Longmont, Colorado

Longmont is a city in the states of Boulder and Weld in Colorado, in the United States. As of the year 2020, about 98,885 people lived there. The city sits to the northeast of Boulder, which is the main city in Boulder County.

The name Longmont comes from a famous mountain called Longs Peak, which can be seen clearly from the city. The word “mont” means “mountain” in the French language. This beautiful setting makes Longmont a special place for people who enjoy nature and outdoor activities.

History

Longmont was founded in 1871 by a group of people from Chicago, Illinois. They called it the Chicago-Colorado Colony, and sold memberships to raise money for land and building a town hall. The city grew as an agricultural community after the Colorado Central Railroad arrived in 1877. The Town of Longmont became official in 1885.

In 1925, a group called the Ku Klux Klan took control of the city government but lost it in the next election. During the 1960s, big companies like IBM and GE Energy built places in and near Longmont. The city's downtown area became lively again in the 1990s. In 2013, Longmont started building a fast fiber-optic network to connect every home and business.

Geography

Longmont is found in northeastern Boulder County and stretches east into western Weld County. U.S. Highway 287 (Main Street) passes through the city, going north to Loveland and south to Denver. State Highway 119 also goes through Longmont, leading to Boulder and Interstate 25.

The city sits at an elevation of 4,978 feet above sea level. St. Vrain Creek, which flows into the South Platte River, runs through the area.

The total area of Longmont is 27.6 square miles (71.6 km²), with 26.2 square miles (67.8 km²) of land and 1.5 square miles (3.8 km²) of water.

Climate

Longmont has a cold semi-arid climate. The highest temperature ever recorded there was 106 °F (41 °C) on two different days in July 1973 and June 1994. The coldest temperature recorded was −38 °F (−39 °C) on January 16, 1930.

Demographics

Racial and ethnic composition

2020 census

According to the 2020 census, Longmont had a population of 98,885 people. The average age was 39.1 years, with 21.6% of residents being younger than 18 and 16.2% being 65 or older. For every 100 females, there were 98.4 males, and for every 100 females aged 18 and over, there were 96.2 males aged 18 and over.

Almost all residents, 99.9%, lived in urban areas, with only 0.1% in rural areas. There were 39,683 households, with 29.5% having children under 18. About 46.2% were married couples living together, while 19.6% had a male householder without a spouse, and 26.5% had a female householder without a spouse. Roughly 28.2% of households were made up of individuals, and 11.3% had someone living alone who was 65 or older.

There were 41,680 housing units, with 4.8% being empty. The rate of vacant homes for sale was 0.9%, and the rate of vacant rental units was 6.7%.

Historical population
Census	Pop.	%±
1880	773	—
1890	1,543	99.6%
1900	2,201	42.6%
1910	4,256	93.4%
1920	5,848	37.4%
1930	6,029	3.1%
1940	7,406	22.8%
1950	8,099	9.4%
1960	11,489	41.9%
1970	23,209	102.0%
1980	42,942	85.0%
1990	51,555	20.1%
2000	71,093	37.9%
2010	86,270	21.3%
2020	98,885	14.6%
2024 (est.)	99,818	0.9%
U.S. Decennial Census

**Longmont, Colorado – Racial and ethnic composition**
*Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.*
Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)	Pop 2000	Pop 2010	Pop 2020	% 2000	% 2010	% 2020
White alone (NH)	54,599	59,772	64,916	76.80%	69.28%	65.65%
Black or African American alone (NH)	363	661	900	0.51%	0.77%	0.91%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)	408	413	447	0.57%	0.48%	0.45%
Asian alone (NH)	1,236	2,696	3,490	1.74%	3.13%	3.52%
Pacific Islander alone (NH)	31	40	65	0.04%	0.05%	0.06%
Some Other Race alone (NH)	76	108	514	0.11%	0.13%	.52%
Mixed Race or Multi-Racial (NH)	822	1,389	4,096	1.16%	1.61%	4.14%
Hispanic or Latino (any race)	13,558	21,191	24,457	19.07%	24.56%	24.73%
Total	71,093	86,270	98,885	100.00%	100.00%	100.00%

Racial composition as of the 2020 census
Race	Number	Percent
White	70,318	71.1%
Black or African American	999	1.0%
American Indian and Alaska Native	1,246	1.3%
Asian	3,561	3.6%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander	79	0.1%
Some other race	10,162	10.3%
Two or more races	12,520	12.7%
Hispanic or Latino (of any race)	24,457	24.7%

Education

Longmont has the Boulder County Campus of Front Range Community College and the St. Vrain Valley School District, along with several private schools. It is also home to the Master Instructor Continuing Education Program (MICEP), which helps aviation teachers improve their skills.

