Boulder County is a

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

located in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

of the United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 330,758. The most populous

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

in the county and the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

Boulder In geology, a boulder (or rarely bowlder) is a rock fragment with size greater than in diameter. Smaller pieces are called cobbles and pebbles. While a boulder may be small enough to move or roll manually, others are extremely massive. In ...

. Boulder County comprises the Boulder, Colorado Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the

Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

–

Aurora An aurora ( aurorae or auroras), also commonly known as the northern lights (aurora borealis) or southern lights (aurora australis), is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly observed in high-latitude regions (around the Arc ...

, Colorado Combined Statistical Area.

History

Boulder County was one of the original 17 counties created by the

Territory of Colorado The Territory of Colorado was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from February 28, 1861, until August 1, 1876, when it was admitted to the Union as the 38th State of Colorado. The territory was organized i ...

on November 1, 1861. The county was named for

Boulder City Boulder City is a city in Clark County, Nevada, United States. It is approximately southeast of Las Vegas. As of the 2020 census, the population of Boulder City was 14,885. The city took its name from Boulder Canyon. Boulder City is one of o ...

and Boulder Creek, so named because of the abundance of boulders in the creek which hampered early gold prospecting efforts. Boulder County retains essentially the same borders as in 1861, although a of its southeastern corner and its approximate population of 40,000 became part of the City and County of Broomfield in 2001. Before the arrival of the first US settlers, the area was occupied by Native Americans led by Chief Niwot on the plains and seasonally by Utes in the mountains to the west. The first European American settlers were gold prospectors led by Captain Thomas Aikins. His group of about twenty settled at the mouth of Boulder Creek Canyon on October 17, 1858. Chief Niwot told them not to stay and it is said they promised to move into the mountains to prospect in the spring. However, in February 1859, they founded the town of Boulder. At about the same time, they also founded the first Gold Mining town in what would become Colorado, Gold Hill which is about 10 miles west from Boulder. Gold Hill was founded because of the placer gold discovered there. The area was the site of the first commercial scale placer mine in Colorado, producing over 5,500 ounces of gold in the first year of operations (1859). In late December 2021, the Marshall Fire raged through the parched lands near

Boulder, Colorado Boulder is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Home rule municipality, home rule city in Boulder County, Colorado, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 108,250 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the most ...

. Marshall Fire is the most destructive in Colorado's history. The fire impacted City of

Superior Superior may refer to: *Superior (hierarchy), something which is higher in a hierarchical structure of any kind Places * Superior (proposed U.S. state), an unsuccessful proposal for the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to form a separate state *Lak ...

, City of

Louisville Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city; however, by populatio ...

and unincorporated Boulder County areas. 991 homes were destroyed with an additional 127 damaged. Over 13,000 people in Superior and 21,000 in Louisville were ultimately evacuated while the fire was spreading due to unusual 100 mile per hour winds. Additionally, one person died and another is missing and presumed dead. The cause of the fire has not been officially announced, pending an investigation. However, an incident report filed by a ranger with Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks identified two ignition points for the fire. The first ignition point was a shed that began to burn at approximately 11:30AM MST, December 30, 2021. The second ignition point was upwind from the first, and started around noon of the same day on "western side of the Marshall Mesa trailhead".

Geography

According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...

, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (1.9%) is water.

Adjacent counties

Major highways

* U.S. Highway 36 (Denver-Boulder Turnpike) * U.S. Highway 287 * State Highway 7 * Colorado 42

State Highway 42 * Colorado 52

State Highway 52 * Colorado 66

State Highway 66 * Colorado 72

State Highway 72 * Colorado 93

State Highway 93 * Colorado 119

State Highway 119 * Colorado 170

State Highway 170 *

Northwest Parkway Northwest Parkway is a limited-access toll road that runs from US 36 to the I-25/ E-470 interchange. Both terminus are in Broomfield, northwest of Denver. In combination with E-470 () and State Highway 470 (SH 470; ), Northwest ...

(tollway)

National protected areas

Rocky Mountain National Park Rocky Mountain National Park is a List of national parks of the United States, national park of the United States located approximately northwest of Denver in north-central Colorado, within the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains. The park is s ...

is in Boulder County,

Larimer County Larimer County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 359,066. The county seat and most populous city is Fort Collins, Colorado, Fort Colli ...

, and Grand County.

Longs Peak Longs Peak is a mountain in the northern Front Range of the Rocky Mountains of North America. The fourteener is located in the Rocky Mountain National Park Wilderness, southwest by south ( bearing 209°) of the Town of Estes Park, Colorado, ...

