List of municipalities in Colorado: Difference between revisions

The U.S. [[Colorado|State of Colorado]] has 273 [[municipal corporation|active municipalities]], comprising 198 [[town]]s, 73 [[City|cities]], and two [[Consolidated city-county|consolidated city and county governments]].<ref name=MuniIncCO>{{cite web|url=https://dola.colorado.gov/lgis/municipalities.jsf|title=Active Colorado Municipalities|publisher=[[Colorado|State of Colorado]], [[Colorado Department of Local Affairs|Department of Local Affairs]], Division of Local Government|access-date=September 15, 2023}}</ref><ref name=Colorado_incplace>{{cite web|url=https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/tigerwebmain/Files/tab20/tigerweb_tab20_incplace_co.html|title=State of Colorado Incorporated Places - Current/TAB20 - Data as of January 1, 2020|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|date=January 1, 2020|access-date=October 24, 2023}}</ref> AtThe [[Denver|City and County of Denver]], the [[2020List Unitedof Statescapitals census|2020in the United States#State Censuscapitals|state capital]],<ref>{{cite 4,299,942 web|url=https://www.sporcle.com/blog/2020/01/why-is-denver-the-capital-of-colorado/|title=Why Is Denver the 5,773,714Capital of Colorado?|work=Sporkle residentsBlog|date=January (74.47%)21, lived2020|access-date=September in4, one2022}}</ref> ofis the 271oldest municipalitiesmunicipality activein at the timeColorado.{{efn|name=exclude|The 2020On statisticsDecember exclude3, 1859, the extralegal [[Carbonate, Colorado|TownTerritory of CarbonateJefferson]] andgranted a charter to the consolidated [[Keystone,History Coloradoof Denver|TownCity of Keystone]]Denver, whichAuraria, wereand not active in 2020Highland]].}}<ref name=Census"Denver City">{{cite webbook|chapter-url=https://wwwbooks.censusgoogle.gov/quickfacts/fact/dashboard/COcom/books?id=kBc4AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA190|titlechapter=QuickFactsTo forCharter Colorado|publisher=[[Unitedand StatesConsolidate Censusthe Towns Bureau]]of Denver, Auraria and Highland|access-datetitle=SeptemberProvisional 4,Laws 2022}}</ref>and AnotherJoint 714,417Resolutions residentsof (12.37%)the livedGeneral inAssembly oneof Jefferson Territory|publisher=General Assembly of the 210Provisional [[ListGovernment of census-designatedthe placesTerritory inof ColoradoJefferson|census-designateddate=December places]]3, while1859|access-date=November the12, remaining2023}}</ref> 759The [[Keystone,355 residentsColorado|Town (13.15%)of livedKeystone]], inincorporated theon manyFebruary rural8, and2024, mountainousis areasthe ofnewest theColorado statemunicipality.<ref name=Census/>

Colorado municipalities range in population from the [[Denver|City and County of Denver]], the [[List of capitals in the United States#State capitals|state capital]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.sporcle.com/blog/2020/01/why-is-denver-the-capital-of-colorado/|title=Why Is Denver the Capital of Colorado?|work=Sporkle Blog|date=January 21, 2020|access-date=September 4, 2022}}</ref> with a 2020 population of 715,522, to the [[Carbonate, Colorado|Town of Carbonate]], which has had no year-round population since the [[1890 United States census|1890 Census]] due to its severe winter weather and difficult access.{{efn|name=most recent|For the most recent population estimates, see the [[List of Colorado municipalities by population]].}}<ref name=Census/><ref name=Carbonate>{{cite web|url=https://www.postindependent.com/news/local/yes-thats-a-town-by-9-0-vote/|title=Yes, that's a town — by 9-0 vote|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170306212623/https://www.postindependent.com/news/local/yes-thats-a-town-by-9-0-vote/ |archive-date= March 6, 2017|first=John|last=Stroud|newspaper= [[Glenwood Springs Post Independent]]|date=November 8, 2014|accessdate=May 10, 2021}}</ref> The [[Black Hawk, Colorado|City of Black Hawk]] with a 2020 population of 127 is the least populous Colorado city, while the [[Castle Rock, Colorado|Town of Castle Rock]] with a 2020 population of 73,158 is the most populous Colorado town.<ref name=MuniIncCO/><ref name=Census/>