The city has a public library. In 2019, people were talking about whether to create a library district and let the library share news. The library’s director said it needed more resources to grow with the city.

Transportation

Longmont offers bus services to Denver and Boulder through the RTD transit district. The city is also linked to Fort Collins, Loveland, and Berthoud by a FLEX regional bus service.

Plans for the FasTracks project include extending the RTD's commuter rail B Line to Longmont, possibly finishing in the early 2040s. In 2012, Longmont earned a silver-level award from the League of American Bicyclists for being a bicycle-friendly community, making it one of only 38 such cities in the United States and the only silver-level city in Colorado that isn’t a major tourist spot or a university town.

The Longmont Fire Department Station 1 is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

Vance Brand Airport is a public airport owned by the city, popular for general aviation but without regular passenger flights.

Longmont Public Library

Media

Main article: Media in Longmont, Colorado

The Longmont Leader is the local daily newspaper in Longmont. Another paper, the Longmont Times-Call, is published in Boulder even though it has "Longmont" in its name.

Longmont has several radio stations, including KRCN, KGUD, and KKFN. Sports games can be heard on KKSE-FM, and news and talk shows are on KDFD, which is a Fox News Radio station with a conservative talk format.

You can also listen to NPR programming on stations like KCFR from Denver and KCFC from Boulder. Another station, KUNC from the Fort Collins-Greeley area, can also be picked up in Longmont. The city is also served by KGNU, a non-commercial community radio station from Boulder.

Economy

Longmont has many jobs in different areas. Some of the biggest jobs are in making things, helping with science and technology, and selling goods in stores.

Because Longmont is close to Rocky Mountain National Park, there are many hotels and restaurants. The town is also famous for its craft breweries, like Left Hand and Oskar Blues. There are also businesses for activities like skiing, biking, and rock climbing.

Downtown Longmont is home to many local businesses.

#	Employer	# of Employees
1	St. Vrain Valley Schools	3,543
2	City of Longmont	1,625
3	Seagate Technology	1,430
4	Intrado	755
5	Longmont United Hospital	671
6	UC Health Longs Peak Hospital	540
7	McLane Western	460
8	Federal Aviation Administration	422
9	Circle Graphics	400
10	AveXis	354

Government

Longmont is a home rule municipality. It has a city charter that was adopted in 1961 and has been changed many times since then. The city is run by a City Council with seven members: one mayor and six councilmembers. The mayor is elected every two years, and each councilmember serves for four years. Elections happen on the first Tuesday in November during odd-numbered years.

Longmont uses a council-manager system, where a city manager handles the day-to-day work of the city, chosen by the City Council.

Federal and state representation

Longmont is split between two districts in the Colorado House of Representatives and is part of one district in the Colorado State Senate. At the federal level, it is in Colorado's 2nd congressional district.

Fire department

The Longmont Fire Department began in its current form in 1908, with its roots going back to 1879. As of 2020, it operates from six stations across the city. Longmont Fire Department Station 1 was built in 1907 and was used until 1971, and it is listed in the National Register of Historic Places since 1985.

Notable people

Longmont has been home to many interesting people. Valarie Allman, who won gold medals in discus at the 2020 Olympics and 2024 Olympics, went to Silver Creek High School there. Greg Biekert played American football for Longmont High School and later became a coach. Vance D. Brand, a NASA astronaut, also graduated from Longmont High School.

Other notable individuals include David Bote, a professional baseball player, and Kody Lostroh, who won the Professional Bull Riders World Championship in 2009. Kristen Schaal, a comedian and actress, was raised in Longmont, as was Kimiko Soldati, a diver who competed in the 2004 Olympics.

Sister cities

Longmont has friendly connections with cities and communities in other places. These include Chino in Nagano, Japan, Ciudad Guzmán in Jalisco, Mexico, and the Northern Arapaho Tribe on the Wind River Reservation in Wyoming. These partnerships help people learn about and support each other.