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 ten-county Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area and the 18-county 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 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
Northwest Parkway
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.
Racial and ethnic composition +Broomfield, Colorado – Racial and ethnic compositionRace / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)Pop 2000Pop 2010% 2000% 2010White alone (NH)32,02344,35853,90483.67%79.37%72.73%Black or African American alone (NH)3295309270.86%0.95%1.25%Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)1762441970.46%0.44%0.27%Asian alone (NH)1,5803,3685,0964.13%6.03%6.88%Pacific Islander alone (NH)1243800.03%0.08%0.11%Other race alone (NH)36663510.09%0.12%0.47%Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)6451,0643,6381.69%1.90%4.91%Hispanic or Latino (any race)3,4716,2169,9199.07%11.12%13.38%Total38,27255,88974,112100.00%100.00%100.00%
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, Broomfield had a population of 74,112. The population density was , making it the second most densely populated county in Colorado behind Denver. A total of 99.6% of residents lived in urban areas, while 0.4% lived in rural areas.
The median age was 37.7 years. 21.9% of residents were under the age of 18 and 14.7% were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 99.7 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 98.7 males age 18 and over.
There were 29,682 households in Broomfield; 30.3% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 51.8% were married-couple households, 18.5% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 21.8% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 26.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
There were 31,298 housing units, of which 5.2% were vacant. The homeowner vacancy rate was 0.8% and the rental vacancy rate was 6.8%.
+ Racial composition as of the 2020 census Race Number Percent White 56,334 76.0% Black or African American 989 1.3% American Indian and Alaska Native 435 0.6% Asian 5,146 6.9% Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 89 0.1% Some other race 3,017 4.1% Two or more races 8,102 10.9% Hispanic or Latino (of any race) 9,919 13.4%
American Community Survey estimates
In 2024, there were 33,695 households, of which 50.6% were married couples living together, 8.4% were cohabiting couple households, 17.7% had a male householder with no spouse/partner present, and 23.3% had a female householder with no spouse/partner present. 22.2% of households had one or more people under 18 years and 26.4% of households had one or more people 65 years or older. The average household size was 2.31 people, and the average family size was 2.91 people.
In 2024, age distribution figures showed 18.9% of residents under the age of 18 and 16.3% age 65 years or older. The median age was 38.0 years and females made up 49.4% of the population.
In 2024, the median household income in Broomfield was $125,055 and the median family income was $148,477. The per capita income for the city was $64,783, with 7.9% of the population living below the poverty line and 5.0% without health care coverage. By 2019–2023 estimates, Broomfield had the 3rd highest median household income among Colorado counties and the 41st highest in the United States; for families, the median income was the 2nd highest among Colorado counties and the 20th highest in the United States.
In 2024, the educational attainment of residents over age 25 included 97.3% being high school graduates (or higher), 64.4% holding a bachelor's degree (or higher), and 28.4% holding a graduate or professional degree. The foreign-born population was 11.5%.
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 August 1, 2025, among 56,705 active registered voters in Broomfield, 15,317 were Democrats, 10,412 were Republicans, and 29,857 were not affiliated with any party.
Broomfield voters approved ranked-choice voting for municipal elections in 2021. Due to a lack of candidates and delays in the Colorado Secretary of State auditing procedures, implementation of ranked-choice voting has been delayed until 2027.
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 Dragados, Webroot, Noodles & Company, Mrs. Fields, and Spatial Corp are headquartered in Broomfield.
Top employers According to Broomfield's 2023 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the city are:
# Employer # of Employees 1 Oracle America 1,650 2 Intermountain Health Care 1,550 3 BAE Systems 1,100 4 Hunter Douglas Window Fashions Division 950 5 City and County of Broomfield 900 6 Vail Resorts 750 7 DanoneWave Foods 600 8 Crocs 600 9 Broadcom Inc. 500 10 VMware 450
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.
+ Broomfield City and County Leadership Role Name Mayoral Office 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 Vacant 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