 by Alexander Winchell, John J. Stevenson, Charles H. Hi ...

, headquartered at 3300 Penrose Place *

Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research The Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research (INSTAAR) is a scientific institute that is part of the University of Colorado Boulder. Its research mission is to " evelopscientific knowledge of physical and biogeochemical environmental processes at ...

(INSTAAR) *

JILA JILA, formerly known as the Joint Institute for Laboratory Astrophysics, is a physical science research institute in the United States. JILA is located on the University of Colorado Boulder campus. JILA was founded in 1962 as a joint institute o ...

(Formerly Joint Institute for Laboratory Astrophysics) *

Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics The Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP) is a research organization at the University of Colorado Boulder. LASP is a research institute with over one hundred research scientists ranging in fields from solar influences, to Earth ...

(LASP) *

National Ecological Observatory Network National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) is a facility program operated by Battelle Memorial Institute and funded by the National Science Foundation. In full operation since 2019, NEON gathers and provides long-term, standardized data on e ...

(NEON) *

National Center for Atmospheric Research The US National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR ) is a US federally funded research and development center (FFRDC) managed by the nonprofit University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) and funded by the National Science Foundat ...

(NCAR) /

University Corporation for Atmospheric Research The University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) is a US nonprofit consortium of more than 100 colleges and universities providing research and training in the atmospheric and related sciences. UCAR manages the National Center for Atmosph ...

(UCAR) **

High Altitude Observatory The High Altitude Observatory (HAO) is a laboratory of the US National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR). HAO operates the Mauna Loa Solar Observatory on Hawaii (island), Hawaii and a research institute in Boulder, Colorado. Its staff condu ...

(HAO) *

National Institute of Standards and Technology The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is an agency of the United States Department of Commerce whose mission is to promote American innovation and industrial competitiveness. NIST's activities are organized into Outline of p ...

(NIST) *

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA ) is an American scientific and regulatory agency charged with Weather forecasting, forecasting weather, monitoring oceanic and atmospheric conditions, Hydrography, charting the seas, ...

(NOAA) **

Earth System Research Laboratories The Earth System Research Laboratories (ESRL) is an alliance of four NOAA scientific labs, all located in the David Skaggs Research Center on the Department of Commerce campus in Boulder, Colorado. Organized under NOAA's Office of Oceanic and At ...

(ESRL) **

Space Weather Prediction Center The Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC), named the Space Environment Center (SEC) until 2007, is a laboratory and service center of the US National Weather Service (NWS), part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), loc ...

(SWPC) *

National Snow and Ice Data Center The National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) is a United States information and referral center in support of polar and cryospheric research. NSIDC archives and distributes digital and analog snow and ice data and also maintains information ab ...

(NSIDC) *

National Solar Observatory The National Solar Observatory (NSO) is a United States federally funded research and development center to advance the knowledge of the physics of the Sun. NSO studies the Sun both as an astronomical object and as the dominant external influen ...

(NSO) *

National Telecommunications and Information Administration The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) is a bureau of the United States Department of Commerce that serves as the president's principal adviser on telecommunications policies pertaining to the United States' ec ...

(NTIA) – Institute for Telecommunication Sciences Boulder *

Renewable and Sustainable Energy Institute A renewable resource (also known as a flow resource) is a natural resource which will replenish to replace the portion depleted by usage and consumption, either through natural reproduction or other recurring processes in a finite amount of ti ...

(RASEI) *

Rocky Mountain Institute RMI, or Rocky Mountain Institute, is a global, independent, non-partisan non-profit organization co-founded in the United States by Amory Lovins. As of 2025, RMI's stated mission is to transform "global energy systems through market-driven solut ...

Southwest Research Institute Southwest Research Institute (SwRI), headquartered in San Antonio, Texas, is an independent and nonprofit applied research and development (R&D) organization. Founded in 1947 by oil businessman Tom Slick, it provides contract research and deve ...

Department of Space Studies * Space Science Institute *

UNAVCO UNAVCO was a non-profit university-governed consortium that facilitated geology research and education using geodesy. Background UNAVCO was funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), ...

National Science Foundation's Geodetic Facility *

United States Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), founded as the Geological Survey, is an agency of the U.S. Department of the Interior whose work spans the disciplines of biology, geography, geology, and hydrology. The agency was founded on Mar ...

(USGS)

Media

Boulder's main daily newspaper, the ''

Daily Camera The ''Daily Camera'' is a newspaper in Boulder, Colorado, United States. It is owned by Prairie Mountain Publishing, a division of Digital First Media which is controlled by Alden Global Capital. History Frederick P. Johnson and Bert Bell foun ...

