Thornton, Colorado

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Thornton is a home rule municipality located in Adams and Weld counties, Colorado, United States.<ref name=COMun/> The city population was 141,867, all in Adams County, at the 2020 United States census, an increase of 19.44% since the 2010 United States census.<ref name=2020_Census/> Thornton is the sixth-most-populous city in Colorado and the 191st-most-populous city in the United States. Thornton is Template:Convert north of the Colorado State Capitol in Denver and is a part of the Denver–Aurora–Lakewood, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Thornton consisted solely of farmland until 1953, when Sam Hoffman purchased a lot off Washington Street about Template:Convert north of Denver. The town he laid out was the first fully planned community in Adams County, and the first to offer full municipal services from a single tax levy, including recreation services and free trash pickup. Thornton was named in honor of then-incumbent Colorado Governor Dan Thornton.<ref>"Thornton History", City of Thornton website</ref>

The Thornton Community Association (TCA) was formed in 1954 to help guide the new community's development. By the end of 1955, Thornton had 5,500 residents in over 1,200 homes. The TCA was instrumental in Thornton's 1956 incorporation as a city. Oyer G. Leary was elected the first mayor.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Geography

Thornton is located at Template:Coord (39.903043, -104.954406).<ref name="GR1">Template:Cite web</ref>

At the 2020 United States census, the town had a total area of Template:Convert including Template:Convert of water.<ref name=2020_Census/>

Demographics

Template:US Census population

2020 census

**Thornton, Colorado – Racial and ethnic composition**
Template:Nobold
Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)	Pop 2000<ref name=2000CensusP004>Template:Cite web</ref>	Pop 2010<ref name=2010CensusP2>Template:Cite web</ref>	Template:Partial<ref name=2020CensusP2>Template:Cite web</ref>	% 2000	% 2010	Template:Partial
White alone (NH)	59,635	71,147	72,316	72.39%	59.90%	50.97%
Black or African American alone (NH)	1,106	1,903	2,660	1.34%	1.60%	1.87%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)	560	566	748	0.68%	0.48%	0.53%
Asian alone (NH)	2,013	5,058	8,250	2.44%	4.26%	5.82%
Pacific Islander alone (NH)	64	97	130	0.08%	0.08%	0.09%
Some Other Race alone (NH)	78	184	658	0.09%	0.15%	0.46%
Mixed Race or Multi-Racial (NH)	1,345	2,215	5,713	1.63%	1.86%	4.03%
Hispanic or Latino (any race)	17,583	37,602	51,392	21.34%	31.66%	36.23%
Total	82,384	118,772	141,867	100.00%	100.00%	100.00%

As of the 2010 census, there were 118,772 people, 41,359 households, and 30,254 families living in the city. The population density was Template:Convert. There were 43,230 housing units at an average density of Template:Convert. The racial makeup of the city was 77.4% White, 4.4% Asian, 1.8% African American, 1.1% American Indian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 11.4% from other races, and 3.8% from two or more races. Hispanics and Latinos of any race were 31.7% of the population.<ref name="GR2">Template:Cite web</ref>

There were 41,359 households, out of which 43.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.7% were married couples living together, 6.2% had a male householder with no wife present, 12.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.9% were non-families. 20.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 4.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.86, and the average family size was 3.32.<ref name="GR2"/>

The distribution of the population by age was 29.5% under the age of 18, 9.1% from 18 to 24, 32.6% from 25 to 44, 22.3% from 45 to 64, and 6.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32.0 years. The gender makeup of the city was 49.5% male and 50.5% female.<ref name="GR2"/>

The median income for a household in the city was $65,578, and the median income for a family was $74,233. Males had a median income of $49,154 versus $39,596 for females. The city's per capita income was $26,100. About 7.8% of families and 9.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.1% of those under age 18 and 7.4% of those age 65 or over.<ref name="GR2"/> Template:Clear

Recreation

Thornton has 81 city parks and nearly Template:Convert of parks and open space.<ref>Thornton city parks and recreation facilities Template:Webarchive</ref> There are over Template:Convert of trails throughout the city. Recreational facilities include the Margaret Carpenter Recreation Center<ref>Margaret Carpenter Recreation Center Template:Webarchive</ref> and the Thornton Community Center.<ref>Thornton Community Center</ref> Golf courses include the Thorncreek Golf Course<ref>Thorncreek Golf Course</ref> and Todd Creek Golf.<ref>Todd Creek Golf</ref>

Transportation

Highways

Six highways run through the city of Thornton:

File:I-25 (CO).svg Interstate 25 passes through Thornton twice. First it enters from Sherrelwood and Welby to the south, then passing through Northglenn, before reentering Thornton. It then exits the city north into Broomfield.
File:I-76 (CO).svg Interstate 76 briefly passes through the southeastern edge of Thornton.
File:Colorado 7.svg State Highway 7 (East 160th Avenue) runs along much of northern Thornton. It enters the city from Todd Creek to the east and exits to Broomfield to the west.
File:Colorado 44.svg State Highway 44 (East 104th Avenue) begins in Thornton and then heads east into Commerce City.
File:Colorado 224.svg State Highway 224 (East 74th Avenue) runs along Thornton's southern border for less than Template:Convert.
File:E-470.svg E-470 runs through northern Thornton in between Todd Creek to the east and Broomfield to the west.

Mass transit

The Regional Transportation District provides bus and commuter rail service to Thornton. Commuter rail service to the city began on September 21, 2020, on the N Line. There are three commuter rail stations within the city, Original Thornton/88th station, Thornton Crossroads/104th station, and Eastlake/124th station, which currently serves as the northern terminus of the N Line.

Education

Thornton is served primarily by four school districts: Adams County School District 12, Adams County School District 14 Mapleton Public Schools, and Brighton School District 27J. These include: Eight high schools (Thornton High School and Horizon High School {Both Adams 12}, Riverdale Ridge High School {Brighton 27J}, and five of Mapleton's small-by-design high schools), eleven middle schools (Five in Adams 12, one in Brighton 27J, five in Mapleton) and twenty elementary schools (Twelve in Adams 12, two in Brighton 27J, and six in Mapleton).

There are also several charter schools in or near Thornton, including Stargate School, Colorado Virtual Academy, New America School, and Westgate Community Charter School.

Lord of Life Lutheran School is a Christian Pre-K–8 school of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod in Thornton.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Thornton has several libraries and is served by the Rangeview Library District, also known as Anythink Libraries.<ref>Rangeview Library District</ref>

Retail

Thornton has several shopping areas, such as Larkridge Mall, Thornton Town Center, and Thorncreek Crossing Shopping Center. Larkridge is home to national anchor tenants, big box retailers and restaurants, and has a pedestrian village. DaveCo Liquor Store is the largest liquor store in the world.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Notable people

Notable individuals who were born in or have lived in Thornton include:

Tesho Akindele (born 1992), soccer forward<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Josh Bredl (born 1991), pro wrestler<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Edward Casso (born 1974), Colorado state legislator<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
John Denney (born 1978), football long snapper<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Dalton Knecht (born 2001), forward for the Los Angeles Lakers
Mike Manning (born 1987), actor<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Nikki Marshall (born 1988), soccer forward, defender<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Beth Martinez Humenik, Colorado state legislator<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Mike McCoy (1953–2016), football cornerback<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Adrian Mora (born 1978), welterweight boxer<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Joseph Salazar, Colorado state legislator<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Kyle Sleeth (born 1981), baseball starting pitcher<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Neal Ulevich (born 1946), photojournalist<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

References

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External links

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Template:Geographic Location Template:Adams County, Colorado Template:Weld County, Colorado Template:Colorado Template:Authority control