Understanding Denver
Denver is Colorado’s capital, a consolidated city-county set between the High Plains and the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains.
Denver sits in the South Platte River valley on the western edge of the High Plains, just east of the Rocky Mountains. It is both a city and a county, with a defined metropolitan area that reaches across nearby counties and serves as an economic and cultural center for the broader Front Range Urban Corridor.
Where Denver sits
Denver is the capital and most populous city of Colorado. Officially, it is a consolidated city and county located in the South Platte River valley on the western edge of the High Plains, just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains.
The city is in the center of the Front Range Urban Corridor, with the Rocky Mountains to the west and the High Plains to the east. Downtown Denver lies about 12 miles east of the Rocky Mountain foothills, and the city was founded at the confluence of Cherry Creek and the South Platte River.
Size and government
Denver had a population of 715,522 at the 2020 census. It is the 19th-most populous city in the United States and the fifth-most populous state capital.
The City and County of Denver had an area of 99,025 acres at the 2020 United States census, including 1,057 acres of water. It is the only state capital in the United States that is a consolidated city-county.
Geography, neighborhoods, and cityscape
Denver’s topography consists of plains in the city center, with hilly areas to the north, west, and south. Elevations across the city range from 5,130 to 5,690 feet.
The City and County of Denver has official neighborhoods used for planning and administration, along with colloquial neighborhood names shaped by residents, community groups, and real estate developers.
The area around Denver
Denver is the central city of a conurbation in Colorado. The continuous region includes the six central counties of Adams, Arapahoe, Broomfield, Denver, Douglas, and Jefferson, and the Denver region is part of the Front Range Urban Corridor.
The Denver–Aurora–Centennial Metropolitan Statistical Area consists 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. The metropolitan area functions as the economic and cultural center of the broader Front Range Urban Corridor.