'', was founded in 1890 as the weekly ''Boulder Camera'', and became a daily newspaper in 1891. The ''

Colorado Daily The ''Colorado Daily'' was a newspaper published in Boulder, Colorado, by Prairie Mountain Publishing Co. LLC, a unit of MediaNews Group. Its final issue was published on September 17, 2022. The ''Daily'' was operated out of the offices of Boul ...

'' was started in 1892 as a university newspaper for CU Boulder. Following many heated controversies over ''Colorado Daily'' political coverage, it severed its ties to the university in 1971. From 1996 to 2000, the ''Boulder Planet'' competed with the ''

Boulder Weekly ''Boulder Weekly'' is an alternative newsweekly that publishes every Thursday in Boulder, Colorado. The paper is a member of the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies (AAN) and is owned and published by Stewart Sallo. Overview After the Loma ...

'' as a free weekly. Newspaper conglomerate Scripps acquired the ''Colorado Daily'' in 2005 after its acquisition of the ''Camera'' in 1997, leaving the ''Boulder Weekly'' as the only locally owned newspaper in Boulder. Scripps relinquished its 50 percent ownership in both daily papers in early 2009 to Media News Group. ''Boulder Magazine'', a lifestyle magazine, was founded in 1978. ''Boulder Magazine'' is published three times per year. Boulder is part of the

market for television stations, and it receives many radio stations based in Denver or Ft. Collins. For cable television, Boulder is served by

Comcast Cable Comcast Cable Communications, LLC, doing business as Xfinity, is an American telecommunications business segment and division of the Comcast Corporation. It is used to market consumer cable television, internet, telephone, and wireless servic ...

. The city operates public service Boulder 8 TV on cable (high- and standard-definition), which airs, live-streams and archives council meetings. With its in-house video production facilities, it also produces news, talk and informational programming. Over-the-air television reception is poor in the western part of the city because of interference from mountains. Non-commercial

community radio Community radio is a radio service offering a third model of radio broadcasting in addition to commercial broadcasting, commercial and public broadcasting. Community broadcasting, Community stations serve geographic communities and communities o ...

station

KGNU KGNU (1390 AM) & KGNU-FM (88.5 FM) are a pair of community radio stations licensed to Denver and Boulder, Colorado respectively. KGNU is owned by Boulder Community Broadcast Association, Inc. History KFML 1390 AM was first licensed on April ...

was founded in 1978 and commercial music station

KBCO KBCO (97.3 FM broadcasting, FM) is a radio station in Boulder, Colorado. It serves Boulder, the Denver metropolitan area, and Northern Colorado. Owned by iHeartMedia, it broadcasts an adult album alternative (AAA) format. Its studios are locat ...

in 1977. KBCO programs an

adult album alternative Adult album alternative (also triple-A, AAA, or adult alternative) is a radio format. See pages 9 and 10Mills, Joshua. "A New Radio Music Format: Rock for Prosperous Adults" New York Times, Feb 28 1994, p. 2. ProQuest. Web. Accessed September 4, ...

format and is owned and operated by

iHeartMedia iHeartMedia, Inc., or CC Media Holdings, Inc., is an American mass media corporation headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It is the holding company of iHeartCommunications, Inc., formerly Clear Channel Communications, Inc., a company founded by ...

. KBCO moved its studios from Boulder to the Denver Tech Center in 2010. It maintains the Boulder license and transmits from atop Eldorado Mountain south of Boulder. KVCU, also known as Radio 1190, is a non-commercial radio station run with the help of university-student volunteers. KVCU started broadcasting in 1998.

NPR National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

programming is heard over KCFC 1490 AM, operated by

Colorado Public Radio Colorado Public Radio (CPR) is a public radio state network based in Denver, Colorado that broadcasts three services: news, classical music and Indie 102.3, which plays adult album alternative music. CPR airs its programming on 15 full-power ...

, and simulcasting Denver station

KCFR KCFR-FM is a radio station in Denver, Colorado, which is owned and operated by Colorado Public Radio and simulcast to several AM and FM stations throughout the state. The signals from some of these stations also extend into eastern Utah and so ...

90.1.

KRKS-FM KRKS-FM (94.7 MHz) is a commercial radio station licensed to Lafayette, Colorado, and serving the Denver-Boulder market and the Denver metropolitan area. The station is owned and operated by the Salem Media Group and it airs a Christian talk and ...

