Metro area · Colorado

Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO metro area

Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO is a metropolitan area of 10 counties in Colorado, home to 3,092,037 residents. Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO metro area has a quality-of-life score of 78 out of 100 (high), ranking #201 of 925 US metro and micro areas. Among metro and micro areas based in Colorado it ranks #8 of 17. It ranks best on average weekly wage (high), adult obesity (low) and broadband subscriptions (high). It ranks worst on high ozone days (high), property crime rate (high) and median Air Quality Index (high).

78High
Quality-of-life score
#201 of 925 metro and micro areas
Colorado
#8 of 17 in CO
Population
3,092,037 (2025)
Land area
8,345 mi²
Density
370.5 /mi²
CBSA code
19740

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 66 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map
Location of Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO metro area

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US metro and micro areas.

  • Safety29#657/924
  • Economy95#49/925
  • Housing18#762/925
  • Health91#88/925
  • Healthcare92#74/923
  • Environment30#643/917
  • Education92#71/925
  • Infrastructure91#85/925
  • Community72#257/925
  • Leisure & amenities69#290/925

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO metro area ranks highest and lowest among US metro and micro areas (score = percentile, 100 = best).

Strengths

Weaknesses

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Metro and micro areas like Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO metro area five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO metro area in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

Federal contract spending

Federal grants & assistance

Grants, loans (counted at their subsidy cost), direct payments and insurance, by fiscal year of the action (USAspending.gov, FABS). Reported apart from contracts and never added to them.

Counties in Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO

Whole counties, as the U.S. Office of Management and Budget delineates the area. Federal spending below is the exact sum of these counties.

  1. Denver CountyCentral county73740,613
  2. Arapahoe CountyCentral county75673,820
  3. Jefferson CountyCentral county81580,451
  4. Adams CountyCentral county48554,668
  5. Douglas CountyCentral county91399,396
  6. Broomfield CountyCentral county9679,174
  7. Elbert CountyOutlying county7230,534
  8. Park CountyOutlying county7018,314
  9. Clear Creek CountyOutlying county708,994
  10. Gilpin CountyOutlying county646,073

Principal cities

The cities the area is named for.

  1. AuroraPrincipal city394,432
  2. BroomfieldPrincipal city76,304
  3. CentennialPrincipal city108,201
  4. Commerce CityPrincipal city66,445
  5. DenverPrincipal city718,877

Largest cities and towns

By population, for places with most of their residents in the area.

  1. Denver718,877
  2. Aurora394,432
  3. Lakewood156,583
  4. Thornton144,187
  5. Arvada122,634
  6. Westminster115,484
  7. Centennial108,201
  8. Highlands Ranch102,257
  9. Castle Rock79,123
  10. Broomfield76,304
  11. Commerce City66,445
  12. Parker61,783
  13. Littleton44,710
  14. Brighton42,059
  15. Northglenn38,014
  16. Englewood34,129
  17. Dakota Ridge33,753
  18. Ken Caryl33,233
  19. Wheat Ridge32,070
  20. Columbine25,478
  21. Four Square Mile23,024
  22. Golden20,417
  23. Sherrelwood18,692
  24. Welby16,197

Other metro and micro areas in Colorado

Areas based in Colorado, best score first.

Neighboring metro and micro areas

Places that share a border, best score first.

Similar metro and micro areas

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

JSON · /api/v1/places/M19740