Welcome to Thornton ...
The city of Thornton is primarily located in Adams County<1>. A portion of Thornton extends into Weld County.
While we don't have a date for the founding of Thornton, you might get a feel for its founding by knowing that they incorporated June 12, 1956.
From the Census Estimates for 2019, Thornton has a population of 146,929 people<2> (see below for details).
Thornton is 5,230 feet [1,594 m] above sea level.<3> In other words, the elevation of Thornton is about 1 mile [or ~1½ km] above sea level.
Time Zone: Thornton lies in the Mountain Time Zone (MST/MDT) and observes daylight saving time
Area Codes for Thornton: 303, 720 & 983<4>
Population Details ...
Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Thornton had an population of 146,929 people. This is an increase of 23.71% since the 2010 Census (or an increase of 78.35% since the 2000 Census).
At the time of the 2010 Census, Thornton had a population of 118,772 people (or 26.77% of the total population of Adams County). This makes Thornton the county's most populous community.
The population of Thornton represents 2.36% of the total population of Colorado (which has 5,029,196 people), making it the state's 6th most populous community.
With a 2010 count of 118,772 people, the population of Thornton increased 44.17% from the 2000 Census (with a count of 82,384 people).
More information can be found on the Census Page for Thornton.
Communities Also Named Thornton ...
Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are 28 communities that are also named Thornton - they are located in Alabama (2), Arkansas, California, Idaho (2), Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Ontario, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Thornton.
Websites for Thornton ...
Official Website: www.cityofthornton.net/
Communities near Thornton ...
We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Thornton.
- Denver
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denver
- Denver is located in Denver County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 735,538 people
- Former names for Denver:
- Auraina
- Denver City
- Montana City
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Denver <5>
- Aurora
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)- 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 <5>
- Lakewood
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lakewood have been provided by the GNIS.<6> 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 <5>
- Arvada
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)- 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 <5>
- Westminster
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)- 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 <5>
- Boulder
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boulder
- Boulder is located in Boulder County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 107,645 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Boulder <5>
- Longmont
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Longmont
- Longmont is located in Boulder County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 98,445 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Longmont <5>
- Broomfield
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Broomfield have been provided by the GNIS.<6> 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 <5>
- Commerce City
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Commerce City have been provided by the GNIS.<6> 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 <5>
- Brighton
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brighton
- Brighton is located in Adams County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 40,783 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Brighton <5>
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 Thornton. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Thornton.
Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Thornton. 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 Thornton.
We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Thornton. See our Newspapers Page for Thornton.
TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Thornton ...
Looking for more information about Thornton? 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 Thornton, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for Thornton.
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Thornton: www.cityofthornton.net/
The official website for Adams County: www.co.adams.co.us/
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 Adams, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. |
| <2> | Population counts have been provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. For more detail, please visit our Census Page for Thornton. |
| <3> | The elevation is an estimate for the area around Thornton - it will be higher in some places and lower in others. |
| <4> | When there's a risk of an area code running out of phone numbers, an 'Overlay Area Code' is created that has the same geographic boundaries as the existing area code. In this case, the 303 code has been Overlayed with one of the following codes: 720 or 983. New phone numbers in the Thornton area will be assigned with one of these codes: 303, 720 or 983. As a result, placing a call in the Thornton area will require 10-digit dialing (where you enter both the area code and then the phone number). |
| <5> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <6> | 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. |