94.7, owned and operated by

Salem Media Group Salem Media Group, Inc. (formerly Salem Communications Corporation) is an American radio broadcaster, internet content provider, and magazine and book publisher based in Irving, Texas, targeting audiences interested in Christian values and wh ...

and affiliated with SRN News, offers a

Christian talk and teaching Christian radio refers to Christian media radio formats that focus on Christian religious broadcasting or various forms of Christian music. Many such formats and programs include contemporary Christian music, gospel music, sermons, radio dramas, ...

format, and has its transmitter located on Lee Hill, northwest of Boulder. The University of Colorado Press, a non-profit co-op of various western universities, publishes academic books, as do

Lynne Rienner Publishers Lynne Rienner Publishers is an independent scholarly and textbook publishing firm based in Boulder, Colorado. It was founded in 1984 and remains one of the few independent publishers in the United States. It publishes primarily in the fields of ...

, Paradigm Publishers, and

Westview Press Westview Press was an American publishing company headquartered in Boulder, Colorado founded in 1975. Field of work Westview primarily publishes textbooks. History Westview Press was founded by Frederick A. Praeger in 1975. Praeger sold ...

Paladin Press Paladin Press was a book publishing firm founded in 1970 by Peder Lund and Robert K. Brown. The company published non-fiction books and videos covering a wide range of specialty topics, including personal and financial freedom, survivalism and ...

book/video publishers and ''Soldier of Fortune'' magazine both have their headquarters in Boulder. Paladin Press was founded in September 1970 by Peder Lund and Robert K. Brown. In 1974, Lund bought out Brown's share of the press, and Brown founded ''Soldier of Fortune'' magazine in 1975.

Infrastructure

Transportation

Descending Boulder Denver Turnpike Into Boulder

Since Boulder has operated under residential growth control ordinances since 1976, the growth of employment in the city has far outstripped population growth. Considerable road traffic enters the city each morning and leaves each afternoon, since many employees live in

, Lafayette,

Louisville Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city; however, by populatio ...

, Broomfield,

Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...

, and

. Boulder is served by

US 36 U.S. Route 36 (US 36) is an east–west United States Numbered Highway that travels approximately from Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado to Uhrichsville, Ohio. The highway's western terminus is at Deer Ridge Junction, an inte ...

and a variety of state highways. Parking regulations in Boulder have been explicitly designed to discourage parking by commuters and to encourage the use of mass transit, with mixed results. Over the years, Boulder has made significant investments in the multi-modal network. The city is now well known for its grade-separated bicycle and pedestrian paths, which are integrated into a network of bicycle lanes, cycle tracks, and on-street bicycle routes. Boulder provides a community transit network that connects downtown, the University of Colorado campuses, and local shopping amenities. Boulder has no rail transit. Local and regional shuttle busses are funded by a variety of sources. Due in part to these investments in pedestrian, bicycle, and transit infrastructure, Boulder has been recognized both nationally and internationally for its transportation system. In 2009, the Boulder metropolitan statistical area (MSA) ranked as the fourth highest in the United States for percentage of commuters who biked to work, at 5.4 percent. In 2013, the Boulder MSA ranked as the fourth lowest in the United States for percentage of workers who commuted by private automobile, at 71.9 percent. During the same time period, 11.1 percent of Boulder area workers had no commute whatsoever: they worked out of the home.

Bus service

Boulder has an extensive bus system operated by the

Regional Transportation District The Regional Transportation District, more commonly referred to as RTD, is the regional agency operating public transit services in all or a portion of eight out of the twelve counties in the Denver–Aurora combined statistical area in the U.S. ...

(RTD). The HOP, SKIP, JUMP, Bound, DASH and Stampede routes run throughout the city and connect to nearby communities with departures every ten minutes during peak hours, Monday-Friday. Other routes, such as the 204, 205, 206, 208 and 209 depart every 15 to 30 minutes. Regional routes, traveling between nearby cities such as Longmont (BOLT, J), Golden (GS), and Denver (

Flatiron Flyer Flatiron Flyer is an express bus system between Denver, Aurora, and Boulder, Colorado, traveling along U.S. Route 36. Different levels of service are available, including a non-stop from Boulder to Union Station in high-occupancy toll lanes (H ...

, a bus rapid transit route), as well as

(AB), are also available. There are over 100 scheduled daily bus trips on seven routes that run between Boulder and Denver on weekdays.

Railroads

Freight service is provided by

Union Pacific The Union Pacific Railroad is a Class I freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pacific is the second largest railroad in the United States after BNSF, ...

and

BNSF BNSF Railway is the largest freight railroad in the United States. One of six North American Class I railroads, BNSF has 36,000 employees, of track in 28 states, and over 8,000 locomotives. It has three transcontinental routes that provide ...