InAt the [[2020, onlyUnited {{convert|5097States census|km2|mi2|0|order=flip}}2020 ofUnited Colorado'sStates {{convert|268431|km2|mi2|order=flip}}Census]], 4,299,942 of landthe area5,773,714 Colorado residents (174.9047%) were incorporatedlived in one of the 271 active municipalities. Theactive [[Coloradoat Springs, Colorado|City of Colorado Springs]] withthe time.{{convertefn|506name=exclude|km2|mi2|order=flip}}The of2020 landstatistics area isexclude the most[[Carbonate, extensiveColorado|Town municipality,of whileCarbonate]] and the [[SawpitKeystone, Colorado|Town of SawpitKeystone]] withwhich {{convert|0.078|km2|acre|order=flip}}were ofnot landactive areain is the least extensive2020.}}<ref name=COmuni2020Census>{{cite web|url=https://tigerweb.geowww.census.gov/tigerwebmainquickfacts/Filesfact/tab20dashboard/CO/tigerweb_tab20_incplace_co.html|title=StateQuickFacts offor Colorado Incorporated Places - Current/TAB20 - Data as of January 1, 2020|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|date=January 1, 2020|access-date=AugustSeptember 274, 2022}}</ref> TheAnother [[Glendale714,417 Colorado|Cityresidents of(12.37%) Glendale]]lived within a 2020 population densityone of 8,117 residents per square mile (3,134/km²) is the most210 densely[[List populatedof municipality,census-designated whileplaces the [[Bonanza,in Colorado|Towncensus-designated of Bonanzaplaces]], withwhile athe 2020remaining population density of 38759,355 residents per square mile (13.15/km²%) islived in the leastmany denselyrural populatedand municipalitymountainous afterareas Carbonateof the state.<ref name=Census/>

Colorado municipalities operate under one of five types of municipal governing authority &ndash; [[#Consolidated city and county|consolidated city and county]], [[#Home rule municipality|home rule municipality]] (which may be either a city or a town), [[#Statutory city|statutory city]], [[#Statutory town|statutory town]], and [[#Territorial charter municipality|territorial charter municipality]].<ref name=MuniIncCO/> 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 [[Black Hawk, Colorado|City of Black Hawk]] and the [[Castle Rock, Colorado|Town of Castle Rock]].

Neither [[Village (United States)|village]] nor [[civil township]] is a type of civil division in the State of Colorado. However, theThe cities of [[Cherry Hills Village, Colorado|Cherry Hills Village]] and [[Greenwood Village, Colorado|Greenwood Village]] and the towns of [[Log Lane Village, Colorado|Log Lane Village]], [[Mountain Village, Colorado|Mountain Village]], and [[Snowmass Village, Colorado|Snowmass Village]] have the word "village" at the end of their names.<ref name=MuniIncCO/>

As of 2024, Colorado has 62102 cities and 38 towns that are home rule municipalities,<ref>https://dola.colorado.gov/lgis/lgType.jsf</ref> which are [[self-governing]] 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.<ref name="OP 2014-01-29">{{Cite webnews |last=Block |first=Sheridan |last2=Tiedje |first2=Bill |date=January 29, 2014 |title=COLORADO Comparing home rule and statutory municipalities |url=https://www.ouraynews.com/colorado-comparing-home-rule-and-statutory-municipalities |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190713174027/https://www.ouraynews.com/colorado-comparing-home-rule-and-statutory-municipalities |archive-date=2019-07-13 |work=Ouray Plaindealer}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Colorado Revised Statutes 2016 - TITLE 31 |url=https://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/images/olls/crs2016-title-31.pdf}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite webnews |date=2020-02-27 |title=A 60,000-Person Town And A 100-Person City? How Colorado's Communities Get Named |url=https://www.kunc.org/news/2020-02-27/a-60-000-person-town-and-a-100-person-city-how-colorados-communities-get-named |access-date=2023-04-10 |websitework=KUNC |language=en}}</ref> 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.

