Jefferson County, Colorado

Jefferson County is the fourth most populous of the  of the  of the. The estimates that the county population was 526,994 in 2006. The is  and the most populous city is. Jefferson County is part of the and the. The of the State of Colorado is located in Jefferson County.

Located in the of the, northeast Jefferson County is part of the. The major expressway traverses Jefferson County from east-to-west, passing just south of the county seat of Golden. Jefferson County is a quite long county from north to south, following the Front Range.

A major employer in Jefferson County is the large in Golden. Also, the state-supported is located in Jefferson County, offering programs in  and.

Jefferson County is often nicknamed. The name Jeffco is incorporated in the official name of the, the Jeffco School District, the Jeffco Business Center Metropolitan District No. 1, and several businesses located in Jefferson County. Jeffco is also incorporated in the unofficial monikers of many Jefferson County agencies. The operated by Jefferson County was previously known as the Jeffco Airport.

History
Jefferson County was one of the original 17 counties created by the on. Jefferson County took the name of predecessor of the extralegal. , of the  from  to, built his home in the county at  and later at. Jefferson County and the Jefferson Territory were named for, the principal author of the and the third.

In 1908, the southern tip of Jefferson County was transferred to, reducing Jefferson County to its present length of 54 miles (87 kilometers). Several annexations by the and the 2001 consolidation of the  removed eastern portions of the county. The occurred on, in the  of Jefferson County.

Geography
Jefferson County spans 4 to 18 s (6 to 30 ) west to east and 54 s (87 ) north to south. According to the, the county has a total area of 2,015 (778 ). 2,000 km² (772 sq mi) of it is land and 15 km² (6 sq mi) of it (0.77%) is water.

Adjacent Counties

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Recreational Areas

 * Alderfer/Three Sisters Park
 * Apex Park
 * Centennial Cone Park
 * Clear Creek Canyon Park
 * Coal Creek Canyon
 * Deer Creek Canyon Park
 * Elk Meadow Park
 * Fairmount Trail
 * Flying J Ranch Park
 * Hildebrand Ranch Park
 * Hiwan Homestead Museum
 * Lair o' the Bear Park
 * Lookout Mountain Nature Center
 * Matthews/Winters Park
 * Meyer Ranch Park
 * Mount Falcon Park
 * Mount Galbraith Park
 * Mount Glennon
 * Mount Lindo
 * North Table Mountain Park
 * Pine Valley Ranch Park
 * Ranson/Edwards Homestead Ranch
 * Reynolds Park
 * South Table Mountain Park
 * South Valley
 * Van Bibber Park
 * Welchester Tree Grant Park
 * White Ranch Park
 * Windy Saddle Park
 * Urban Trails
 * Urban Trails

Demographics
As of the of 2000, there were 527,056 people, 206,067 households, and 140,537 families residing in the county. The was 264/km² (683/sq mi). There were 212,488 housing units at an average density of 106/km² (275/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county was 90.59%, 0.89% or , 0.75% , 2.28% , 0.08% , 3.23% from , and 2.18% from two or more races. 9.95% of the population were or  of any race.

There were 206,067 households out of which 33.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.10% were living together, 9.10% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.80% were non-families. 24.50% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.52 and the average family size was 3.03.

In the county the population was spread out with 25.30% under the age of 18, 8.10% from 18 to 24, 32.10% from 25 to 44, 24.90% from 45 to 64, and 9.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 99.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.80 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $57,339, and the median income for a family was $67,310. Males had a median income of $45,306 versus $32,372 for females. The for the county was $28,066. About 3.40% of families and 5.20% of the population were below the, including 5.80% of those under age 18 and 5.10% of those age 65 or over.

Cities

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Towns

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Education
Most areas in Jefferson County are zoned to.