. Currently there is no intercity passenger service. The last remaining services connecting the Front Range cities ceased with the formation of

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

in 1971.

=Future transit plans

Front Range Passenger Rail Front Range Passenger Rail is a proposed Intercity rail, intercity passenger train service along the Front Range urban corridor, Front Range and broader Interstate 25, I-25 corridors in Colorado and Wyoming. Most proposals envision a route from ...

is a current proposal (as of 2023) to link the cities from

Pueblo Pueblo refers to the settlements of the Pueblo peoples, Native American tribes in the Southwestern United States, currently in New Mexico, Arizona, and Texas. The permanent communities, including some of the oldest continually occupied settlement ...

in the south, north to

Fort Collins A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from La ...

and possibly to

Cheyenne, Wyoming Cheyenne ( or ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Wyoming, most populous city of the U.S. state of Wyoming. It is the county seat of Laramie County, Wyoming, Laramie County, with 65,132 reside ...

. A RTD

commuter rail Commuter rail or suburban rail is a Passenger train, passenger rail service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting Commuting, commuters to a Central business district, central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter town ...

route called the Northwest Rail Line, also known as the B Line, is proposed to run from Denver through Boulder to

, with stops in major communities along the way. The Boulder station is to be north of Pearl Street and east of 30th Street. At one time this commuter rail service was scheduled to commence in 2014, but major delays have ensued. In 2016, an initial segment opened, reaching from downtown Denver to southern

at Westminster Station. The remaining of the Northwest Rail Line is planned to be completed by 2044, depending upon funding. These future transit plans, as well as the current Flatiron Flyer Bus Rapid Transit route, are part of

FasTracks FasTracks is a multibillion-dollar public transportation expansion plan under construction in metropolitan Denver, Colorado, United States. Developed by the Regional Transportation District (RTD), the plan consists of new commuter rail, light r ...

, an RTD transit improvement plan funded by a 0.4% increase in the sales tax throughout the Denver metro area. RTD, the developer of FasTracks, is partnering with the city of Boulder to plan a

transit-oriented development In urban planning, transit-oriented development (TOD) is a type of Real estate development, urban development that maximizes the amount of Residential area, residential, business and leisure space within Pedestrian, walking distance of public t ...

near Pearl and 33rd Streets in association with the proposed Boulder commuter rail station. The development is to feature the Boulder Railroad Depot, already relocated to that site, which may be returned to a transit-related use.

Cycling

Boulder, well known for its

bicycle culture Bicycle culture are unwritten rules, social norms, values and infrastructure that support cyclists and shape how cycling takes place. It can refer to a mainstream culture that supports the use of bicycles or to a subculture. Although "bike ...

, has hundreds of miles of bicycle-pedestrian paths, lanes, and routes that interconnect to create a renowned network of bikeways usable year-round. Boulder has 74 bike and pedestrian underpasses that facilitate safer and uninterrupted travel throughout much of the city. The city offers a route-finding website that allows users to map personalized bike routes around the city, and is one of five communities to have received a " Platinum Bicycle Friendly Community" rating from the

League of American Bicyclists League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football * ''League of Legends'', a 2009 multiplayer online battle a ...

. The headquarters of the free and non-obligatory hospitality exchange network for cyclists,

Warm Showers Warm Showers (WS) is a non-profit hospitality exchange service for people engaging in bicycle touring. The platform is a gift economy — hosts are not supposed to charge for lodging and are not bound. The legal form is a Colorado 501(c)(3) non ...

, is based in Boulder. In May 2011, B-cycle bike-sharing opened in Boulder with 100 red bikes and 12 stations.

Airport

Boulder Municipal Airport is located northeast of central Boulder, is owned by the City of Boulder and is used exclusively for

general aviation General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations except for commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services for other ...

, with most traffic consisting of single-engine airplanes and

glider aircraft A glider is a fixed-wing aircraft that is supported in flight by the dynamic reaction of the air against its lifting surfaces, and whose gliding flight, free flight does not depend on an engine. Most gliders do not have an engine, although mot ...

Notable people

Albert Allen Bartlett Albert Allen Bartlett (March 21, 1923 – September 7, 2013) was an American professor of physics at the University of Colorado at Boulder. As of July 2001, Professor Bartlett had lectured over 1,742 times since September 1969 on ''Arithmetic, P ...

