Lakewood is the

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 ...

that is the most populous municipality in Jefferson County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 155,984 at the 2020 U.S. Census, making Lakewood the fifth most populous city in

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

and the 167th most populous city in the United States. Lakewood is a

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...

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

and is a principal city of the

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

and a major city of the Front Range Urban Corridor. The city has a notable student population, as it is home to three higher education institutions:

Colorado Christian University Colorado Christian University (CCU) is a private Christian university in Lakewood, Colorado, United States. CCU was founded by Clifton Fowler in 1914 as the Denver Bible Institute. History CCU's heritage dates back to the formation of Denver Bi ...

Red Rocks Community College Red Rocks Community College (RRCC) is a Public university, public community college with two campuses located in Lakewood, Colorado, Lakewood and Arvada, Colorado. History RRCC was established in 1969 as part of the Colorado Community Colle ...

and Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design. Lakewood is also home to the Denver Federal Center, which houses the largest concentration of federal agencies outside of

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

History

The urban and suburban development of the community known as Lakewood was started in 1889 by Charles Welch and W.A.H. Loveland, who platted a 13-block area along Colfax Avenue west of Denver in eastern Jefferson County. Loveland, the former president of the

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

, retired to the new community of Lakewood after many years of living in Golden. Until 1969, Lakewood had no municipal government, relying instead on several water districts, several fire districts, several volunteer-staffed fire districts, and the government of Jefferson County, including the Jefferson County Sheriff. Additionally, some neighborhoods lacked street lights and sidewalks. The City of Lakewood was incorporated in 1969 as Jefferson City. Soon after, an election was held and the city's name was changed to Lakewood, due to an overwhelming dislike of "Jefferson City" and the belief that it would be confused with existing communities in Colorado and Missouri. At the time of incorporation, the city population was already over 90,000. Lakewood never had a traditional downtown area. West Colfax Avenue served the metropolitan area as U.S. Route 40 and the main route joining Denver with 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 ...

. As such, Colfax from Harlan west to Kipling and beyond had mostly commercial establishments. In addition to the

Jewish Consumptives' Relief Society The Jewish Consumptives' Relief Society (JCRS) was a non-sectarian sanatorium to treat tuberculosis patients in Lakewood, Colorado. Founded in 1904, the sanatorium campus was also home to the first synagogue in Jefferson County, Colorado. In 1954 ...

(JCRS) for tuberculosis patients, the small, frame Methodist Church, and telephone exchange, by the 1950s grocery and drug stores, gas stations, restaurants and taverns, several motels, branch banks, a movie theater, a roller rink, a bowling alley, and used car lots emerged there. Several multiple-business "shopping centers" developed followed by much larger centers at JCRS and Westland. The Villa Italia Mall on West Alameda Avenue, 20 blocks south of Colfax, reflected the southward expansion of the Lakewood settlement and housed a larger concentration of retail space. As the mall went into decline, the Lakewood City Council developed a plan to demolish the Villa Italia Mall and replace it with a new development called Belmar. In 2011, Lakewood was named an

All-America City The All-America City Award is a community recognition program in the United States given by the National Civic League. The award recognizes the work of communities in using inclusive civic engagement to address critical issues and create stron ...

for the first time.

December 2021 rampage

On December 27, 2021, a Denver gunman killed three Denver residents and two Lakewood residents before being killed by seriously wounded Lakewood Police Agent Ashley Ferris.

Geography

Lakewood is located at the junction of U.S. Route 6 and Colorado State Highway 121 in central Colorado, the city lies immediately west of Denver and north-northwest of Colorado Springs. Lakewood lies in the Colorado Piedmont on the western edge of 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 ...

just east of 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 ...

of the

southern Rocky Mountains The Southern Rocky Mountains are a major subregion of the Rocky Mountains of North America located in the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of Wyoming, the central and western portions of Colorado, the northern portion of New Mexico, and ext ...

. Green Mountain, a mesa, is located in the far west-central part of the city. The city is located in the watershed 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 ...

, and several small tributaries of the river flow generally east through it. From north to south, these include Lakewood Gulch, Weir Gulch, Sanderson Gulch, and Bear Creek. Two tributaries of Lakewood Gulch, Dry Gulch, and McIntyre Gulch flow east through the northern part of the city. Turkey Creek, a tributary of Bear Creek, flows northeast through the far southwestern part of the city. In addition, Lena Gulch, a tributary of Clear Creek to the north, flows east then north through the extreme northwestern part of the city. Several small lakes and reservoirs are in Lakewood. The Soda Lakes lie in the extreme southwestern part of the city. East of them lies Bear Creek Lake, a reservoir fed by Bear Creek and Turkey Creek. Clustered near each other in central Lakewood are Main Reservoir, East Reservoir, Smith Reservoir, Kendrick Lake, and Cottonwood Lake. Northeast of them lies Kountze Lake. In the northwestern part of the city, Lena Gulch both feeds and drains Maple Grove Reservoir. In the extreme southern part of the city lies Bowles Reservoir No. 1 and, just outside the city limits to the reservoir's northeast, Marston Lake. At the 2020 United States Census, the town had a total area of , including of water. As a suburb of Denver, Lakewood is part of both the greater Denver metropolitan area and the Front Range Urban Corridor. It borders other communities on all sides, including Wheat Ridge to the north, Edgewater to the northeast,

