Denver metropolitan area

Denver is the central city of a conurbation region in the U.S. state of Colorado. The conurbation includes one continuous region consisting of the six central counties of Adams, Arapahoe, Broomfield, Denver, Douglas, and Jefferson. The Denver region is part of the Front Range Urban Corridor and its metropolitan planning organization is the Denver Regional Council of Governments.

Denver–Aurora–Centennial, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area
Metropolitan Statistical Area
Skyline of Downtown Denver
Denver–Aurora–Greeley, CO CSA   City and County of Denver   Denver–Aurora–Centennial MSA   Boulder MSA   Greeley MSA
Country	United States
State	Colorado
Largest city	- Denver
Other principal cities	• Arvada  • Aurora  • Broomfield  • Centennial  • Lakewood  • Thornton
Area
• Total	21,770 km2 (8,405 sq mi)
Population  (April 1, 2020)
• Total	2,963,821
GDP [1]
• Total	$288.8 billion (2022)
Time zone	UTC−7 (MST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−6 (MDT)

The United States Office of Management and Budget has delineated the Denver–Aurora–Centennial, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area consisting of ten Colorado counties: 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.^[2] The population, as of the 2020 Census, is 2,963,821, an increase of 16.5% since 2010.^[3]

The Office of Management and Budget also delineated the more extensive 12-county Denver–Aurora–Greeley, CO Combined Statistical Area comprising the Denver–Aurora–Centennial Metropolitan Statistical Area, the Boulder, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area, and the Greeley, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area.^[2]

The central part of the metropolitan statistical area (MSA) includes Denver and three immediately adjacent 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. Also included in the federally defined MSA are four rural counties: Elbert County on the southeastern prairie and Clear Creek, Gilpin, and Park counties in the Rocky Mountains.

Counties

The Denver–Aurora–Centennial Metropolitan Statistical Area comprises ten counties.^[4] The sortable table below includes the following information:

1. The official name of the county,^[5]
2. The county population as of April 1, 2020, as enumerated by the 2020 United States census
3. The county population as of April 1, 2010, as enumerated by the 2010 United States Census,^[6]
4. The percent population change from April 1, 2010, to April 1, 2020.

Denver–Aurora–Centennial, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area

County	2010 Census	2020 Census	Change
City and County of Denver	600,158	715,522	+19.22%
Arapahoe County	572,003	655,070	+14.52%
Jefferson County	534,543	582,910	+9.05%
Adams County	441,603	519,572	+17.66%
Douglas County	285,465	357,978	+25.40%
City and County of Broomfield	55,889	74,112	+32.61%
Elbert County	23,086	26,062	+12.89%
Park County	16,206	17,390	+7.31%
Clear Creek County	9,088	9,397	+3.40%
Gilpin County	5,441	5,808	+6.75%
Total	2,543,482	2,963,821	+16.53%

Metropolitan area cities and towns

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1900	162,323		—
1910	246,767		52.0%
1920	299,087		21.2%
1930	352,563		17.9%
1940	407,768		15.7%
1950	563,832		38.3%
1960	868,953		54.1%
1970	1,116,226		28.5%
1980	1,450,768		30.0%
1990	1,650,489		13.8%
2000	2,157,756		30.7%
2010	2,543,482		17.9%
2020	2,963,821		16.5%
2022 (est.)	2,985,871		0.7%
data source:[7]