, emeritus professor of physics *

Jello Biafra Eric Reed Boucher (born June 17, 1958), known professionally as Jello Biafra, is an American singer, spoken word artist and political activist. He is the former lead singer and songwriter for the San Francisco punk rock band Dead Kennedys. Init ...

Dead Kennedys Dead Kennedys are an American punk rock band that formed in San Francisco, California, in 1978. The band was one of the defining punk bands during its initial eight-year run. Initially consisting of lead guitarist East Bay Ray, bassist Klaus Fl ...

frontman *

Tony Boselli Don Bosco Anthony Boselli Jr. (born April 17, 1972) is an American professional football executive and former player who is the executive vice president of football operations for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League (NFL). ...

, five-time

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (since 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's All-star, star players. The format has changed ...

offensive tackle Offensive may refer to: * Offensive (military), type of military operation * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Fighting words, spoken words which would have a tendency to cause acts of violence by the ...

Bill Bower William Marsh Bower (February 13, 1917 – January 10, 2011) was an American aviator, U.S. Air Force Colonel and veteran of World War II. Bower was the last surviving pilot (e.g., aircraft commander) of the Doolittle Raid, the first air raid ...

, the last surviving pilot who took part in the Doolittle Raid *

Arleigh Burke Arleigh Albert Burke (October 19, 1901 – January 1, 1996) was an Admiral (United States), admiral of the United States Navy who distinguished himself during World War II and the Korean War, and who served as Chief of Naval Operations during th ...

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in many navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force. Admiral is ranked above vice admiral and below admiral of ...

and

Chief of Naval Operations The chief of naval operations (CNO) is the highest-ranking officer of the United States Navy. The position is a statutory office () held by an Admiral (United States), admiral who is a military adviser and deputy to the United States Secretary ...

Scott Carpenter Malcolm Scott Carpenter (May 1, 1925 – October 10, 2013) was an American naval officer and aviator, test pilot, aeronautical engineer, astronaut, and aquanaut. He was one of the Mercury Seven astronauts selected for NASA's Project Mercury ...

Project Mercury Project Mercury was the first human spaceflight program of the United States, running from 1958 through 1963. An early highlight of the Space Race, its goal was to put a man into Earth orbit and return him safely, ideally before the Soviet Un ...

astronaut An astronaut (from the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'star', and (), meaning 'sailor') is a person trained, equipped, and deployed by a List of human spaceflight programs, human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member of a spa ...

Thomas Cech Thomas Robert Cech (born 8 December 1947) is an American chemist who shared the 1989 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Sidney Altman for their discovery of the catalytic properties of RNA. Cech discovered that RNA could itself cut strands of R ...

, chemist who shared the 1989 Nobel Prize in Chemistry * Alonzo Clemons,

sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

and

autistic savant Savant syndrome ( , ) is a phenomenon where someone demonstrates exceptional aptitude in one domain, such as art or mathematics, despite significant social or intellectual impairment. Those with the condition generally have a neurodeve ...

* Nathan Clurman (born 1998), ice hockey player *

Jack Collom John Aldridge Collom (November 8, 1931 – July 2, 2017) was an American poet, essayist, and creative writing pedagogue. Included among the twenty-five books he published during his lifetime were ''Red Car Goes By: Selected Poems 1955–2000''; '' ...

, poet and essayist *

Kristin Davis Kristin Landen Davis (also listed as Kristin Lee Davis; born February 23, 1965) is an American actress and producer. She is known for playing Charlotte York in the HBO romantic comedy series ''Sex and the City'' (1998–2004). She received no ...

, ''

Sex and the City ''Sex and the City'' is an American romantic comedy, romantic comedy-drama television series created by Darren Star for HBO, based on Sex and the City (newspaper column), the newspaper column and 1996 book by Candace Bushnell. It premiered in th ...

'' actress * Joey "CoCo" Diaz, resident during the 1980s and 1990s *

John Fante John Fante (April 8, 1909 – May 8, 1983) was an American novelist, short story writer, and screenwriter. He is best known for his semi-autobiographical novel ''Ask the Dust'' (1939) about the life of Arturo Bandini, a struggling writer in Depre ...

, writer *

Justine Frischmann Justine Elinor Frischmann (born 16 September 1969) is an English artist and retired musician. After forming Suede, she co-founded the Britpop band Elastica before retiring from the music industry and pursuing a career as an artist. Early years ...

, British artist and former lead singer of

Elastica Elastica were an English rock band formed in London in 1992 by guitarist/singer Justine Frischmann and drummer Justin Welch after their departure from Suede. The band was stylistically influenced by punk rock, post-punk and new wave musi ...

