The U.S.

State of Colorado Colorado is a 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 to the east ...

has 273 active municipalities, comprising 198

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

s, 73

cities A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

, and two consolidated city and county governments. The

City and County of Denver Denver ( ) is a consolidated city and county, the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. It is located in the Western United States, in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains east of ...

, the

state capital Below is an index of pages containing lists of capital city, capital cities. National capitals *List of national capitals *List of national capitals by latitude *List of national capitals by population *List of national capitals by area *List of ...

, is the oldest municipality in Colorado. On December 3, 1859, the extralegal Territory of Jefferson granted a charter to the consolidated City of Denver, Auraria, and Highland. The Town of Keystone, incorporated on February 8, 2024, is the newest Colorado municipality. Colorado municipalities range in population from the City and County of Denver with a 2020 population of 715,522, to the Town of Carbonate, which has had no year-round population since the 1890 Census due to its severe winter weather and difficult access. The City of Black Hawk with a 2020 population of 127 is the least populous Colorado city, while the Town of Castle Rock with a 2020 population of 73,158 is the most populous Colorado town. At the 2020 United States Census, 4,299,942 of the 5,773,714 Colorado residents (74.47%) lived in one of the 271 municipalities active at the time. Another 714,417 residents (12.37%) lived in one of the 210

census-designated places A census-designated place (CDP) is a concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counterparts of incorporated places, such ...

, while the remaining 759,355 residents (13.15%) lived in the many rural and mountainous areas of the state. In 2020, only of Colorado's of land area (1.90%) were incorporated in the 271 active municipalities. The City of Colorado Springs with of land area was the most extensive municipality, while the Town of Sawpit with of land area was the least extensive. The City of Glendale with a 2020 population density of 8,117 residents per square mile (3,134/km²) was the most densely populated municipality, while the Town of Bonanza with a 2020 population density of 38 residents per square mile (15/km²) was the least densely populated municipality after Carbonate.

Municipal government

Colorado municipalities operate under one of five types of municipal governing authority —

consolidated city and county Consolidated may refer to: Companies *Consolidated Aircraft, an American aircraft manufacturer active 1923–1943 *Consolidated Communications, an American broadband and business communications provider *Consolidated Edison, an American energy com ...

home rule municipality Statutory city may refer to: * Statutory city (Austria), an Austrian municipality acting as a district administrative authority * Statutory city (Czech Republic), a Czech city with special privileges * Statutory city (United States), a city in the ...

(which may be either a city or a town),

statutory city Statutory city may refer to: * Statutory city (Austria), an Austrian municipality acting as a district administrative authority * Statutory city (Czech Republic), a Czech city with special privileges * Statutory city (United States), a city in the ...

statutory town In India, the Urban Local Bodies (ULBs), also called municipalities, are self-government institutions responsible for the administration of cities, towns, and transitional areas within a state or Union Territory. The 74th amendment to the Const ...

, and

territorial charter municipality A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, belonging or connected to a particular country, person, or animal. In international politics, a territory is usually a geographic area which has not been granted the powers of self-government, ...

. State law makes relatively few distinctions between a city and a town. The charter of a home rule municipality may designate either a city or town municipal title. In general, cities are more populous than towns, although long-term population changes may skew this considerably, as illustrated by the City of Black Hawk and the Town of Castle Rock. Neither

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

nor

civil township A civil township is a widely used unit of local government in the United States that is subordinate to a County (United States), county, most often in the northern and midwestern parts of the country. The term town is used in New England town, Ne ...

is a type of civil division in the State of Colorado. The cities of Cherry Hills Village and Greenwood Village and the towns of Log Lane Village, Mountain Village, and Snowmass Village have the word "village" at the end of their names. Nineteen Colorado municipalities extend into two counties, while two cities –

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 ...

and Littleton – extend into three counties.

Consolidated city and county

In the State of Colorado, only Denver and Broomfield have consolidated city and county governments. The City and County of Denver operates under Article XX, Section 4 of the Constitution of the State of Colorado; and Title 30, Article 11, Section 101 of the Colorado Revised Statutes. Denver has an elected

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

and a

city council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough counc ...

of 13 members with 11 members elected from council districts and two members elected at large. The City and County of Broomfield operates under Article XX, Sections 10–13 of the Constitution of the State of Colorado. Broomfield has an appointed city and county manager, an elected mayor, and a city council of 11 members composed of the mayor and two members elected from each of five wards.

