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.
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 figuresThornton 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.
| Year | People | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 11,353 | |
| 2010 | 118,772 | |
| 2020 | 141,867 | +23,095 (+19%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
12 surveys from 28 printed sheetsMatched 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.
- 1890 USGS East Denver quadrangle1:125000
- 1938 USGS Derby quadrangle1:24000
- 1940 USGS Derby quadrangle1:31680, 2 printings
- 1947 USGS Derby quadrangle1:31680, 2 printings
- 1950 USGS Derby quadrangle1:24000
- 1953 USGS Denver quadrangle1:250000, 6 printings
- 1957 USGS Denver quadrangle1:250000
- 1957 USGS Derby quadrangle1:24000, 3 printings
- 1958 USGS Denver quadrangle1:250000
- 1960 USGS Denver quadrangle1:250000
- 1965 USGS Commerce City quadrangle1:24000, 7 printings
- 1981 USGS Denver East quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
Fires near this place
976 since 1992Regional 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/undetermined | 829 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 38 |
| Smoking | 28 |
| Fireworks | 21 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 19 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 11 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 9 |
| Debris and open burning | 8 |
| Natural | 6 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 4 |
| Railroad operations and maintenance | 3 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 September 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Colorado State Forest Service-State Headquarters | N/A |
| 9 September 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Colorado State Forest Service-State Headquarters | WESTMINSTER |
| 8 September 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Thornton Fire Department | UNKNOWN |
| 7 September 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | North Metro Fire Rescue District | N/A |
| 7 September 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | North Metro Fire Rescue District | N/A |
| 7 September 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | North Metro Fire Rescue District | UNKNOWN |
| 7 September 2013 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | Thornton Fire Department | UNKNOWN |
| 6 September 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | North Metro Fire Rescue District | UNKNOWN |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
10 of 76 shownRegional 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 | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adams North Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction, Gold, Silver | Past Producer | 1956 | |
| Unknown | Gold, Silver, Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | Placer | |
| Unknown | Gold, Sand and Gravel, Construction, Silver | Occurrence | ||
| Gordon Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction, Gold | Past Producer | Gold, Sand and Gravel | |
| Thornton Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction, Gold | Producer | 1980 | |
| Adams County Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Adams County Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Albert Frei & Sons Sand and Gr Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Unknown | ||
| Brannan Sand and Gravel Co Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Brannan Sand and Gravel Co Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer |
Storms near this place
38 since 1996Regional 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.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 1996 | Hail | Thornton | $120,000,000 | no account filed |
| July 2001 | Lightning | Thornton | $200,000 | Lightning struck the roof of a home. Most of the damage was confined to the attic. |
| July 2001 | Lightning | Thornton | $15,000 | Lightning struck another home in Thornton. Most of the damage was confined to the attic. |
| March 2016 | Dust Devil | Thornton | $5,000 | A gustnado knocked down a power pole and destroyed a small storage shed. |
| June 2025 | Hail | Thornton | - | Report from mping. |
| June 2025 | Hail | Thornton | - | Report from mping. |
| May 2024 | Hail | Thornton | - | The report was via mping. |
| May 2024 | Hail | Thornton | - | The report was via mping. |
| May 2024 | Hail | Thornton | - | The report was via mping. |
| May 2024 | Hail | Thornton | - | The report was via mping. |
| July 2024 | Hail | Thornton | - | Report via mPing. |
| July 2024 | Hail | Thornton | - | The report was from mping. |
| September 2013 | Flash Flood | Thornton | - | 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 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | Thornton | - | Strong thunderstorm winds blew the roof off of a building. |
| August 2000 | Lightning | Thornton | - | Lightning struck two homes in Thornton. The extent of the damage was unknown. |
| June 1997 | Flash Flood | Thornton | - | 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 2023 | Hail | Thornton | - | no account filed |
| June 2023 | Hail | Thornton | - | no account filed |
| June 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Thornton | - | no account filed |
| May 2014 | Hail | Thornton | - | no account filed |
| May 2011 | Hail | Thornton | - | no account filed |
| May 2010 | Hail | Thornton | - | no account filed |
| May 2010 | Hail | Thornton | - | no account filed |
| June 2010 | Hail | Thornton | - | no account filed |
| June 2010 | Hail | Thornton | - | no account filed |
| April 2005 | Hail | Thornton | - | no account filed |
| April 2005 | Hail | Thornton | - | no account filed |
| April 2005 | Hail | Thornton | - | no account filed |
| June 2005 | Hail | Thornton | - | no account filed |
| June 2005 | Hail | Thornton | - | no account filed |
| June 2005 | Hail | Thornton | - | no account filed |
| May 2004 | Hail | Thornton | - | no account filed |
| June 2004 | Hail | Thornton | - | no account filed |
| July 2004 | Hail | Thornton | - | no account filed |
| August 2004 | Hail | Thornton | - | no account filed |
| August 2004 | Hail | Thornton | - | no account filed |
| July 2001 | Hail | Thornton | - | no account filed |
| May 1996 | Hail | Thornton | - | no account filed |
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 | Place | Distance | Sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northglenn | 1.5 miles | 24 | |
| Quimby | 1.5 miles | 28 | |
| Federal Heights | 1.8 miles | 28 | |
| Holiday Hills Village | 1.9 miles | 24 | |
| Westview | 2.2 miles | 20 | |
| Welby | 2.3 miles | 28 | |
| Homestead Heights | 2.3 miles | 24 | |
| Kimberly Hills | 2.5 miles | 24 |
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 Thornton | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q579761 | The 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.