* Andrea Gibson, spoken word artist, poet, activist *

Allen Ginsberg Irwin Allen Ginsberg (; June 3, 1926 – April 5, 1997) was an American poet and writer. As a student at Columbia University in the 1940s, he began friendships with Lucien Carr, William S. Burroughs and Jack Kerouac, forming the core of th ...

, poet, taught at

and lived much of his life in Boulder * Michael Grab, Canadian-born artist specializing in

rock balancing Rock balancing (also stone balancing, or stacking) is a form of recreation or artistic expression in which Rock (geology), rocks are piled in balanced stacks, often in a precarious manner. Conservationists and park services have expressed con ...

and photography *

Tyler Haney Tyler Haney is an American entrepreneur. She cofounded athletic wear company Outdoor Voices in 2013. Early life and education Tyler Haney was born in Long Beach, California, where her mother, Jenn, was a hair stylist and her father, Bob, worke ...

, founder of

Outdoor Voices Outdoor Voices (sometimes just O.V.) is an American clothing company focused on the design and sale of athletic apparel. The company was cofounded in 2013 by Tyler Haney and Matt McIntyre in New York City, and is now headquartered in Austin, Texas ...

Matt Hasselbeck Matthew Michael Hasselbeck (born September 25, 1975) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons, primarily with the Seattle Seahawks. He played college football for t ...

, three-time

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

* Carrie Ingalls (''

Little House on the Prairie The ''Little House on the Prairie'' books comprise a series of American children's novels written by Laura Ingalls Wilder (b. Laura Elizabeth Ingalls). The stories are based on her childhood and adulthood in the Midwestern United States, Americ ...

''), lived in Boulder 1905–1906 *

Scott Jurek Scott Gordon Jurek (born October 26, 1973) is an American ultramarathoner, author, and public speaker. Throughout his running career, Jurek was one of the most dominant ultramarathon runners in the world, winning the Hardrock Hundred (2007), t ...

, ultramarathoner, writer and public speaker * Hanna Kroeger, vendor of health food and alternative medicine products * Eagle Wynne McMahon, professional disc golf player *

Kimbal Musk Kimbal James Musk (born 20 September 1972) is a businessman and restaurateur. He co-owns The Kitchen Restaurant Group, with restaurants in Colorado, Chicago, and Austin. He is the co-founder and chairman of Big Green, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit tha ...

, entrepreneur, philanthropist, and restaurateur * Chief Niwot, or Left Hand, a tribal leader of the

, lived at the site of Boulder * Shane O'Neil, soccer player for

Toronto FC Toronto Football Club is a Canadian professional Association football, soccer club based in Toronto. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. The team plays its home matc ...

Chuck Pagano Charles David Pagano (born October 2, 1960) is an American football coach who is currently a senior secondary coach for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL). He served as the head coach of the Indianapolis Colts from 2012 ...

, former

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...

head coach *

Phil Plait Philip Cary Plait (born September 30, 1964), also known as The Bad Astronomer, is an American astronomer, skeptic, and popular science blogger. Plait has worked as part of the Hubble Space Telescope team, images and spectra of astronomical obj ...

, "The Bad Astronomer", astronomer, skeptic, writer and science blogger *

Jared Polis Jared Schutz Polis ( ; ; born May 12, 1975) is an American politician and businessman serving as the 43rd governor of Colorado since 2019. He served one term on the Colorado State Board of Education from 2001 to 2007, and five terms as the Unite ...

, Governor of Colorado * JonBenét Ramsey, who was murdered in December 1996 * Bobby Regester, racing driver *

Gerry Roach Gerry Roach is an American mountaineer and author based out of Colorado. Early Life Gerry was born Gerard Allyn Roach in Glendale, California and moved to Boulder, Colorado in 1954, where he picked up the sport of climbing. His first climbing ...

, climber * Larry Sellers, actor, lived in the town *

Lidia Șimon Lidia Slăvuțeanu-Șimon (born 4 September 1973) is a Romanian long-distance runner. She competed in the Olympic marathon five times (1996–2012), winning a silver medal at the 2000 Olympics. She is also a former marathon world champion. Care ...

(born 1973), retired Romanian Olympic

long-distance runner Long-distance running, or endurance running, is a form of continuous running over distances of at least . Physiologically, it is largely Aerobic exercise, aerobic in nature and requires stamina as well as mental strength. Within endurance ru ...

* Isaac Slade, musician for rock band

The Fray The Fray is an American rock band from Denver, Colorado, formed in 2002 by schoolmates Isaac Slade and Joe King. Their debut studio album, '' How to Save a Life'' (2005) was released by Epic Records and received quadruple platinum certific ...

