The Broomfield post office opened on September 26, 1884.[8] Historians speculate that the town was named for thesorghum grown in the area, also known as broomcorn, which had stalks that were sold to make brooms and whisk brooms.[9]
Several railroads figure in the development of this area. TheColorado Central Railroad built anarrow-gauge line fromGolden in 1873; the Denver, Utah and Pacific Railroad arrived in 1881; and the Denver, Marshall and Boulder Railway built a line through what is now Broomfield in 1886. The Denver, Utah and Pacific was widened tostandard gauge in 1889. One of the early names for the area was Zang's Spur, after the railroad spur serving Adolph Zang's grain fields.[10]
TheDenver–Boulder Turnpike was constructed through the Broomfield area to speed automobile travel between the state capital ofDenver and the university city ofBoulder. Construction of thetoll road began in 1950 and the turnpike was opened to traffic on January 19, 1952, with the sole toll plaza at Broomfield with access toU.S. Route 287 through the town.[11] The toll to travel fromFederal Boulevard inAdams County to Broomfield was 10 cents and the toll from Broomfield to Boulder was 15 cents, or 25 cents for the whole route.[11]
The City of Broomfield was incorporated on June 6, 1961, in the southeastern corner ofBoulder County.[1] The Denver–Boulder Turnpike was a commoncommuting route and Broomfield became a popular residential area. On September 14, 1967, having paid off its construction and operating expenses, the turnpike was made free and became the official route ofU.S. Route 36 between Denver, Boulder, and theRocky Mountain National Park. The turnpike became the first public toll road in the United States to become free.[11]
In the 1990s, after three decades of aggressive annexation, the City of Broomfield had expanded intoAdams,Jefferson, andWeld counties in addition to Boulder.[12] City leaders felt increasing chagrin with the need to deal with four different county governments, four separate county sales tax bases, and four separate court districts. They began pushing to make Broomfield a consolidated city-county similar toDenver, reasoning that they could provide services more responsively if Broomfield had its own county government.
The city sought an amendment to thestate constitution to create a new county. The amendment was passed in 1998, after which a three-year transition period followed.
On November 15, 2001, Broomfield County became the 64th and least extensivecounty of Colorado. It is the newest county in Colorado (and in the entire United States, ifcounty equivalents are not included).[13]
At the2020 United States census, Broomfield had a total area of 21,471 acres (86.890 km2), including 371 acres (1.503 km2) of water.[5] It is the smallest county by area in Colorado, and the 5th smallest in the United States.
The2020 census estimated there were 74,112 people living in Broomfield.[6] Thepopulation density was 2,248 people per square mile (868 people/km2), making it the second most densely populated county in Colorado behind Denver.[18] Theracial and ethnic makeup of the city was 76.0% White, 6.9% Asian, 1.3% African American, 0.6% Native American, 0.1% Pacific Islander, and 10.9% from two or more races;[6] additionally, 13.4% were Hispanic or Latino[19] and, by 2024, 11.5% wereforeign-born.[20]
In 2024, there were 33,695 households, of which 50.6% were married couples living together, 8.4% were cohabiting couple households, 17.7% had a male householder with no spouse/partner present, and 23.3% had a female householder with no spouse/partner present. 22.2% of households had one or more people under 18 years and 26.4% of households had one or more people 65 years or older. The average household size was 2.31 people, and the average family size was 2.91 people.[20]
In 2024, age distribution figures showed 18.9% of residents under the age of 18 and 16.3% age 65 years or older.[17] The median age was 38.0 years and females made up 49.4% of the population.[17]
In 2024, themedian household income in Broomfield was $125,055 and the median family income was $148,477.[21] Theper capita income for the city was $64,783,[22] with 7.9% of the population living below thepoverty line[23] and 5.0% withouthealth care coverage.[24] By 2018–2022 estimates, Broomfield had the 3rd highest median household income among Colorado counties and the 40th highest in the United States;[25] for families, the median income was the 2nd highest among Colorado counties and the 18th highest in the United States.[26]
In 2024, theeducational attainment of residents over age 25 included 97.3% being high school graduates (or higher), 64.4% holding a bachelor's degree (or higher), and 28.4% holding a graduate or professional degree.[27]
When the county was formed in 2001, it was a swing county, and it has voted for the winner of Colorado's electoral votes since then. In the 2012 election, incumbent president and DemocratBarack Obama defeated RepublicanMitt Romney by roughly five percentage points. In recent years, the county has trended towards the Democratic Party, in line with the rest of the Denver area. In 2016, it voted decisively forHillary Clinton.Joe Biden won the county by a larger margin in 2020, andKamala Harris won the county by an even larger margin in 2024.
As of August 1, 2025, among 56,705 active registered voters in Broomfield, 15,317 were Democrats, 10,412 were Republicans, and 29,857 were not affiliated with any party.[28]
Broomfield voters approvedranked-choice voting for municipal elections in 2021. Due to a lack of candidates and delays in the Colorado Secretary of State auditing procedures, implementation of ranked-choice voting has been delayed until 2027.[29]
United States presidential election results for Broomfield, Colorado
Broomfield's recreational opportunities include the Paul Derda Recreation Center and pool, athletic fields, courts and rinks and open space and trails.[31][32]
Broomfield has an extensive trail system that connects the various lakes and parks. A scenic trail connects theStearns Lake and theJosh's Pond memorial on the west side of town. Broomfield also has a 9/11 memorial containing a piece of a steel beam from one of the towers.
The Paul Derda Recreation Center
Broomfield also has a skate park with many different features such as bowls, a large half-pipe and several "street" obstacles.
The Broomfield Community Center (renovated in 2020) offers a wide variety of fitness classes, senior activities, and hosts swim meets and kids' camps for the whole city and county.
A few of the favorite outdoor activities of Broomfield residents are tennis and golf. There are a large number of golf courses and tennis courts open to the public. Broomfield Community Center also hosts other Denver metro cities in their center, mainly for pickleball games and tournaments.
Broomfield operates as aconsolidated city-county. The city council acts simultaneously as the board of county commissioners, and the police chief is simultaneously the county sheriff. The Broomfield Police Department performs all of the duties that would normally be performed by a county sheriff's office, including operating the county jail (detention center), providing security and bailiff services for the Broomfield Municipal, County, and District Courts and the Combined Courts Building, and providing civil process in the county. The police chief can be hired or fired at will by the city council, which makes Broomfield's sheriff, along withDenver's, the only non-elected sheriffs in the state.
Since Broomfield used to be divided among four counties, students living in the city were served by the separate school districts for their county.[citation needed] While the city is now united within one county, it is still separated among 6 school districts:[33]
Broomfield features two large public high schools (Broomfield High School andLegacy High School), two public middle schools, and eight public elementary schools. There are four private schools: Brightmont Academy, a 1-to-1 school for all grade levels; Broomfield Academy, with an academic preschool, an elementary school, and a middle school; Holy Family, a Catholic high school; and Nativity of Our Lord Parish, a Catholic elementary school. Broomfield also contains two K–12 charter schools —Prospect Ridge Academy and Front Range Academy, which has two Broomfield campuses.
