Boulder County was one of the original 17 counties created by theTerritory of Colorado on November 1, 1861. The county was named forBoulder City andBoulder Creek, so named because of the abundance of boulders in the creek which hampered early gold prospecting efforts. Boulder County retains essentially the same borders as in 1861, although a 27.5 square miles (71.2 km2) of its southeastern corner and its approximate population of 40,000 became part of theCity and County of Broomfield in 2001.
Before the arrival of the first US settlers, the area was occupied byNative Americans led byChief Niwot on the plains and seasonally byUtes in the mountains to the west. The first European American settlers were gold prospectors led by CaptainThomas Aikins. His group of about twenty settled at the mouth of Boulder Creek Canyon on October 17, 1858. Chief Niwot told them not to stay and it is said they promised to move into the mountains to prospect in the spring. However, in February 1859, they founded the town of Boulder. At about the same time, they also founded the first Gold Mining town in what would become Colorado,Gold Hill which is about 10 miles west from Boulder. Gold Hill was founded because of the placer gold discovered there. The area was the site of the first commercial scale placer mine in Colorado, producing over 5,500 ounces of gold in the first year of operations (1859).[4]
In late December 2021,the Marshall Fire raged through the parched lands nearBoulder, Colorado. Marshall Fire is the most destructive in Colorado's history.[5] The fire impacted City ofSuperior, City ofLouisville and unincorporated Boulder County areas. 991 homes were destroyed with an additional 127 damaged. Over 13,000 people in Superior and 21,000 in Louisville were ultimately evacuated while the fire was spreading due to unusual 100 mile per hour winds. Additionally, one person died and another is missing and presumed dead.[6] The cause of the fire has not been officially announced, pending an investigation.[7] However, an incident report filed by a ranger with Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks identified two ignition points for the fire. The first ignition point was a shed that began to burn at approximately 11:30AM MST, December 30, 2021. The second ignition point was upwind from the first, and started around noon of the same day on "western side of the Marshall Mesa trailhead".[8][9][10]
View of the eastern and southern borders of Boulder County and adjacent areas in Weld, Broomfield, and Jefferson counties, with north oriented to the left. The city of Boulder is near the lower border. Taken from the International Space Station on July 1, 2022.
According to theU.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 740 square miles (1,900 km2), of which 726 square miles (1,880 km2) is land and 14 square miles (36 km2) (1.9%) is water.[11]
U.S. Decennial Census[13] 1790-1960[14] 1900-1990[15] 1990-2000[16] 2010-2020[1]
As of the census[17] of 2000, there were 271,651 people, 114,680 households, and 68,808 families residing in the county. The population density was 392 people per square mile (151 people/km2). There were 119,900 housing units at an average density of 162 per square mile (63/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 88.54%White, 0.88%Black orAfrican American, 0.61%Native American, 3.06%Asian, 0.06%Pacific Islander, 4.67% fromother races, and 2.18% from two or more races. 10.46% of the population wereHispanic orLatino of any race.
There were 114,680 households, out of which 30.70% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.90% were married couples living together, 7.70% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.00% were non-families. 26.30% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 3.03.
In the county, the population was spread out, with 22.90% under the age of 18, 13.40% from 18 to 24, 33.60% from 25 to 44, 22.30% from 45 to 64, and 7.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females, there were 102.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 101.70 males.
In 2014, the median income for a household in the county was $69,407, and the median income for a family was $94,938.[18] Males had a median income of $65,489 versus $48,140 for females. About 7.0% of families and 14.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.6% of those under age 18 and 5.9% of those age 65 or over.
In 2017, Bloomberg ranked the Boulder metropolitan area as the top "brain" area in the US.[19]
Boulder County is divided into three districts each represented by a commissioner elected county-wide. The three commissioners comprise the county Board of Commissioners and represent the county as a whole. Each commissioner must reside in their respective district and may be elected to a maximum of two four-year terms.
The Board of County Commissioners are full-time public servants and approve the budget for the entire County government. The Board also oversees the management of 10 County departments and the daily operations of the county, work that is done by a county manager or a chief administrative officer in some counties.
Boulder County has seven other county-wide elected officials, including the District Attorney, who represents the 20th Judicial District.[20]
Boulder County wentRepublican in all but three presidential elections from 1920 to 1984, the exceptions being the nationalDemocratic landslides of 1932, 1936 and 1964. However, it has swung heavily to the Democrats since the late 1980s, and has supported Democrats at every election since 1988. Since the 1990s, it has become one of the most liberal counties in Colorado; in most years, it is the second-strongest Democratic bastion in the state, behind only the City and County of Denver. The GOP has not crossed the 40% mark in the county since 1988. This tracks closely with the Democratic trend in other counties dominated by college towns.
In recent years, the GOP has turned in some of its worst showings in the county in memory. Republicans took less than 28% of the vote in Boulder County in both2008 and2012, only 22% in2016, and just over 20% in2020 and 2024. In 2020, Joe Biden received over 77% of the vote, the best performance for a Democrat since 1896. Unlike the national trend, Boulder saw next to no Republican shift in the 2024 election; Kamala Harris received 76.5% of the vote which (with the exception of 2020) was also a record performance for a Democrat in the county.
In 2000,Green Party presidential candidateRalph Nader took 11.82% of the vote in Boulder County, more than twice the 5.25% he took statewide in Colorado, and more than four times his 2.73% nationwide vote share.[23]
The cities of Boulder and Longmont are Democratic strongholds, as well as all the mountain towns to the west within the county. In fact, every precinct within the county is majority-Democratic, and most by heavy margins, save one rural plains region in the far northeast corner of the county, north of Longmont, which leans slightly Republican.[24]
United States presidential election results for Boulder County, Colorado[25]
Boulder County has also demonstrated its progressive leanings in referendums on social issues, such as in 2006, when nearly 2/3 of Boulder County voters voted to rejectAmendment 43, a constitutional amendment defining marriage as between one man and one woman. Although the amendment passed statewide with 55% of the vote, only 33% of Boulder County supported it.[26] In 2012, over 66% of Boulder County voted in favor ofAmendment 64, legalizing marijuana in the state of Colorado.
The Boulder County Justice Center is located in the City of Boulder and is headquarters to the 20th Judicial District of Colorado. The office of thedistrict attorney is also here, as is the Juvenile Assessment Center, the county's combined assessment and detention facility.
The Longmont Courthouse in theCity of Longmont acts as an extension of the County Court and the District Attorney's Office.[27]
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