Littleton is a
home rule municipality city located in
Arapahoe,
Douglas, and
Jefferson counties
A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...
,
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 ...
,
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
. Littleton is the
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 ...
of Arapahoe County and is a part of the
Denver–Aurora–Lakewood, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area.
The city population was 45,652 at the
2020 United States census, ranking as the
20th most populous municipality in Colorado.
History
The city of Littleton's history dates back to the 1859
Pike's Peak gold rush, which brought not just gold seekers, but merchants and farmers to the community. Richard Sullivan Little was an engineer from New Hampshire who came West to work on irrigation systems. Little soon decided to settle in the area at present day Littleton and brought his wife Angeline from the East in 1862. The Littles and neighbors built the Rough and Ready Flour Mill in 1867, which provided a solid economic base in the community. By 1890, the community had grown to 245 people and the residents voted to incorporate the Town of Littleton.
Littleton grew significantly throughout the 1950s and 1960s due to its proximity to Denver and to the
Martin Marietta facilities, which produced the Titan rocket and other aerospace products. Littleton is today fully engulfed in metropolitan Denver.
Littleton twinned with Bega, Australia in 1961 as one of the earliest
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 ...
.
Littleton became widely known in 1999 when the
Columbine High School massacre occurred, where two of the school's students,
Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, murdered 13 students and one teacher, injured 23 others and then killed themselves. News media wrongly reported that the incident happened in the city, because the school's
ZIP code is primarily associated with Littleton.
The school is located in adjacent
Columbine, an
unincorporated community
An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...
, which is not a place name accepted by the
U.S. Postal Service
The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or simply the Postal Service, is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the executive branch of the federal governmen ...
;
by default, locations in ZIP code 80123 use "Littleton" in their mailing addresses. Columbine High School is in the
Jefferson County school system and is not one of the
Littleton Public Schools.
Geography
Littleton is located in central Colorado north of the junction of
U.S. Route 85 and
Colorado State Highway 470; the city is south of downtown
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 north of
Colorado Springs.
Littleton lies on 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 ...
in the
Colorado Piedmont region 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 ...
a few miles 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.
[ Most of the city lies on the east side of the river. Several small tributaries of the river flow northwest through the city; from north to south, these include Big Dry Creek, Slaughterhouse Gulch, Lee Gulch, and Dad Clark Gulch. In addition, several small lakes and reservoirs are located along the river in the southwestern part of the city. Immediately west of the river are Cooley Lake, Bufflehead Lake, South Platte Reservoir, Eaglewatch Lake, Redtail Lake, and Blackrock Lake. Wolhurst Lake and McLellen Reservoir are east of the river, fed and drained by Dad Clark Gulch. Chatfield Reservoir lies immediately southwest of the city.][
According to the ]United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...
, the city has a total area of of which is land and (6.4%) is water.[
As a suburb of Denver, Littleton is part of the Denver-Aurora metropolitan area and the Front Range Urban Corridor. It shares a border with Denver and Englewood on the north, Greenwood Village on the northeast, Centennial on the east, Highlands Ranch on the south, Columbine and Columbine Valley on the west, and Bow Mar on the northwest.]
Unlike most county seats of suburban counties, Littleton is on the same house numbering grid, including its downtown, as the major city, in this case, Denver.
Climate
Demographics
As of the 2020 census, there were 45,652 people and 20,300 households residing in the city. The population density was . There were 21,476 housing units, of which 1,272 were vacant. In 2023 the racial makeup of the city was 83.1% 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 ...
, 2.9% Asian, 1.6% African American
African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
, 0.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 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 ...
, and 7.8% from two or more races. Hispanics and Latinos of any race were 12.6% of the population. 10.3% of residents spoke a language other than English at home; 7.0% of the city's population spoke Spanish.
There were 20,300 households, out of which 18.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.3% were married couples living together, 20.6% had a male householder with no spouse, and 27.5% had a female householder with no spouse. The average household size was 2.19.
As of 2023 the distribution of the population by age was 18.5% under the age of 18, 6.3% from 18 to 24, 31.3% from 25 to 44, 24.7% from 45 to 64, and 19.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40.2 years. The gender makeup of the city was 49.3% male and 50.7% female.
The median income for a household in the city was $96,611, and the median income for a family was $130,080. Males had a median income of $52,674 versus $40,297 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 $126,140. About 6.3% 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 4.0% of those under age 18 and 10.5% of those age 65 or over.
Economy
As of 2023, 68.0% of the population over the age of 16 was in the labor force. The occupational composition of the employed civilian labor force was: 54.2% in management, business, science, and arts; 17.3% in sales and office occupations; 12.6% in service occupations; 9.3% in production, transportation, and material moving; and 6.7% 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 (20.3%); professional, scientific, and management, and administrative and waste management services (16.0%); and finance and insurance, and real estate and rental leasing (9.5%).
The cost of living in Littleton is average; compared to a U.S. average of 100, the cost of living index for the community is 102.7. As of 2023, the median home value in the city was $596,700, the median selected monthly owner cost was $2,320 for housing units with a mortgage and $732 for those without, and the median gross rent was $1,731.
Housing
The city's housing stock is primarily made up of either detached single-family or apartment buildings. In 2025, there was a proposal to permit so-called "missing middle" housing (duplexes, triplexes and fourplexes) in neighborhoods that were exclusively zoned for single-family homes, but six council members voted against it while Mayor Pro Tem Stephen Barr cast the lone vote in favor of the proposal.
Government
Littleton is a home-rule municipality with a council-manager form of government. The city council makes policy for the city and approves the annual city budget. The city manager implements the council's policies and oversees day-to-day administration of the city government and its departments.
