Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area

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Location of the Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area
Satellite image of the core of the Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area
Main article: Colorado statistical areas
See also: Colorado metropolitan areas and List of Metropolitan Statistical Areas

The United States Office of Management and Budget has defined the Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area comprising the following ten counties of the State of Colorado: the City and County of Denver, Arapahoe County, Jefferson County, Adams County, Douglas County, the City and County of Broomfield, Elbert County, Park County, Clear Creek County, and Gilpin County.1 The United States Census Bureau estimates that the population was 2,645,209 as of July 1, 2012, an increase of +4.00% since the 2010 United States Census, and ranking as the 21st most populous metropolitan statistical area of the United States.2

The Office of Management and Budget has also defined the more extensive Denver-Aurora, CO Combined Statistical Area comprising the Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area, the Boulder, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area, and the Greeley, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area.1

Local residents generally use the term Denver area or Denver metro area which may informally mean anything from the continuously urbanized area within the six central counties of the MSA to the Front Range Urban Corridor north of Colorado Springs and south of Fort Collins.

The central part of the MSA includes the City and County of Denver and its three immediately adjoining counties: Jefferson County to the west, Adams County to the north and east, and Arapahoe County to the south and east. The continuously urbanized area extends northwest into the City and County of Broomfield, bordering Jefferson and Adams counties, and south into Douglas County, adjoining Arapahoe County. The most prosperous parts of the area are in the south, while the most industrialized areas are in the northeast, specifically in the northern part of Denver proper and extending to areas such as Commerce City in Adams County.

Also included in the MSA defined by the United States Census Bureau are four rural counties that are not popularly considered part of the Denver metro area. Elbert County is on the southeastern prairie; Clear Creek, Gilpin, and Park counties are in the Rocky Mountains.

Although the counties, cities, and towns are self-governing, there is some cooperation in the metropolitan area. The Denver Regional Council of Governments (DRCOG, pronounced Doctor Cog) is a regional planning and inter-governmental coordination organization in a nine-county region. The Scientific and Cultural Facilities District (SCFD) provides funding for scientific and cultural facilities in a seven-county region including:

In addition, the Regional Transportation District (RTD) provides mass transit, including a light rail system. In 2005 the RTD developed a twelve-year comprehensive plan, called "FasTracks", to build and operate rail transit lines and expand and improve bus service throughout the region.

The center of the metropolitan area sits in a valley, the Denver Basin, and suffers from air pollution known colloquially as the brown cloud, building up if the air is stagnant as it often is in the winter. Severity of pollution in this area has varied enormously over the years. In the late 1980s the area was frequently in violation of multiple National Ambient Air Quality Standards established by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The Regional Air Quality Council (RAQC) was formed in 1989 to create plans to address the problem. Through a variety of measures the area's air quality was improved and in 2002 the EPA designated the area in compliance with all federal health-based air quality standards. Denver was the first major city in the United States to reach compliance with all six of these standards after previously violating five of them3 Since then the EPA introduced a new standard for small particulates and made the existing ozone standard stricter. In 2003 the new ozone standard was frequently exceeded in the area and was occasionally exceeded as far away as Rocky Mountain National Park. The RAQC hopes to implement plans enabling the area to comply with the new standards by 2007.

Contents

Counties

The Denver-Aurora-Lakewood Metropolitan Statistical Area comprises ten counties.2 The sortable table below includes the following information:

  1. The official name of the county,4
  2. The county population as of July 1, 2011, as estimated by the United States Census Bureau,5
  3. The county population as of April 1, 2010, as enumerated by the 2010 United States Census,5
  4. The percent population change from April 1, 2010, to July 1, 2011.5
The Denver-Aurora-Lakewood Metropolitan Statistical Area
County 2011 Estimate 2010 Census Change
City and County of Denver !B9866625768572 619,968 !B9866950517671 600,158 !D0034110060931 +3.30%
Arapahoe County !B9867207217666 584,948 !B9867431004848 572,003 !D0037884346229 +2.26%
Jefferson County !B9868008904193 539,884 !B9868108325447 534,543 !D0046059992748 +1.00%
Adams County !B9869797956019 451,443 !B9870018334325 441,603 !D0038039555773 +2.23%
Douglas County !B9874149191644 292,167 !B9874381252913 285,465 !D0037517134403 +2.35%
City and County of Broomfield !B9890430370044 57,352 !B9890688771401 55,889 !D0036428784587 +2.62%
Elbert County !B9899492137604 23,174 !B9899530183478 23,086 !D0055696448376 +0.38%
Park County !B9903141089123 16,089 !B9903068631769 16,206 !H9950690371117 −0.72%
Clear Creek County !B9908936876984 9,012 !B9908852898590 9,088 !H9952160231993 −0.84%
Gilpin County !B9913935147011 5,467 !B9913982818535 5,441 !D0053436216084 +0.48%
Total !B9852291687844 2,599,504 !B9852509554336 2,543,482 !D0038155448166 +2.20%

Metropolitan area cities and towns

Places with over 100,000 inhabitants

Places with 10,000 to 100,000 inhabitants

Places with fewer than 10,000 inhabitants

Communities previously part of the Denver metro area

Former Denver metro communities now part of the separate boulder metropolitan area due to being located in Boulder County

Former Denver metro communities now part of the separate greeley metropolitan area due to being located in Southwestern Weld County

Residential real estate

Changes in house prices for the area are publicly tracked on a regular basis using the Case–Shiller index; the statistic is published by Standard & Poor's and is also a component of S&P's 10-city composite index of the value of the residential real estate market.

Sister cities

Though Arvada, Aurora, Boulder, Brighton, Broomfield, Denver, Lakewood and Longmont have their own individual sister city relationships, the Denver Regional Council of Governments (DRCOG) as a whole has a sister city relationship with the Iraq Baghdad Governorate of Iraq.6

See also

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References

  1. ^ a b "OMB Bulletin No. 13-01: Revised Delineations of Metropolitan Statistical Areas, Micropolitan Statistical Areas, and Combined Statistical Areas, and Guidance on Uses of the Delineations of These Areas". United States Office of Management and Budget. February 28, 2013. Retrieved March 20, 2013. 
  2. ^ a b "Table 1. Annual Estimates of the Population of Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Areas: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2012" (CSV). 2012 Population Estimates. United States Census Bureau, Population Division. March 2013. Retrieved March 20, 2013. 
  3. ^ ."?". dead link
  4. ^ "Colorado Counties as of May 1, 2011". State of Colorado, Department of Local Affairs. May 1, 2011. Retrieved May 2, 2011. 
  5. ^ a b c "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Counties of Colorado: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2011" (CSV). 2011 Population Estimates. United States Census Bureau, Population Division. April 2012. Retrieved April 12, 2012. 
  6. ^ "Bagdad–Denver region partnership". Denver Regional Council of Governments. Retrieved 9 August 2010. 

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