ARVADA, COLORADO

The 'City of Arvada' (IPA: //) is a home rule municipality located in Jefferson County and Adams County of the State of Colorado in the United States. Arvada is located approximately seven miles (11 kilometers) northwest of the Colorado State Capitol in Denver. The United States Census Bureau estimates that the population of Arvada was 104,830 on 2006-07-01. Annual Estimates of the Population for All Incorporated Places in Colorado Arvada is the eighth most populous city in the State of Colorado and the 241st most populous city in the United States.

Contents

History

Geography

Transportation

Demographics

Sister cities

Notable Residents

See also

External links

References

History

The first documented gold discovery here occurred on June 22, 1850. A prospector headed for California, Lewis Ralston, dipped his gold pan into Clear Creek. His return was a $5 gold nugget (about 1/4 ounce). In 1858, Ralston brought a group of prospectors back to the site of his first discovery. Farmers soon arrived in order to sell supplies to miners. The railroad was built through the area in 1870. The settlers, needing to establish a town so that the railroad stop could have a name, filed a town plat. The town was named Arvada after the brother-in-law of one of the settlers.

Geography

Arvada is located at (39.819962, -105.110975).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 85.1 km² (32.8 mi²). 84.6 km²; (32.7 mi²) of it is land and 0.5 km² (0.2 mi²) of it (0.58%) is water.

Transportation

Arvada is the western terminous of Interstate Highway Route I-76, which begins at the intersection of Interstate Highway Route I-70 and Colorado State Highway Route 121. Other state highways in Arvada include Colorado State Highway Route 72, Colorado State Highway Route 93, and Colorado State Highway Route 95. Major highways near Arvada include Interstate Highway Route I-25, Interstate Highway Route I-270, United States Highway Route US-36, and United States Highway Route US-287.

The Amtrak California Zephyr

The Amtrak California Zephyr passes through the City of Arvada each morning and evening. Full Amtrak passenger and parcel service is available at the nearby Denver Union Station.
The Denver Regional Transportation District (RTD) currently serves Arvada with seven local bus routes (31, 51, 52, 72, 76, 80, 100), seven express bus routes (58X, 68X, 72X, 76X, 80X, 82X, 108X), the CC regional bus route, and the Arvada Call-and-Ride service. RTD plans to provide Arvada with a commuter rail Gold Line by 2015, although a 1.5 billion dollar budget increase could derail this effort.
Arvada is served by Denver International Airport and Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 102,153 people, 39,019 households, and 27,742 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,207.6/km² (3,128.1/mi²). There were 39,733 housing units at an average density of 469.7/km² (1,216.7/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 91.04% White, 0.66% African American, 0.65% Native American, 2.17% Asian, 0.07% Pacific Islander, 3.08% from other races, and 2.34% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 9.82% of the population.
There were 39,019 households out of which 34.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.5% were married couples living together, 9.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.9% were non-families. 23.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.60 and the average family size was 3.07.
In the city the population was spread out with 26.2% under the age of 18, 7.8% from 18 to 24, 30.4% from 25 to 44, 24.9% from 45 to 64, and 10.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 96.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.9 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $55,541, and the median income for a family was $63,273. Males had a median income of $42,126 versus $30,802 for females. The per capita income for the city was $24,679. About 3.5% of families and 5.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.4% of those under age 18 and 6.1% of those age 65 or older.

Sister cities

Arvada has two sister cities, as designated by Sister Cities International, Inc. (SCI):

★ Mechelen, Belgium

★ Qyzylorda, Kazakhstan

Notable Residents

★ Clive Cussler, author

★ Nick Fazekas, 2nd round draft pick in 2007 NBA Draft by the Dallas Mavericks.

★ Chris Sanders, animator, Lilo & Stitch

See also

★ Colorado municipalities

★ Denver-Aurora Metropolitan Statistical Area

★ Denver-Aurora-Boulder Combined Statistical Area

★ Front Range Urban Corridor

External links

★ City of Arvada website

★ Arvada Fire Protection District website

★ North Jeffco Park and Recreation District website

References