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Denver metropolitan area

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from Metropolitan Denver)

Denver–Aurora–Centennial, CO
Metropolitan Statistical Area
Metropolitan Statistical Area
Skyline of Downtown Denver
Skyline of Downtown Denver
Map
Denver–Aurora–Greeley, CO CSA
Country United States
State Colorado
Largest city - Denver
Other principal cities • Arvada
 • Aurora
 • Broomfield
 • Centennial
 • Lakewood
 • Thornton
Area
 • Total
8,405 sq mi (21,770 km2)
Population
 (April 1, 2020)
 • Total
2,963,821
GDP
[1]
 • Total$311.876 billion (2023)
Time zoneUTC−7 (MST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−6 (MDT)

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 region is part of the Front Range Urban Corridor and its metropolitan planning organization is the Denver Regional Council of Governments. The area is also referred to as Greater Denver.

The United States Office of Management and Budget has delineated the Denver–Aurora–Centennial, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area consisting of ten Colorado counties: the City and County of Denver, Arapahoe County, Jefferson County, Adams County, Douglas County, the City and County of Broomfield, Elbert County, Park County, Clear Creek County, and Gilpin County.[2] The population, as of the 2020 Census, is 2,963,821, an increase of 16.5% since 2010.[3]

The Office of Management and Budget also delineated the more extensive 12-county Denver–Aurora–Greeley, CO Combined Statistical Area comprising the Denver–Aurora–Centennial Metropolitan Statistical Area, the Boulder, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area, and the Greeley, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area.[2]

The central part of the metropolitan statistical area (MSA) includes Denver and three immediately adjacent counties: Jefferson County to the west, Adams County to the north and east, and Arapahoe County to the south and east. The continuously urbanized area extends northwest into the City and County of Broomfield, bordering Jefferson and Adams counties, and south into Douglas County, adjoining Arapahoe County. Also included in the federally defined MSA are four rural counties: Elbert County on the southeastern prairie and Clear Creek, Gilpin, and Park counties in the Rocky Mountains.

Counties

[edit]

The Denver–Aurora–Centennial Metropolitan Statistical Area, as defined by the Office of Management and Budget, comprises ten counties.[2]

Denver–Aurora–Centennial, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area
County Seat 2025 estimate 2020 Census Change Area Density
Denver Denver 740,613715,522+3.51% 155 sq mi (400 km2) 4,787/sq mi (1,848/km2)
Arapahoe Littleton 673,820655,070+2.86% 805 sq mi (2,080 km2) 837/sq mi (323/km2)
Jefferson Golden 580,451582,910−0.42% 774 sq mi (2,000 km2) 750/sq mi (290/km2)
Adams Brighton 554,668519,572+6.75% 1,184 sq mi (3,070 km2) 468/sq mi (181/km2)
Douglas Castle Rock 399,396357,978+11.57% 843 sq mi (2,180 km2) 474/sq mi (183/km2)
Broomfield Broomfield 79,17474,112+6.83% 34 sq mi (88 km2) 2,360/sq mi (911/km2)
Elbert Kiowa 30,53426,062+17.16% 1,851 sq mi (4,790 km2) 16/sq mi (6/km2)
Park Fairplay 18,31417,390+5.31% 2,211 sq mi (5,730 km2) 8/sq mi (3/km2)
Clear Creek Georgetown 8,9949,397−4.29% 396 sq mi (1,030 km2) 23/sq mi (9/km2)
Gilpin Central City 6,0735,808+4.56% 150 sq mi (390 km2) 40/sq mi (16/km2)
Total 3,092,0372,963,821+4.33% 8,403 sq mi (21,760 km2) 368/sq mi (142/km2)

Metropolitan area cities and towns

[edit]
Historical population
CensusPop.Note%±
1900162,323—
1910246,76752.0%
1920299,08721.2%
1930352,56317.9%
1940407,76815.7%
1950563,83238.3%
1960868,95354.1%
19701,116,22628.5%
19801,450,76830.0%
19901,650,48913.8%
20002,157,75630.7%
20102,543,48217.9%
20202,963,82116.5%
2025 (est.)3,092,0374.3%
data source:[4]

The following are cities and towns categorized based on the United States Census Bureau 2025 population estimates.[5] No population estimates are released for census-designated places (CDPs), which are marked with an asterisk (*). These places are categorized based on their 2020 Census population. Places designated "principal cities" by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget are italicized.[2]

Places with over 100,000 inhabitants

[edit]

Places with 10,000 to 100,000 inhabitants

[edit]

Places with fewer than 10,000 inhabitants

[edit]

Communities previously part of the Denver metro area

[edit]

Regional cooperation

[edit]

The Denver Regional Council of Governments (DRCOG, pronounced Doctor Cog) is a regional planning and inter-governmental coordination organization in a nine-county region. The Scientific and Cultural Facilities District (SCFD) provides funding for scientific and cultural facilities in a seven-county region including:

In addition, the Regional Transportation District (RTD) provides mass transit, including a light rail system. In 2005 the RTD developed a twelve-year comprehensive plan, called "FasTracks", to build and operate rail transit lines and expand and improve bus service throughout the region.

