BlockBefore

Thornton, Colorado

28 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1890 and the latest in 1981. It stands in the West Adams census division. It lies in ZIP code area 80229. The Survey maps it on the Commerce City quadrangle. 141,867 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 5,351 feet above sea level.

Thornton within Adams County

On record in Thornton

Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.

On the National Register 1 record

Population over time

3 figures

Thornton grew from 11,353 to 141,867 between 1960 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.

YearPeople Change
196011,353
2010118,772
2020141,867+23,095 (+19%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

12 surveys from 28 printed sheets

Matched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.

Fires near this place

976 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 976 fires within 5 miles of Thornton between 1992 and 2020, burning about 171 acres in total. 6 started naturally. 38 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause Fires
Missing data/not specified/undetermined829
Arson/incendiarism38
Smoking28
Fireworks21
Recreation and ceremony19
Equipment and vehicle use11
Misuse of fire by a minor9
Debris and open burning8
Natural6
Power generation/transmission/distribution4
Railroad operations and maintenance3

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
9 September 2019Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreColorado State Forest Service-State HeadquartersN/A
9 September 2011Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreColorado State Forest Service-State HeadquartersWESTMINSTER
8 September 2018Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreThornton Fire DepartmentUNKNOWN
7 September 2020Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreNorth Metro Fire Rescue DistrictN/A
7 September 2020Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreNorth Metro Fire Rescue DistrictN/A
7 September 2015Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreNorth Metro Fire Rescue DistrictUNKNOWN
7 September 2013Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreThornton Fire DepartmentUNKNOWN
6 September 2015Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreNorth Metro Fire Rescue DistrictUNKNOWN

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Adams County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 76 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 76 workings within 5 miles of Thornton: 41 past producers, 20 unknowns, 8 occurrences, 7 producers. 7 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Gold, Gold, Silver, Gold, Silver, Sand and Gravel, Construction. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Adams North PitSand and Gravel, Construction, Gold, SilverPast Producer1956
UnknownGold, Silver, Sand and Gravel, ConstructionProducerPlacer
UnknownGold, Sand and Gravel, Construction, SilverOccurrence
Gordon PitSand and Gravel, Construction, GoldPast ProducerGold, Sand and Gravel
Thornton PitSand and Gravel, Construction, GoldProducer1980
Adams County PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Adams County PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Albert Frei & Sons Sand and Gr PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionUnknown
Brannan Sand and Gravel Co PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Brannan Sand and Gravel Co PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer

Every working recorded in Adams County

Storms near this place

38 since 1996

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Thornton in 38 storm reports between 1996 and 2025: 30 hail, 3 lightning, 2 flash flood, 2 thunderstorm wind. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
May 1996HailThornton$120,000,000no account filed
July 2001LightningThornton$200,000Lightning struck the roof of a home. Most of the damage was confined to the attic.
July 2001LightningThornton$15,000Lightning struck another home in Thornton. Most of the damage was confined to the attic.
March 2016Dust DevilThornton$5,000A gustnado knocked down a power pole and destroyed a small storage shed.
June 2025HailThornton-Report from mping.
June 2025HailThornton-Report from mping.
May 2024HailThornton-The report was via mping.
May 2024HailThornton-The report was via mping.
May 2024HailThornton-The report was via mping.
May 2024HailThornton-The report was via mping.
July 2024HailThornton-Report via mPing.
July 2024HailThornton-The report was from mping.
September 2013Flash FloodThornton-As a result of the heavy rain, a retention pond at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal breached. The retention pond was approximately 300 yards wide, and 15 to 20 feet deep.
August 2001Thunderstorm WindThornton-Strong thunderstorm winds blew the roof off of a building.
August 2000LightningThornton-Lightning struck two homes in Thornton. The extent of the damage was unknown.
June 1997Flash FloodThornton-A nearly stationary line of thunderstorms dumped 4.6 inches of rain onto portions of Thornton. Extensive flooding of streets, underpasses and other low lying areas was reported. Several businesses were flooded and basement in the area damaged.
May 2023HailThornton-no account filed
June 2023HailThornton-no account filed
June 2020Thunderstorm WindThornton-no account filed
May 2014HailThornton-no account filed
May 2011HailThornton-no account filed
May 2010HailThornton-no account filed
May 2010HailThornton-no account filed
June 2010HailThornton-no account filed
June 2010HailThornton-no account filed
April 2005HailThornton-no account filed
April 2005HailThornton-no account filed
April 2005HailThornton-no account filed
June 2005HailThornton-no account filed
June 2005HailThornton-no account filed
June 2005HailThornton-no account filed
May 2004HailThornton-no account filed
June 2004HailThornton-no account filed
July 2004HailThornton-no account filed
August 2004HailThornton-no account filed
August 2004HailThornton-no account filed
July 2001HailThornton-no account filed
May 1996HailThornton-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Adams County

Nearest settlements

The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.

Map PlaceDistance Sheets
Northglenn1.5 miles24
Quimby1.5 miles28
Federal Heights1.8 miles28
Holiday Hills Village1.9 miles24
Westview2.2 miles20
Welby2.3 miles28
Homestead Heights2.3 miles24
Kimberly Hills2.5 miles24

Elsewhere

Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.

Wikipedia article on ThorntonAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q579761The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0).

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 181265. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.

Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.