Boulder County Holds the Mountains and the Plains

Large and diverse, featuring everything from the spectacular scenery of Rocky Mountain National Park (a national treasure) to lush farmland, this area is one of the nation's largest concentrations of research laboratories and high-tech industry.

Situated in the north-central part of Colorado, Northwest of Denver, the western border of the county is the Continental Divide. The eastern half is rolling plains, and the western half is mountainous.

Diverse and Growing

Today Boulder County remains diversified, with both rural and urban settings. The University of Colorado at Boulder, two school districts and numerous scientific, research and recreational facilities are among the attributes of the area. Population of the county is approximately 305,000 with about 98,000 in the City of Boulder, another 87,000 in the City of Longmont, 57,000 in Broomfield, 25,000 in Lafayette, 19,000 in Louisville and the remainder dispersed throughout the smaller towns of Lyons, Nederland, Ward, Jamestown, Superior and Erie and unincorporated areas, including the communities of Niwot, Gunbarrel and Allenspark.

Technically the town of Broomfield is incorporated as its own county, but we have included it in in our list of towns as it shares many of the same benefits from a lifestyle perspective. Plus Broomfield is a great place to live if you work in Boulder or Denver because of its close proximity to both.

The county encompasses 753 square miles and is situated on the eastern slope of the Rocky Mountains. Elevations within the boundaries of the County vary from the 5,000 foot level of the plains to the 14,000 foot peaks of the Continental Divide.