Economy

[edit]

The most prosperous parts of the area are in the south and the northwest, while the most industrialized areas are in the northeast, specifically in the northern part of Denver proper and extending to areas such as Commerce City in Adams County.[citation needed]

Changes in house prices for the area are publicly tracked on a regular basis using the Case-Shiller index; the statistic is published by Standard & Poor's and is also a component of S&P's 10-city composite index of the value of the residential real estate market. The Denver MSA is also home to one of the fastest growing tech scenes outside of Silicon Valley in the country.

Electricity is provided by Xcel Energy. Cable television is provided by Comcast.[6]

Sports

[edit]

The following table shows sports teams in the Denver metropolitan area that average more than 12,000 fans per game:

Club Sport League Venue City Capacity Attendance Since Titles
Denver Broncos Football NFL Empower Field at Mile High Denver 76,125 76,939 1960 3 (1997, 1998, 2015)
Colorado Rockies Baseball MLB Coors Field Denver 50,398 31,334 1993 0
Colorado Avalanche Ice hockey NHL Ball Arena Denver 18,007 16,176 1995 3 (1996, 2001, 2022
Colorado Rapids Soccer MLS Dick's Sporting Goods Park Commerce City 18,061 15,657 1996 1 (2010)
Denver Nuggets Basketball NBA Ball Arena Denver 19,115 14,700 1967 1 (2023)
Colorado Mammoth Box Lacrosse NLL Ball Arena Denver 18,007 14,077 2003 2 (2006, 2022)

Air quality

[edit]

The center of the metropolitan area sits in a valley, the Denver Basin, and suffers from air pollution known colloquially as the brown cloud, building up if the air is stagnant as it often is in the winter. Severity of pollution in this area has varied enormously over the years. In the late 1980s the area was frequently in violation of multiple National Ambient Air Quality Standards established by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The Regional Air Quality Council (RAQC) was formed in 1989 to create plans to address the problem. Through a variety of measures the area's air quality was improved and in 2002 the EPA designated the area in compliance with all federal health-based air quality standards. Denver was the first major city in the United States to reach compliance with all six of these standards after previously violating five of them.[7] Since then the EPA introduced a new standard for small particulates and made the existing ozone standard stricter. In 2003, the new ozone standard was frequently exceeded in the area and was occasionally exceeded as far away as Rocky Mountain National Park. The RAQC hopes to implement plans enabling the area to comply with the new standards by 2007.[citation needed]

Sister cities

[edit]

Though Aurora, Brighton, Broomfield, Denver, Lakewood, and Longmont have their own individual sister city relationships, the Denver Regional Council of Governments (DRCOG) as a whole has a sister city relationship with the Baghdad Governorate of Iraq.[8]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ↑ "Total Gross Domestic Product for Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO (MSA)". Federal Reserve Economic Data. Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Revised Delineations of Metropolitan Statistical Areas, Micropolitan Statistical Areas, and Combined Statistical Areas, and Guidance on Uses of the Delineations of These Areas (July 21, 2023). "OMB BULLETIN NO. 23-01" (PDF). Office of Management and Budget. Retrieved May 20, 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  3. ↑ Star, Indianapolis. "Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO Metro Area Demographics and Housing 2020 Decennial Census". Indianapolis Star. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
  4. ↑ DIvision, US Census Bureau Systems Support. "Ranking Tables for Metropolitan Areas (PHC-T-3)". www.census.gov.
  5. ↑ "City and Town Population Totals: 2020-2025". United States Census Bureau. May 26, 2026. Retrieved July 29, 2026.
  6. ↑ "About Provider - Comcast Corporation - Nationwide - National Broadband Map". National Broadband Map. Retrieved December 23, 2016.
  7. ↑ "?" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on December 4, 2004.
  8. ↑ "Bagdad–Denver region partnership". Denver Regional Council of Governments. Archived from the original on June 18, 2012. Retrieved August 9, 2010.
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