to the east and southeast, Dakota Ridge to the south,

Morrison Morrison may refer to: People * Morrison (surname), people with the Scottish surname Morrison * Morrison Heady (1829–1915), American poet * Morrison Mann MacBride (1877–1938), Canadian merchant Places in the United States * Morrison, Colorad ...

to the southwest, and Golden, West Pleasant View, East Pleasant View, and Applewood to the northwest.

Climate

According to the

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

system, Lakewood has a

cold semi-arid climate Cold is the presence of low temperature, especially in the atmosphere. In common usage, cold is often a subjective perception. A lower bound to temperature is absolute zero, defined as 0.00K on the Kelvin scale, an absolute thermodynamic ...

, abbreviated ''Bsk'' on climate maps.

Demographics

2020 census

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, 142,980 people, 61,986 households, and 35,882 families were residing in the city. The population density was . Its 65,758 housing units averaged 1,533.5 per square mile (591.9/km). The racial makeup of the city was 82.9%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 3.1% Asian, 1.6%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

, 1.4% American Indian, 0.1%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 7.7% from other races, and 3.3% from two or more races. Hispanics and Latinos of any race were 22.0% of the population. Of the 61,986 households, 26.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.1% were married couples living together, 5.0% had a male householder with no wife present, 11.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.1% were not families. About 33.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.27, and the average family size was 2.92. The distribution of the population by age was 20.8% under the age of 18, 9.6% from 18 to 24, 27.1% from 25 to 44, 28.0% from 45 to 64, and 14.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39.2 years. The gender makeup of the city was 48.9% male and 51.1% female. The median income for a household in the city was $52,960, and for a family was $66,947. Males had a median income of $46,907 versus $41,476 for females. The city's

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

was $30,027. About 9.1% of families and 11.7% of the population were below the

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

, including 20.3% of those under age 18 and 6.1% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

Lakewood's economy is diverse, while the largest employers are the government. Companies based in Lakewood include Einstein Bros. Bagels, FirstBank, and The Integer Group. As of 2013, 67.3% of the population over the age of 16 was in the labor force. 0.1% were in the armed forces, and 67.3% were in the civilian labor force with 61.1% employed and 6.2% unemployed. The occupational composition of the employed civilian labor force was 38.6% in management, business, science, and arts; 25.9% in sales and office occupations; 16.9% in service occupations; 9.9% in production, transportation, and material moving; and 8.7% in natural resources, construction, and maintenance. The three industries employing the largest percentages of the working civilian labor force were educational services, health care, and social assistance (18.4%); professional, scientific, and management, and administrative and waste management services (13.8%); and retail trade (11.9%). The cost of living index in Lakewood, compared to a U.S. average of 100, is 107.4. As of 2013, the median home value in the city was $238,500, the median selected monthly owner cost was $1,546 for housing units with a mortgage and $442 for those without, and the median gross rent was $940.

Top employers

According to the city's 2023 annual report, the top employers in the city are:

Government

Lakewood maintains a council-manager form of government. Citizens elect a city council consisting of the mayor, who is elected at-large, and 10 city council members, 2 from each of the city's five geographical wards. The mayor and the council members assert the policies for the operation of the city government. The current City Manager, Kathleen Hodgson, is the longest-tenured City Manager in the State of Colorado. The current mayor is Wendi Strom. The council members representing Ward 1 are Jeslin Shahrezaei and Glenda Sinks; Sophia Mayott-Guerrero and Isabel Cruz represent Ward 2; Roger Low and Rebekah Stewart represent Ward 3; Rich Olver and David Rein represent Ward 4; and Ward 5 is represented by Jacob LaBure and Paula Nystrom. The City of Lakewood falls into Colorado House District 26, parts of House District 24, and House District 23. Lakewood is represented in the state house by Reps. Chris Kennedy, Kerry Tipper, and Monica Duran.