Colorado has 159157 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, Colorado|Creede]] uses the official title "City of Creede".<ref name=MuniIncCO/> [[Garden City, Colorado|Garden City]], [[Lake City, Colorado|Lake City]], [[Orchard City, Colorado|Orchard City]], and [[Sugar City, Colorado|Sugar City]] are statutory towns but use city at the end of their names.<ref name=MuniIncCO/>

Statutory towns have an elected mayor and a [[Municipal council#United States|board of trustees]] 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<ref>{{Cite web r|date=January 29,OP 2014 |title=Comparing home rule and statutory municipalities |url=https://www.ouraynews.com/colorado-comparing01-home-rule-and-statutory-municipalities29}}</ref> and are similar to villages in other states such as the [[Administrative divisions of New York (state)#Village|villages of the State of New York]].

{{for|municipalthe mapselevation andof municipal websitescenters|List of Colorado municipalities by elevation}}

|+<big>The 273 active municipalities of the State of Colorado</big><br/><br/>

!scope=col|[[2020 United States census|2020]]{{efn|name=most recent}}

!scope=row style="background:#CCCCFF;"|[[Denver]]{{double-dagger|alt=Capital city}}{{efn|The [[Denver|City and County of Denver]] is the [[List of United States cities by population|19th most populous U.S. municipality]].<ref name=USmuni/>}}{{efn|The [[Denver|City and County of Denver]] is the [[principal city]] of the [[Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area]] and the [[Denver-Aurora, CO Combined Statistical Area]].<ref name=OMB_20-01>{{cite web|url=https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Bulletin-20-01.pdf|title=OMB Bulletin No. 20-01: Revised Delineations of Metropolitan Statistical Areas, Micropolitan Statistical Areas, and Combined Statistical Areas, and Guidance on Uses of the Delineations of These Areas|date=March 6, 2020|publisher=[[United States Office of Management and Budget]]|access-date=September 5, 2022}}</ref>}}{{efn|name=Denver|On August 24, 1859, voters of the [[Pike's Peak Gold Rush|Pike's Peak mining region]] approved the formation of the [[Provisional Government of the Territory of Jefferson]] with [[Denver City, Jefferson Territory|Denver City]] as the territorial capital.<ref name="Jefferson Territory">{{cite journal|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hkkRAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA16|journal=The University of Colorado Studies: General Series A|publisher=[[University of Colorado]]|location=[[Boulder, Colorado]]|pages=15–18|author=Frederic L. Paxson |title=The Territory of Jefferson: A Spontaneous Commonwealth|year=1906|volume=3|editor=Francis Ramaley|access-date=November 12, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.historycolorado.org%2Fsites%2Fdefault%2Ffiles%2Fmedia%2Fdocument%2F2018%2FColoradoMagazine_v12n4_July1935.pdf|title=The Model of Auraria-Denver of 1860|work=[[History Colorado|The Colorado Magazine]]|publisher=[[History Colorado|Colorado Historical Society]]|date=July 1935|access-date=November 12, 2023}}</ref> On November 28, 1859, the extralegal territory created 12 counties, with Denver City as the seat of [[Arrappahoe County, Jefferson Territory]].<ref name=JT>{{cite book|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kBc4AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA190|chapter=An Act Defining the Boundaries of Counties and for other purposes|title=Provisional Laws and Joint Resolutions of the General Assembly of Jefferson Territory|publisher=General Assembly of the Provisional Government of the Territory of Jefferson|date=November 28, 1859|access-date=November 12, 2023}}</ref> On December 3, 1859, the Jefferson Territory granted a charter to the consolidated [[History of Denver|City of Denver, Auraria, and Highland]], still commonly known as Denver City.