As the 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 ...
, Littleton is the administrative center of Arapahoe County. The county government's main Administration Building is located in Littleton, and most county government departments base their operations in the city.
Littleton lies mostly within Colorado's 6th U.S. Congressional District, but changes made to Colorado's congressional districts in 2012 put the extreme southwestern portion of the city into Colorado's 1st congressional district. For the purposes of representation in the Colorado General Assembly, the city is located in the 26th and 30th districts of the Colorado Senate and the 3rd, 38th, and 43rd districts of the Colorado House of Representatives.
Elected officials
The council consists of seven members - one member for each of the four legislative districts, two at-large members, and the mayor. Beginning in 2021, all council members are elected to 4-year terms. General elections for city council are held in odd-numbered years with either three or four council seats up for election. In 2021, Littleton voters elected the first popularly-elected mayor to a four-year term.
*Joel Zink was appointed to fill the vacancy created when Council Member Gretchen Rydin stepped down following her election to the Colorado State Legislature. The term expires in November 2025.
ZIP codes
The place name "Littleton" was assigned to eleven ZIP codes which cover a vast area west, east, and south of the city much larger than the city itself. This area includes the following unincorporated communities:
* Acres Green, Colorado
* Carriage Club, Colorado (since incorporated as a neighborhood of Lone Tree)
* Columbine, Colorado
* Heritage Hills, Colorado
* Highlands Ranch, Colorado ("Highlands Ranch" is also acceptable in place of "Littleton" in mailing addresses)
* Ken Caryl, Colorado
* Roxborough Park, Colorado
In addition, an extreme southwest portion 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 ...
, the Marston neighborhood, is located in a ZIP code (80123) with "Littleton" as the preferred place name for use in mailing addresses, though "Denver" is also acceptable. The Federal Correctional Institution, Englewood, also located in this ZIP code, is neither in Littleton nor Englewood, but in unincorporated Jefferson County.
Education
Primary and secondary education
The majority of the portion in Arapahoe County is in Littleton Public Schools. Small portions are in the Sheridan School District 2 and Englewood School District 1.
The small portion of Littleton in Jefferson County is within Jeffco Public Schools. The small portion of Littleton in Douglas County is within Douglas County School District RE-1.
Colleges and universities
* Arapahoe Community College
* Denver Seminary
Denver Seminary is a private, evangelical Christian seminary with its main campus in Littleton, Colorado.
It includes a campus in Colorado, an extension campus in Washington, DC, and an online campus. It offers Masters programmes in Arts, D ...
The Colorado Center for the Blind, a skills training program for blind teenagers and adults operated by the National Federation of the Blind, is located in Littleton.
Transportation
Highways
Four highways run through the city of Littleton:
*
US 85 (South Santa Fe Drive) is the longest highway within the municipality. It runs from the city's northern border with Englewood to the city's southern border with Highlands Ranch.
*
State Highway 75 (South Platte Canyon Road) begins in Littleton at an intersection with West Bowles Avenue before continuing south into Columbine Valley. Later on it runs along the western border of Littleton with Columbine.
*
State Highway 88 (East Belleview Avenue) runs near the northern edge of the city. The highway both enters and exits Littleton through Englewood.
*
State Highway 470 runs along the southern edge of the city. It enters east from Highlands Ranch before going west to Columbine.
Mass transit
The Regional Transportation District provides 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 to Littleton. Light rail service to the city began on July 14, 2000, on the C and D Lines, however C Line operation ended on January 10, 2021. There are two light rail stations within the city, Littleton-Downtown station located within downtown Littleton and Littleton-Mineral station located near the Aspen Grove shopping center, which serves as the southern terminus of the D Line.
Culture
Arts and music
* Town Hall Arts Center
*The Depot Art Gallery and Littleton Fine Arts Guild
*Littleton Symphony Orchestra
*Voices West (fka Littleton Chorale)
*Littleton Museum
*SpaceX Falcon 9 booster
Events
Western Welcome Week
Since the late 1920s, Littleton has celebrated Western Welcome Week - an annual community celebration in the greater Littleton area. Western Welcome Week started in the late 1920s, and has been held every year since. Western Welcome Week includes over 40 events benefiting dozens of local civic and charitable organizations.
Candlelight Walk
The Candlelight Walk is a Littleton tradition, featuring an evening of holiday festivities, culminating in the illumination of the trees on Main Street.
Twilight Criterium
The Littleton Twilight Criterium occurs in the late summer in Historic Downtown Littleton on a 0.8-mile course. The event features famous athletes, concerts, and a cruiser ride for the general public.
Healthcare
The only hospital is AdventHealth Littleton.
Points of interest
* Hudson Gardens
* Town Hall Arts Center, providing professional theater to the surrounding metro area.
* The Littleton Museum
* Gravesite of Alfred (Alferd) Packer
Sister cities
* Bega, New South Wales, Australia
See also
*List of municipalities in Colorado
The U.S. Colorado, State of Colorado has 273 municipal corporation, active municipalities, comprising 198 towns, 73 City, cities, and two Consolidated city-county, consolidated city and county governments. The Denver, City and County of Denver ...
*List of statistical areas in Colorado
The United States, U.S. Colorado, State of Colorado has 20 Statistical area (United States), statistical areas that have been delineated by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Statistical areas are important geographic delineations of pop ...
* List of people from Littleton, Colorado
References
External links
City of Littleton website
CDOT map of the City of Littleton
{{Authority control
County seats in Colorado
Populated places established in 1859
Cities in Colorado
Cities in Arapahoe County, Colorado
Cities in Jefferson County, Colorado
Cities in Douglas County, Colorado
1859 establishments in Kansas Territory