Broomfield, 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
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 municipality of Broomfield was incorporated in 1961 in the southeastern corner of Boulder County. Researchers speculate the city was named for the sorghum grown in the area, also known as broomcorn, which farmers sold to manufacturers of brooms and whisk brooms.

In the 1990s, after three decades of annexations, Broomfield stretched across Adams, Boulder, Jefferson, and Weld counties, city leaders felt increasing chagrin with the need to deal with four separate court districts, four different county seats, and four separate county sales tax bases. They began pushing to make Broomfield a consolidated city-county similar to Denver, reasoning that they could provide services more responsively if it 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 smallest county of Colorado. It is the newest county in Colorado (and in the entire United States, if county equivalents are not included).

On February 20, 2021, United Airlines Flight 328 from Denver to Honolulu experienced an engine failure after takeoff from Denver International Airport and debris from the engine landed in parts of Broomfield. Multiple homes were damaged, but no injuries were reported, and the plane landed safely at DIA.

Geography
Broomfield is located midway between downtown Denver and Boulder along U.S. Route 36.

The elevation of Broomfield is 5,348 ft. At the 2020 United States Census, Broomfield had a total area of 86.890 km2, including 1.503 km2 of water. It is the smallest county by area in Colorado, and the 5th smallest in the United States.

Airport
Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport, formerly known as the Jefferson County (Jeffco) Airport, is located in Broomfield.

Major highways

 * I-25 (CO).svg Interstate 25
 * US 36.svg U.S. Highway 36 (Denver–Boulder Turnpike)
 * US 85.svg U.S. Highway 85
 * US 287.svg U.S. Highway 287
 * Colorado 7.svg State Highway 7
 * Colorado 121.svg State Highway 121
 * Colorado 128.svg 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 -9.4 °F.

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 2,248 /mi2, making it the second most densely populated county in Colorado behind Denver. The racial 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 2022, 12.2% were foreign-born.

In 2022, there were 31,244 households, of which 53.1% were married couples living together, 6.3% were cohabiting couple households, 19.0% had a male householder with no spouse/partner present, and 21.6% had a female householder with no spouse/partner present. 27.7% of households had one or more people under 18 years, and 25.3% of households had one or more people 65 years or older. The average household size was 2.42 people, and the average family size was 3.04 people.

In 2022, age distribution figures showed 20.5% of residents under the age of 18 and 15.7% age 65 years or older. The median age was 38.9 years and females made up 49.5% of the population.

In 2022, the median household income in Broomfield was $115,833 and the median family income was $157,492. The per capita income for the city was $58,850, with 7.4% of the population living below the poverty line and 2.5% without health care coverage. By 2017–2021 estimates, Broomfield had the 3rd highest median household income among Colorado counties, and the 45th highest in the United States; for families, the median income was the 2nd highest among Colorado counties, and the 24th highest in the United States.

In 2022, the educational attainment of residents over age 25 included 94.2% being high school graduates, 57.8% holding a bachelor's degree or higher, and 24.6% holding a graduate or professional degree.

Politics
When the county was formed in 2001, it was a swing county, and the city itself has voted for the winner of the national popular vote in each presidential election from 2004 to 2020. 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 2016, it voted decisively for Hillary Clinton. Joe Biden won the county by an even larger margin in 2020.

Since its inception, Broomfield County has voted for the winner of Colorado's electoral votes.

As of April 1, 2024, 14,632 voters were Democrats, 10,062 voters were Republicans, and 27,105 voters 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, WhiteWave Foods and Mrs. Fields are headquartered in Broomfield.

Top employers
According to Broomfield's 2020 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 &mdash; Guyleen Castriotta
 * Mayor Pro-Tem &mdash; Deven Shaff

City officials

 * City and County Manager &mdash; Jennifer Hoffman
 * City and County Attorney &mdash; 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, the city is still separated among multiple school districts.

School districts that have sections of Broomfield:
 * Adams County District Twelve Five Star Schools
 * Boulder Valley School District RE-2
 * School District 27J
 * Weld County School District RE-8
 * Jefferson County School District R-1
 * St. Vrain Valley School District RE 1J

There are six school districts that overlap Broomfield, but the two largest school districts in Broomfield are Adams Twelve Five Star Schools and Boulder Valley School District.

Broomfield features two large public high schools (Broomfield High School, which underwent significant renovations from 2009 to 2010, and Legacy High), 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
 * 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