<ref>{{cite book|chapter-urlname=https://books.google.com/books?id=kBc4AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA190|chapter=To Charter and Consolidate the Towns of "Denver, Auraria and Highland|title=Provisional Laws and Joint Resolutions of the General Assembly of Jefferson Territory|publisher=General Assembly of the Provisional Government of the Territory of Jefferson|date=December 3, 1859|access-date=November 12, 2023}}<City"/ref> On November 13, 1860, the Jefferson Territory moved its capital to [[Golden City, Jefferson Territory|Golden City]]. On February 28, 1861, [[President of the United States|U.S. President]] [[James Buchanan]] signed [[Colorado Organic Act|An Act to provide a temporary Government for the Territory of Colorado]], which designated Denver City as the original capital of the [[Colorado Territory]].<ref name="Colorado Origin Act">{{cite web|url=https://www.loc.gov/law/help/statutes-at-large/36th-congress/session-2/c36s2ch59.pdf|title=An Act To provide a temporary Government for the Territory of Colorado|author=Thirty-sixth United States Congress|website=[[Library of Congress]] |author-link=36th United States Congress|date=February 28, 1861|access-date=November 12, 2023}}</ref> On June 6, 1861, the Jefferson Territory officially yielded to the new territory. On November 1, 1861, the Colorado Territory created 17 original counties, with Denver City as the original seat of [[Arapahoe County, Colorado|Arapahoe County]]. On November 7, 1861, the Colorado Territory reincorporated the city as the [[History of Denver|City of Denver City]].<ref>{{cite book|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kBc4AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA190|chapter=An Act Defining the Boundaries of Counties and for other purposes|title=Provisional Laws and Joint Resolutions of the General Assembly of Jefferson Territory|publisher=General Assembly of the Territory of Jefferson|date=November 28, 1859|access-date=November 12, 2023}}</ref> On July 7, 1862, the Colorado Territory moved its capital to [[Colorado City, Colorado Territory|Colorado City]]. On February 13, 1866, the city shortened its name to the [[Denver|City of Denver]].<ref name=CPO>{{cite book|title=Colorado Post Offices 1859-1989|first1=William H.|last1=Bauer|first2=James L.|last2=Ozment|first3=John H.|last3=Willard|date=1990|publisher=[[Colorado Railroad Museum|Colorado Railroad Historical Foundation]]|location=[[Golden, Colorado]]|isbn=0-918654-42-4}}</ref> Denver served again as the capital of the Colorado Territory from December 9, 1867, until statehood on August 1, 1876, when Denver became the (first and only) capital of the [[Colorado|State of Colorado]]. The [[History of Denver|City and County of Denver]] was [[consolidated city-county|consolidated]] on December 1, 1902.<ref name=MuniIncCO/>}}{{efn|name=mile_high|[[Denver]] has retained its "Mile-High City" elevation of {{convert|5280|ft|3}} despite advances in scientific measurement. When the [[U.S. National Geodetic Survey|National Geodetic Survey]] makes adjustments to the [[North American Vertical Datum of 1988|North American Vertical Datum (NAVD)]], the [[Colorado|State of Colorado]] moves the official mile-high elevation point up or down the west steps of the [[Colorado State Capitol]] to reflect the changes. Most of Denver actually lies above this elevation.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.5280.com/2015/05/only-in-colorado-the-capitols-mile-high-steps/|title=Only in Colorado: The Capitol's Mile-High Step(s)|work=[[5280 Magazine]]|first=Terri|last=Cook|date=May 26, 2015|access-date=August 27, 2022}}</ref>}}

!scope=row|[[Keystone, Colorado|Keystone]]{{efn|Keystone population and area prior to MarchFebruary 288, 20232024 are for the [[Keystone, Colorado|Keystone CDP]].}}

|!scope=row colspan=3 align=center|'''The 271 municipalities active in 2020'''{{efn|name=exclude}}

|align=right|'''1,968.1&nbsp;sq&nbsp;mi<br/>5097.2&nbsp;km²'''&nbsp;&nbsp;

{{portal|CitiesGeography|History|United States|Colorado|Cities}}

* [https://www.commerce.gov United States Department of Commerce]

** [https://www.census.gov/ United States Census Bureau]

* [https://www.doi.gov/ United States Department of the Interior]

** [https://www.usgs.gov/ United States Geological Survey]

*** [https://edits.nationalmap.gov/apps/gaz-domestic/public/search/names Geographic Names Information System]

* [https://www.Colorado.gov/ State of Colorado]

** [https://cdola.colorado.gov/ Colorado Department of Local Affairs]

*** [https://dlg.colorado.gov/ Division of Local Government]

* [http://www.cml.org/ Colorado Municipal League]

* [https://www.historycolorado.org/ History Colorado]