, the park's highest summit at elevation, is located in Boulder County.

State protected area

* Eldorado Canyon State Park

Scenic trails and byways

Continental Divide National Scenic Trail The Continental Divide National Scenic Trail (in short Continental Divide Trail, CDT) is a United States National Scenic Trail with a length measured by the Continental Divide Trail Coalition of between the U.S. border with Chihuahua, Mexico and ...

Peak to Peak Scenic and Historic Byway State Highway 72 (SH 72) is a state highway passing through the foothills and the eastern edge of the Front Range. Its southern terminus is at Interstate 70 (I-70) in Wheat Ridge, and its northern terminus is at SH 7 east of Allenspark. ...

Historic district

* Colorado Chautauqua National Historic District

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 271,651 people, 114,680 households, and 68,808 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 119,900 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 88.54%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.88%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.61% Native American, 3.06% Asian, 0.06%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 4.67% from other races, and 2.18% from two or more races. 10.46% of the population were

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race. There were 114,680 households, out of which 30.70% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.90% were married couples living together, 7.70% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.00% were non-families. 26.30% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 3.03. In the county, the population was spread out, with 22.90% under the age of 18, 13.40% from 18 to 24, 33.60% from 25 to 44, 22.30% from 45 to 64, and 7.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females, there were 102.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 101.70 males. In 2014, the median income for a household in the county was $69,407, and the median income for a family was $94,938. Males had a median income of $65,489 versus $48,140 for females. About 7.0% of families and 14.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.6% of those under age 18 and 5.9% of those age 65 or over. In 2017, Bloomberg ranked the Boulder metropolitan area as the top "brain" area in the US.

Government

Boulder County is divided into three districts each represented by a commissioner elected county-wide. The three commissioners comprise the county Board of Commissioners and represent the county as a whole. Each commissioner must reside in their respective district and may be elected to a maximum of two four-year terms. The Board of County Commissioners are full-time public servants and approve the budget for the entire County government. The Board also oversees the management of 10 County departments and the daily operations of the county, work that is done by a county manager or a chief administrative officer in some counties. Boulder County has seven other county-wide elected officials, including the District Attorney, who represents the 20th Judicial District.

Elected officials

Boulder County is coterminous with the 20th Judicial District which is represented by District Attorney Michael Dougherty.

Politics

Boulder County went Republican in all but three presidential elections from 1920 to 1984, the exceptions being the national Democratic landslides of 1932, 1936 and 1964. However, it has swung heavily to the Democrats since the late 1980s, and has supported Democrats at every election since 1988. Since the 1990s, it has become one of the most liberal counties in Colorado; in most years, it is the second-strongest Democratic bastion in the state, behind only the City and County of Denver. The GOP has not crossed the 40% mark in the county since 1988. This tracks closely with the Democratic trend in other counties dominated by college towns. In recent years, Republican vote share has significantly declined. Republicans took less than 28% of the vote in Boulder County in both

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

and

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

, only 22% in

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

, and just over 20% in

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

and 2024. In 2020, Joe Biden received over 77% of the vote, the best performance for a Democrat since 1896. Unlike the national trend, Boulder saw next to no Republican shift in the 2024 election; Kamala Harris received 76.5% of the vote which (with the exception of 2020) was also a record performance for a Democrat in the county. In 2000,

Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as environmentalism and social justice. Green party platforms typically embrace Social democracy, social democratic economic policies and fo ...

presidential candidate

Ralph Nader Ralph Nader (; born February 27, 1934) is an American lawyer and political activist involved in consumer protection, environmentalism, and government reform causes. He is a Perennial candidate, perennial presidential candidate. His 1965 book '' ...

took 11.82% of the vote in Boulder County, more than twice the 5.25% he took statewide in Colorado, and more than four times his 2.73% nationwide vote share. The cities of Boulder and Longmont are Democratic strongholds, as well as all the mountain towns to the west within the county. In fact, every precinct within the county is majority-Democratic, and most by heavy margins, save one rural plains region in the far northeast corner of the county, north of Longmont, which leans slightly Republican. Boulder County has also demonstrated its progressive leanings in referendums on social issues, such as in 2006, when nearly 2/3 of Boulder County voters voted to reject Amendment 43, a constitutional amendment defining marriage as between one man and one woman. Although the amendment passed statewide with 55% of the vote, only 33% of Boulder County supported it. In 2012, over 66% of Boulder County voted in favor of

Amendment 64 Colorado Amendment 64 was a successful popular initiative ballot measure to amend the Constitution of the State of Colorado, outlining a statewide drug policy for cannabis. The measure passed on November 6, 2012, and along with a similar mea ...