* Ariel Solomon (born 1968), American football offensive lineman *

Edward Tatum Edward Lawrie Tatum (December 14, 1909 – November 5, 1975) was an American geneticist. He shared half of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1958 with George Beadle for showing that genes control individual steps in metabolism. The o ...

(1909–1975), geneticist, born in Boulder * Maor Tiyouri (born 1990), Israeli Olympic marathon runner * Thatcher Wine, author and CEO of Boulder based Juniper Books *

Evans Woollen III Evans Woollen III (August 10, 1927 – May 17, 2016) was an American architect who is credited for introducing the Modern and the Brutalist architecture styles to his hometown of Indianapolis, Indiana. Woollen, a fellow of the American Institu ...

, architect * Joanna Zeiger (born 1970), Olympic triathlete, 2008 Ironman 70.3 world champion

In popular culture

Woody Allen's film '' Sleeper'' (1973) was filmed on location in Boulder. Some houses and the

Mesa Laboratory The Mesa Laboratory of the National Center for Atmospheric Research is a research center located in Boulder, Colorado, Boulder, Colorado. The building complex was designed by modernist architecture, modernist architect I. M. Pei in 1961 as his fir ...

of the

, designed by

I. M. Pei Ieoh Ming Pei
– website of Pei Cobb Freed & Partners ( ; ; April 26, 1917 – May 16, 2019) was ...

, were used in the film. Boulder was a setting for

Stephen King Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author. Dubbed the "King of Horror", he is widely known for his horror novels and has also explored other genres, among them Thriller (genre), suspense, crime fiction, crime, scienc ...

's book ''

The Stand ''The Stand'' is an epic post-apocalyptic dark fantasy novel written by American author Stephen King and first published in 1978 by Doubleday. The plot centers on a deadly pandemic of weaponized influenza and its aftermath, in which some of ...

'' (1978), as the gathering point for some of the survivors of the superflu. King lived in Boulder for a little less than a year, beginning in the autumn of 1974, and wrote '' The Shining'' (1977) during this period. The television sitcom ''

Mork & Mindy ''Mork & Mindy'' is an American television sitcom that aired on ABC from September 14, 1978, to May 27, 1982. A spin-off after a highly successful episode of ''Happy Days'', " My Favorite Orkan", it starred Robin Williams as Mork, an extrater ...

'' (1978–1982) was set in Boulder, with 1619 Pine St. serving as the exterior shot of Mindy's home. The New York Deli, a now closed restaurant in the Pearl Street Mall, was also featured prominently in the series. In the American version of the television sitcom ''

The Office ''The Office'' is the title of several mockumentary sitcoms based on a British series originally created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant as '' The Office'' in 2001. The original series also starred Gervais as manager and primary charac ...

'', the character Michael Scott leaves the show in season 7 and moves with his fiancée to Boulder. "Boulder to Birmingham" is a song written by

Emmylou Harris Emmylou Harris (born April 2, 1947) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, bandleader, and activist. She is considered one of the leading music artists behind the country rock genre in the 1970s and the Americana (music), Americana genre ...

and

Bill Danoff William Thomas Danoff (born May 7, 1946) is an American songwriter and singer. He is known for " Afternoon Delight", which he wrote and performed as a member of the Starland Vocal Band, and for writing multiple hits for John Denver, including " ...

which first appeared on Harris's 1975 album ''

Pieces of the Sky ''Pieces of the Sky'' is the second studio album and major-label debut by American country music artist Emmylou Harris, released on February 7, 1975, through Reprise Records. Although she had released the obscure folk-styled '' Gliding Bird'' fi ...

''. It has served as something of a signature tune for the artist and recounts her feelings of grief in the years following the death of country rock star and mentor

Gram Parsons Ingram Cecil Connor III (November 5, 1946 – September 19, 1973), known professionally as Gram Parsons, was an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and pianist. He recorded with the International Submarine Band, the Byrds, and the Flying Bu ...

. The

Comedy Central Comedy Central is an American Cable television in the United States, cable television channel, channel owned by Paramount Global through its Paramount Media Networks, network division's Paramount Media Networks#MTV Entertainment Group, MTV Ente ...

television show ''

Broad City ''Broad City'' is an American television sitcom created by and starring Ilana Glazer and Abbi Jacobson. It was developed from their independent web series of the same name, which was produced between 2009 and 2011. The sitcom, like the web serie ...

