Broomfield County, Colorado

Broomfield is a consolidated city and county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. 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 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 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 built a narrow-gauge 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 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 and the university city of Boulder. Construction of the toll road 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 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. 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 Denver, 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 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
* U.S. Route 36 (Denver–Boulder Turnpike)
* U.S. Route 85
* U.S. Route 287
* State Highway 7
* State Highway 121
* 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 system, Broomfield has a cold semi-arid climate (''BSk''). According to the United States Department of Agriculture, it is in plant hardiness zone 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/ buffalograss (''65,'' commonly known as grama grass) vegetation type and a shortgrass prairie (''17'') vegetation form.

Demographics

Broomfield is a part of the Denver–Aurora–Lakewood, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area.

The 2020 census estimated there were 74,112 people living in Broomfield. The population density 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 in Broomfield was $112,139 and the median family income was $130,920. The per capita income for the city was $59,679, with 5.3% of the population living below the poverty line 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 defeated Republican Mitt Romney 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. Joe Biden won the county by a larger margin in 2020, and Kamala Harris 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.

The FlatIron Crossing mall is a large shopping and entertainment center, anchored by Dick's Sporting Goods, Macy's, and Forever 21.

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

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. 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, physicist
* Drew Brown, musician, guitarist for OneRepublic and Debate Team
* David Hale Hand, son of Disney and Gaumont-British animator David Hand
* Dianne Primavera, 50th Lieutenant Governor of Colorado and former member of the Colorado House of Representatives
* Anna Prins, basketball center
* Vince Russo, pro wrestling personality and podcaster
* Steve Schmuhl, swimmer
* Mike Wilpolt, football wide receiver, defensive back, coach
* Cat Zingano, bantamweight MMA fighter

Sister city

Broomfield has a sister city, as designated by Sister Cities International:
* Ueda, Nagano Prefecture, Japan

See also

* Bibliography of Colorado
* Geography of Colorado
** Denver–Aurora–Lakewood, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area
** Front Range Urban Corridor
* History of Colorado
** 2013 Colorado floods
* Index of Colorado-related articles
** Jefferson Parkway
** Northwest Parkway
** Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge
* List of Colorado-related lists
** List of counties in Colorado
**List of municipalities in Colorado
** List of populated places in Colorado
** List of post offices in Colorado
*Outline of Colorado

References

External links

City and County of BroomfieldState of Colorado

History Colorado

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