Home rule municipality

As of 2024, Colorado has 102 cities and towns that are home rule municipalities, which are

self-governing Self-governance, self-government, self-sovereignty or self-rule is the ability of a person or group to exercise all necessary functions of regulation without intervention from an external authority. It may refer to personal conduct or to any ...

under Article 20 of the Constitution of the State of Colorado; Title 31, Article 1, Section 202 of the Colorado Revised Statutes; and the home rule charter of each municipality. The state-authorized home rule charter determines the form of government. Home rule gives local municipalities the power to make legislation relevant to their areas, exercising control over issues of local concern while minimizing state intervention in municipal affairs.

Statutory city

Colorado has 11 statutory cities that operate under Title 31, Article 1, Section 203 and Article 4, Section 100 or Section 200 of the Colorado Revised Statutes. A statutory city must have a population of at least 2,000 at the time of incorporation or reorganization, although three have lost population since. Statutory cities have an elected mayor and a city council composed of the mayor and two members elected from each ward. A statutory city may petition to reorganize as a Section 200 statutory city with an appointed city manager and a city council with two members elected from each ward and one member elected at large. The mayor may be the city council member elected at large or the city council may appoint a mayor.

Statutory town

Colorado has 157 statutory towns that operate under Title 31, Article 1, Section 203 and Article 4, Part 3 of the Colorado Revised Statutes. The statutory town of Creede uses the official title "City of Creede". Likewise, Garden City, Lake City, Orchard City, and Sugar City are legally statutory towns and "city" is only a part of their names. Statutory towns have an elected mayor and a

board of trustees A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency. The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulatio ...

composed of the mayor and four or six additional members elected at large. Colorado statutory cities and towns are limited to exercising powers that are granted by the state and are subject to provisions and limitations imposed by the state and are similar to villages in other states such as the villages of the State of New York.

Territorial charter municipality

The Town of Georgetown is the only municipality that still operates under a charter granted by the Territory of Colorado. The town operates under Article 14, Section 13 of the Charter & Constitution of the Colorado Territory enacted on January 28, 1868. The town mayor is called the police judge, and the town council is called the

board of selectmen The select board or board of selectmen is commonly the Executive (government), executive arm of the government of New England towns in the United States. The board typically consists of three or five members, with or without staggered terms. Three ...

Active municipalities

Select the

OpenStreetMap OpenStreetMap (abbreviated OSM) is a free, Open Database License, open geographic database, map database updated and maintained by a community of volunteers via open collaboration. Contributors collect data from surveying, surveys, trace from Ae ...

link at the right to view the location of these 273 municipalities. :''For the most recent population estimates, see the List of Colorado municipalities by population.'' :''For municipalities by county, see the List of Colorado municipalities by county.'' :''For municipalities in more than one county, see the List of Colorado municipalities in multiple counties.'' :''For the elevation of municipal centers, see the List of Colorado municipalities by elevation.'' :''For county seats, see the List of Colorado county seats.'' :''For former municipalities, see the List of former municipalities in Colorado.'' :''For ZIP codes, see the

List of post offices in Colorado A list is a set of discrete items of information collected and set forth in some format for utility, entertainment, or other purposes. A list may be memorialized in any number of ways, including existing only in the mind of the list-maker, but ...

.'' :''For telephone area codes, see the List of Colorado telephone area codes.'' :''For municipal maps, see th
Colorado municipal boundaries map
'.

Active municipalities in multiple counties

Twenty-one active Colorado municipalities currently extend into more than one

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 ...

Former municipalities

The following is an incomplete list of formerly incorporated municipalities in Colorado. Please add additional referenced information.

Municipal government

Consolidated city and county

Home rule municipality

Statutory city

Statutory town

Territorial charter municipality

Active municipalities

Active municipalities in multiple counties

Former municipalities

See also

Notes

References

External links