List of mayors

* James Richey, 1969-197

* Charles E. Whitlock, 1977-1979 * Bill Reitler, 1979-1983 * Linda Shaw, c.198

* Linda Morton, 1991-199

* Steve Burkholder, 1999-c.2000, c.200

* Bob Murphy, c.2011-2015 * Adam Paul, c.2015-2023 * Wendi Strom, c.2023-present

Education

Lakewood is within Jefferson County School District R-1. Lakewood also houses Lakewood High School, Green Mountain High School, Bear Creek High School, Brady Exploration High School, Alameda International High School, and

International Baccalaureate The International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO), more commonly known as the International Baccalaureate (IB), is a nonprofit foundation headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and founded in 1968. It offers four educational programmes: the I ...

schools in Jefferson County, as well as the private

Colorado Academy Colorado Academy (CA) is an independent nonsectarian, co-educational, college preparatory day school for students from Pre-Kindergarten through Twelfth Grade. The school's campus is located in Lakewood, Colorado, and serves approximately 1000 ...

. Lakewood is home to several colleges and universities, including

, Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design,

, and the Colorado School of Trades. The town is served by the Jefferson County Public Library.

Transportation

Highways

Nine

highways A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It includes not just major roads, but also other public roads and rights of way. In the United States, it is also used as an equivalent term to controlled-access highway, or ...

run through the city of Lakewood: *

Interstate 70 Interstate 70 (I-70) is a major east–west Interstate Highway in the United States that runs from Interstate 15, I-15 near Cove Fort, Utah, to Interstate 695 (Maryland), I-695 and Maryland Route 570 (MD 570) in Woodlawn, Baltimo ...

runs east–west from

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

. It enters the city from Applewood to the east and exits into West Pleasant View to the west. * US_6

US 6 (6th Avenue Freeway) runs east-west within the city. It enters from

to the east before going west into West Pleasant View. * US 40

US 40 (West Colfax Avenue) enters Lakewood from

to the east before continuing west into West Pleasant View. * US 285

US 285 connects to Lakewood from

to the west before entering Dakota Ridge. It runs along much of the southern edge of the city. * Colorado 8

State Highway 8 (Morrison Road) begins in the city of Lakewood at an intersection with South Wadsworth Boulevard before continuing west into

. *

State Highway 95 (South Sheridan Boulevard) defines much of Lakewood's eastern border with

. *

State Highway 121 (South Wadsworth Boulevard) enters the city from Wheat Ridge to the north and continues into

to the south. * Colorado 391

State Highway 391 (South Kipling Street) begins in Lakewood at an intersection with US 285 before continuing into Wheat Ridge. * Colorado 470

State Highway 470 runs along the western edge of the city.

Mass transit

Bus and

light rail Light rail (or light rail transit, abbreviated to LRT) is a form of passenger urban rail transit that uses rolling stock derived from tram technology National Conference of the Transportation Research Board while also having some features from ...

service within the city, and to other areas in the metropolitan area, is provided by the Regional Transportation District. Light rail service to Lakewood began on April 26, 2013, with the opening of the W Line. Seven light rail stations are located within the city, all of which are located along the W Line. Intercity transportation is provided by Bustang. Federal Center station in Lakewood is along Bustang's West Line, which connects Denver to Grand Junction.

Points of interest

Landmarks and historical points of interest include: * Belmar is the town center with a mix of retail, residential, cultural, and public space. ** The Laboratory of Art and Ideas at Belmar was located in Belmar until May 2009, and that location is now occupied by: ** the Colorado Campus of the Ohio Center for Broadcasting, a private trade school for the radio and television industry. ** Belmar has a designated Arts District that houses several artist studios and several gallery spaces, and ** "Working with Artists", a nonprofit fine-art photography school. * Lakewood Cultural Center features a theater, gallery space, and art classrooms. * Heritage Lakewood Belmar Park is a 20th-century museum and festival grounds, with several historic buildings, and is located near Kountze Lake; the site formerly housed the Belmar family mansion. * At William Fredrick Hayden Park in the foothills of Green Mountain, the Colorado National Guard previously used the north side for artillery practice. Since 2012 the

Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD, or DOD) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government charged with coordinating and supervising the six U.S. armed services: the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Space Force, ...

Military Munitions Response Program has financed investigations to identify

unexploded ordnance Unexploded ordnance (UXO, sometimes abbreviated as UO) and unexploded bombs (UXBs) are explosive weapons (bombs, shell (projectile), shells, grenades, land mines, naval mines, cluster munition, and other Ammunition, munitions) that did not e ...

there. * The 40 West Arts District includes a bike and "walking art experience" along the light rail line.

Notable people

Sister cities

Lakewood has four

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 ...

, as designated by

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

: *

Chester, Cheshire Chester is a cathedral city in Cheshire, England, on the River Dee, Wales, River Dee, close to the England–Wales border. With a built-up area population of 92,760 in 2021, it is the most populous settlement in the borough of Cheshire West an ...

, United Kingdom * Portsmouth, Hampshire, United Kingdom, also a Friendship City * Stade, Lower Saxony, Germany * Sutherland Shire, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Footnotes

References

External links

*
CDOT map of the City of Lakewood

Lakewood Heritage Center

Accelerated Prep Website
{{authority control Populated places established in 1889 Cities in Colorado Cities in Jefferson County, Colorado