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.[10]
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.[11]
In the 1990s, after three decades of annexations, Broomfield had spilled into Adams, Jefferson, and Weld counties in addition to Boulder.[12] 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 smallest county of Colorado. It is the newest county in Colorado (and in the entire United States, if county equivalents are not included).[13]
The elevation of Broomfield is 5,348 feet (1,630 m).[7] At the 2020 United States Census, Broomfield had a total area of 21,471 acres (86.890 km2), including 371 acres (1.503 km2) of water.[6] It is the smallest county by area in Colorado, and the 5th smallest in the United States.
In 2023, there were 33,563 households, of which 48.0% were married couples living together, 11.4% were cohabiting couple households, 18.7% had a male householder with no spouse/partner present, and 21.9% had a female householder with no spouse/partner present. 22.5% of households had one or more people under 18 years, and 25.6% of households had one or more people 65 years or older. The average household size was 2.28 people, and the average family size was 2.90 people.[20]
In 2023, age distribution figures showed 20.2% of residents under the age of 18 and 16.5% age 65 years or older.[17] The median age was 37.9 years and females made up 49.1% of the population.[17]
In 2023, the median household income in Broomfield was $112,139 and the median family income was $130,920.[21] The per capita income for the city was $59,679,[22] with 5.3% of the population living below the poverty line[23] and 2.7% without health care coverage.[24] By 2018–2022 estimates, Broomfield had the 3rd highest median household income among Colorado counties and the 40th highest in the United States;[25] for families, the median income was the 2nd highest among Colorado counties and the 18th highest in the United States.[26]
In 2023, the educational attainment of residents over age 25 included 97.0% being high school graduates (or higher), 58.8% holding a bachelor's degree (or higher), and 25.6% holding a graduate or professional degree.[27]
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 November 1, 2024, among 55,491 active registered voters in Broomfield, 15,368 were Democrats, 10,481 were Republicans, and 28,587 were not affiliated with any party.[28]
United States presidential election results for Broomfield, Colorado
Broomfield's recreational opportunities include the Paul Derda Recreation Center and pool, athletic fields, courts and rinks and open space and trails.[30][31]
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.[5]
Mayor
Mayor — Guyleen Castriotta
Mayor Pro-Tem — Deven Shaff
City officials
City and County Manager — Jennifer Hoffman
City and County Attorney — Nancy Rodgers
The Paul Derda Recreation Center
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.
Since Broomfield used to be divided among four counties, students living in the city were served by the separate school districts for their county.[citation needed] While the city is now united within one county, it is still separated among 6 school districts:[32]
Broomfield features two large public high schools (Broomfield High School and Legacy High School), 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:
.svg){kind=small}