'' ends with the protagonist, Abby, moving to Boulder for an art

fellowship A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned or professional societies, the term refers ...

. Significant parts of the 2006 movie

Catch and Release Catch and release is a practice within recreational fishing where after capture the fish is Fish hook, unhooked and returned live to the water. Originally adopted in the United Kingdom by Coarse fishing, coarse fishermen to Overfishing, preser ...

were filmed in Boulder, and includes many well-known Boulder institutions such as

Celestial Seasonings Celestial Seasonings is an American tea company based in Boulder, Colorado, United States. The company specializes in herbal teas but also sells green, white, black, and chai teas. Founded in 1969, it is a subsidiary of Hain Celestial Group. ...

, the Boulder Farmer's Market, and Pearl Street Mall.

Sister cities

Boulder's

sister cities A sister city or a twin town relationship is International relations, 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 ar ...

are: *

Dushanbe Dushanbe is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Tajikistan. , Dushanbe had a population of 1,564,700, with this population being largely Tajiks, Tajik. Until 1929, the city was known in Russian as Dyushambe, and from 1929 to 1961 as St ...

, Tajikistan (1987) * Jalapa,

Nueva Segovia Department Nueva Segovia () is a department in Nicaragua. It covers an area of 3,491 km2 and has a population of 275,291 (2021 estimate). Nueva Segovia is also home to the indigenous Chorotegas and Nahuas. The capital is Ocotal. History of Las Seg ...

, Nicaragua (1983) *

Kathmandu Kathmandu () is the capital and largest city of Nepal, situated in the central part of the country within the Kathmandu Valley. As per the 2021 Nepal census, it has a population of 845,767 residing in 105,649 households, with approximately 4 mi ...

, Nepal (2018) *

Kisumu Kisumu ( ) is the third-largest city in Kenya located in the Lake Victoria area in the former Nyanza Province. It is the second-largest city after Kampala in the Lake Victoria Basin. The city has a population of slightly over 600,000. The ...

, Kenya (2008) *

Lhasa Lhasa, officially the Chengguan District of Lhasa City, is the inner urban district of Lhasa (city), Lhasa City, Tibet Autonomous Region, Southwestern China. Lhasa is the second most populous urban area on the Tibetan Plateau after Xining ...

Tibet Autonomous Region The Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), often shortened to Tibet in English or Xizang in Pinyin, Hanyu Pinyin, is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the China, People's Republic of China. It was established in 1965 to replace the ...

, China (1986) * El Mante,

Tamaulipas Tamaulipas, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tamaulipas, is a state in Mexico; one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 federal entities of Mexico. It is divided into 43 municipalities. It is located in nor ...

, Mexico (2000) *

Nablus Nablus ( ; , ) is a State of Palestine, Palestinian city in the West Bank, located approximately north of Jerusalem, with a population of 156,906. Located between Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim, it is the capital of the Nablus Governorate and a ...

West Bank The West Bank is located on the western bank of the Jordan River and is the larger of the two Palestinian territories (the other being the Gaza Strip) that make up the State of Palestine. A landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...

, Palestine (2016) * Ramat HaNegev, Southern District, Israel (2018) * Yamagata, Yamagata, Japan (1994) *

Yateras Yateras is a municipality in the Guantánamo Province of Cuba. The municipal seat is located in the town of Palenque, in the northern part of the province. Alejandro de Humboldt National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site is partly located in thi ...

Guantánamo Province Guantánamo is the easternmost province of Cuba. Its capital is also called Guantánamo. Other towns include Baracoa. The province has the only land border of the U.S. Navy base at Guantánamo Bay. Overview Guantánamo's architecture and cultu ...

, Cuba (2002) Landmarks representing Boulder's connection with its various sister cities can be found throughout the city. Boulder's Sister City Plaza – dedicated on May 17, 2007 – is located on the east lawn of Boulder's Municipal Building. The plaza was built to honor all of Boulder's sister city relationships. The Dushanbe Tea House is located on 13th Street just south of the Pearl Street Mall. Dushanbe presented its distinctive tea house as a gift to Boulder in 1987. It was completed in Tajikistan in 1990 and then shipped to Boulder, where it was reassembled and opened to the public in 1998. A mural representing the relationship between Boulder and Mante, Mexico, was dedicated in August 2001. The mural, which was painted by Mante muralist Florian Lopez, is located on the north-facing wall of the Dairy Center for the Performing Arts.

References

External links

City of Boulder
*https://bouldercolorado.com {{authority control Cities in Boulder County, Colorado Cities in Colorado County seats in Colorado Populated places established in 1858