, legalizing marijuana in the state of Colorado.

Local courts

The 20th Judicial District of Colorado, the state

trial court A trial court or court of first instance is a court having original jurisdiction, in which trials take place. Appeals from the decisions of trial courts are usually heard by higher courts with the power of appellate review (appellate courts). ...

general jurisdiction A court of general jurisdiction, in the law of the United States, is a court with authority to hear cases in law and in Equity (law), equity of all kinds – criminal law, criminal, civil law (common law), civil, family law, family, probate, and oth ...

, serves and is coextensive with Boulder County. As of 2009 the 20th Judicial Circuit has eight District Court judges. The Boulder County Court, the state trial court of

limited jurisdiction Limited jurisdiction, or special jurisdiction, is the court's jurisdiction only on certain types of cases such as bankruptcy, and family matters. Courts of limited jurisdiction, as opposed to general jurisdiction, derive power from an issuing auth ...

, consists of five judges and six

magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judi ...

s. Boulder County has two combined

courthouse A courthouse or court house is a structure which houses judicial functions for a governmental entity such as a state, region, province, county, prefecture, regency, or similar governmental unit. A courthouse is home to one or more courtrooms, ...

s: *The Boulder County Justice Center is located in the City of Boulder and is headquarters to the 20th Judicial District of Colorado. The office of the

district attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, county prosecutor, state attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or solicitor is the chief prosecutor or chief law enforcement officer represen ...

is also here, as is the Juvenile Assessment Center, the county's combined assessment and detention facility. *The Longmont Courthouse in the City of Longmont acts as an extension of the County Court and the District Attorney's Office.

Communities

Cities

* Lafayette *

Longmont Longmont is a home rule municipality located in Boulder and Weld counties, Colorado, United States. Its population was 98,885 . Longmont is located northeast of the county seat of Boulder. It is named after Longs Peak, a prominent mountain th ...

(partly in Weld County) *

Towns

Erie Erie is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is the fifth-most populous city in Pennsylvania and the most populous in Northwestern Pennsylvania with a population of 94,831 ...

(partly in Weld County) * Jamestown *

Lyons Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

* Nederland *

(partly in Jefferson County) * Town of Ward

Census-designated places

* Allenspark * Altona * Bark Ranch * Bonanza Mountain Estates * Coal Creek (partly in

Gilpin County Gilpin County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado, smallest in land area behind only the City and County of Broomfield. As of the 2020 census, the population was 5,808. The county seat is Central City. The county was formed in ...

and Jefferson County) * Crisman * Eldora * Eldorado Springs * Glendale * Gold Hill * Gunbarrel * Hidden Lake *

Lazy Acres Bristol Farms is an upscale grocery store chain in California, United States. Founded in Los Angeles County, Bristol Farms operates 19 stores: 13 as Bristol Farms locations and 6 branded as Lazy Acres Markets throughout Southern California. The ...

* Leyner * Mountain Meadows * Niwot * Paragon Estates * Pine Brook Hill * Seven Hills * St. Ann Highlands *

Sugarloaf A sugarloaf was the usual form in which refined sugar was produced and sold until the late 19th century, when granulated and cube sugars were introduced. A tall cone with a rounded top was the end product of a process in which dark molasses, ...

Sunshine Sunlight is the portion of the electromagnetic radiation which is emitted by the Sun (i.e. solar radiation) and received by the Earth, in particular the visible light perceptible to the human eye as well as invisible infrared (typically per ...

* Tall Timber * Valmont

Other unincorporated communities

Caribou The reindeer or caribou (''Rangifer tarandus'') is a species of deer with circumpolar distribution, native to Arctic, subarctic, tundra, boreal, and mountainous regions of Northern Europe, Siberia, and North America. It is the only represe ...

* Canfield * Gooding *

Hygiene Hygiene is a set of practices performed to preserve health. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), "Hygiene refers to conditions and practices that help to maintain health and prevent the spread of diseases." Personal hygiene refer ...

*Highland * Liggett *Morey * Pinecliffe *Pleasant View Ridge (partly in Weld County) *Tabor

Education

School districts serving Boulder County include:
Text list
/ref> * Boulder Valley School District RE-2 * Estes Park School District R-3 * St. Vrain Valley School District RE-1J * Thompson School District R-2J

References

External links

Boulder County Government websiteColorado Historical Society
{{Coord, 40.09, -105.36, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-CO_source:UScensus1990 Colorado counties 1861 establishments in Colorado Territory Metropolitan areas of Colorado Populated places established in 1861