Denver, Colorado

Demographics:

Population:  760,049

Elevation: 5,280 ft

County: Denver

Denver, Colorado, known as The Mile High City — is known for 300 days of sunshine, endless outdoor recreational opportunities, high altitude, and home to the Denver Broncos.

Downtown Denver is home to three sports stadiums for football (Broncos), baseball (Colorado Rockies), basketball (Denver Nuggets) and hockey (Colorado Avalanche). Denver is also known for something other than the Broncos - beer. With more than 100 breweries and tap rooms in the metro area, many of them sharing space in Denver's evolving food hall scene, Denver has become a foodie's paradise with a large number of chef-owned restaurants.

If you really want to explore Denver, delve into its diverse neighborhoods. A very walkable city, check out Lower Downtown (LoDo) or explore numerous nearby cultural attractions by bicycle from Denver B-cycle, Denver’s citywide bike-sharing system. Denver offers more than 5,000 acres of parks, trails, golf courses and playgrounds. Many of Denver's neighborhoods are built around park spaces such as Washington Park, City Park, Cheesman Park and Sloan's Lake. The metro area's proximity to the Rocky Mountains also creates numerous opportunities for residents to ski and snowboard in the winter. Moderate temperatures, low levels of humidity and abundant sunshine offer an ideal climate for year-round activities. Ranked as one of the fittest cities in the country, Denver’s young, active residents are among the nation’s healthiest.

Offering an enviable quality of life that makes it one of the best places in the United States to live and work, Denver has a thriving business climate with companies both large and small representing several industries, including aerospace, biosciences, software development, financial services and energy. The U.S. Government is the largest employer in Metro Denver. The Department of the Interior includes such agencies as Bureau of Land Management, Office of Surface Mining and Reclamation, Bureau of Reclamation and all have offices in or near the Denver Metro area. Another top employer in the Denver Metro Area is the State of Colorado. As the capitol and largest city in the state, Denver hosts the State of Colorado in multiple locations.

Metro Denver is also home to some of the finest hospitals and medical research facilities in the world, including the National Jewish Medical and Research Center, Craig Hospital in Englewood, Children’s Hospital, and the University of Colorado Hospital.

Getting Around

• Amtrak – Picks up at Union Station and transports east to west across the state, passing through Frisco, Glenwood Springs, and Grand Junction, among other stops. It connects all the way from Chicago to California.
• Denver International Airport – If you need to catch a flight you can take the airport train out to D.I.A., Colorado’s only international airport. You can find direct flights to many global destinations including Tokyo and Reykjavik.
• RTD Bus – RTD’s extensive bus line operates throughout the Metropolitan area. You can even take trips to Boulder, Colorado Springs, and west, into the mountains on certain buses. It operates the free 16th Street Mall Bus Ride.
• RTD Light Rail – RTD’s Light Rail connects very well with its bus system. It will take you all around the metro area, including Golden, Arvada, Centennial, Englewood, and Littleton, among other Mile High City suburbs.

• High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes are available on sections of U.S. Highways 85, 36, and I-25

• EcoPasses,  transit pass that allows seven-day access to RTD services, Metro Denver's public transportation provider.

• Denver is ranked as one of the most walk-friendly and bike-friendly cities in the country. Numerous bike paths also weave throughout the Metro Denver area, including Cherry Creek Bile Path. The Colorado General Assembly declared June as Colorado Bike Month with the fourth Wednesday of the month being Bike to Work Day. Nearly 30,000 riders participate in this annual event.