Welcome to Denver ...
The city of Denver is located in Denver County<1> (at the time of its founding, Denver was located in Arapahoe County). It is the County Seat and the capital of Colorado.
Denver was established in 1858 and was incorporated November 7, 1861.
The origin (or the toponymy) of Denver: Named for General James Denver (1817-1892), Governor of Kansas Territory between December 1857 and November 1858.
When the people of Denver refer to themselves (known as a demonym), they frequently use Denverite<2>
From the Census Estimates for 2019, Denver has a population of 725,508 people<3> (see below for details).
The community of Denver is 5,280 feet [1,609 m] above sea level.<4> In other words, the altitude of Denver is 1 mile [or ~1½ km] above sea level.
Time Zone: Denver lies in the Mountain Time Zone (MST/MDT) and observes daylight saving time
Area codes for Denver: (303) & (720)<5>
The ZIP codes for Denver: 80201-80212, 80214-80239, 80241, 80243-80244, 80246, 80248-80252, 80254-80257, 80259-80266, 80270-80271, 80273-80275, 80279-80281, 80290-80295, 80299<6>
The city of Denver was previously named Denver City. Before Denver City, it was named Auraina. For more information about the names of Denver, see The Names of Denver on our Genealogy Page.
Websites for Denver ...
Official Website: www.denvergov.org/
Chamber of Commerce: www.denverchamber.org/
Junior League: www.jld.org/
Population Details ...
Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Denver had an population of 725,508 people. This is an increase of 20.89% since the 2010 Census (or an increase of 30.81% since the 2000 Census).
At the time of the 2010 Census, Denver had a population of 600,158 people (or 100% of the total population of Denver County). This makes Denver the county's most populous community.
The population of Denver represents 11.93% of the population of Colorado (which has 5,029,196 people), making it the state's most populous community.
With a 2010 count of 600,158 people, the population of Denver increased 8.21% from the 2000 Census (which had a count of 554,636 people).
More information can be found on the Census Page for Denver.
Communities Also Named Denver ...
Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are 26 communities that are also named Denver - they are located in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan (2), Missouri, New York, North Carolina, Nova Scotia, Ohio (2), Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee (2), Texas and West Virginia (2).
For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Denver.
Communities near Denver ...
We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Denver.
- Aurora
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aurora
- Aurora is located in Arapahoe County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 387,377 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Aurora <7>
- Lakewood
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lakewood have been provided by the GNIS.<8> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakewood
- Lakewood is located in Jefferson County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 157,429 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lakewood <7>
- Thornton
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Thornton have been provided by the GNIS.<8> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thornton
- Thornton is located in Adams County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 148,113 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Thornton <7>
- Arvada
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arvada
- Arvada is located in Jefferson County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 121,936 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Arvada <7>
- Westminster
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westminster
- Westminster is located in Adams County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 115,046 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Westminster <7>
- Centennial
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centennial
- Centennial is located in Arapahoe County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 110,156 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Centennial <7>
- Broomfield
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Broomfield have been provided by the GNIS.<8> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Broomfield
- Broomfield is located in Broomfield County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 72,236 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Broomfield <7>
- Commerce City
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Commerce City have been provided by the GNIS.<8> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Commerce City
- Commerce City is located in Adams County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 59,317 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Commerce City <7>
- Parker
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parker
- Parker is located in Douglas County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 58,673 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Parker <7>
- Littleton
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Littleton
- Littleton is located in Arapahoe County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 46,000 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Littleton <7>
To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.
We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Denver. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Denver.
Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Denver. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Denver.
We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Denver. Our list includes 392 papers. See our Newspapers Page for Denver.
TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Denver ...
Looking for more information about Denver? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.
In addition to the Tourism page for Denver, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for Denver.
Adding Denver to Our Gazetteer ...
We originally found mention of Denver in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.
From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found for Denver was in the book titled Business Atlas and Shippers' Guide (1895).
For more details, see References and Mentions for Denver.
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Denver: www.denvergov.org/
The official website for State of Colorado: https://www.colorado.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | If you're interested in how the shape of Colorado's counties, including Denver, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. |
| <2> | A demonym is the name for a resident of a community which is usually derived from (or is related to) the name of that community. In other words, it's how the residents of Denver refer to themselves. It's important to note that there aren't any rules for taking a city's name and turning it into a demonym. A demonym is informal and while the majority of Denver may use one name, keep in mind that others may use something different. |
| <3> | Population counts have been provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. For more detail, please visit our Census Page for Denver. |
| <4> | The elevation is an estimate for the area around Denver - it will be higher in some places and lower in others. |
| <5> | Area code (720) is an overlay for area code (303). |
| <6> | ZIP Codes have been created by the United States Postal Service (USPS) as a way of grouping addresses to make delivery more efficient. The boundaries of the ZIP Code can be changed, re-assigned, eliminated or overlapped with other ZIP Codes. So keep in mind that any given ZIP Code is only 'loosely' associated with a city (such as Denver). When looking for a ZIP Code, whether Denver or elsewhere, it's always best to check the website of the United States Postal Service (USPS). Our list of ZIP Codes for Denver includes: 80201, 80202, 80203, 80204, 80205, 80206, 80207, 80208, 80209, 80210, 80211, 80214, 80215, 80216, 80217, 80218, 80219, 80220, 80221, 80222, 80223, 80224, 80225, 80226, 80227, 80228, 80229, 80230, 80231, 80232, 80233, 80234, 80235, 80236, 80237, 80238, 80241, 80243, 80246, 80248, 80249, 80250, 80251, 80254, 80255, 80256, 80259, 80260, 80261, 80262, 80263, 80264, 80265, 80270, 80273, 80274, 80279, 80280, 80290, 80291, 80292, 80293, 80294 & 80295. |
| <7> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <8> | The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required. |