Denver

This article is about the city and county in Colorado. For other uses, see Denver (disambiguation).

Denver
State capital and consolidated city-county
City and County of Denver
Downtown Denver skyline 16th Street Mall and Colorado State Capitol Denver Art Museum Denver Union Station Red Rocks Amphitheatre Coors Field Denver Millennium Bridge
Flag Seal Wordmark
Nicknames:  The Mile High City Queen City of the Plains Wall Street of the West
Interactive map of Denver
Denver Location within the United States Denver Location within Colorado
Coordinates: 39°44′24″N 104°59′24″W
Country	United States
State	Colorado
City and county	Denver
Platted	November 17, 1858 (1858-11-17), as Denver City, Kansas Territory
Incorporated	November 7, 1861 (1861-11-07), as Denver City, Colorado Territory
Consolidated	December 1, 1902 (1902-12-01), as the City and County of Denver
Named for	James W. Denver
Government
• Type	Consolidated city and county
• Body	Denver City Council
• Mayor	Mike Johnston (D)
Area
• Total	154.726 sq mi (400.739 km2)
• Land	153.075 sq mi (396.463 km2)
• Water	1.651 sq mi (4.276 km2)
• Metro	8,403.00 sq mi (21,763.67 km2)
Elevation	5,280 ft (1,610 m)
Highest elevation	5,680 ft (1,730 m)
Lowest elevation	5,130 ft (1,560 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	715,522
• Estimate  (2025)	740,613
• Rank	58th in North America 19th in the United States 1st in Colorado
• Density	4,674/sq mi (1,805/km2)
• Urban	2,686,147 (US: 18th)
• Urban density	4,168/sq mi (1,609.1/km2)
• Metro	3,092,037 (US: 19th)
• CSA	3,799,023 (US: 17th)
• Front Range	5,280,365
Demonym	Denverite
GDP
• Metro	$311.876 billion (2023)
• Per capita	$100,864 (2023)
Time zone	UTC−07:00 (MST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−06:00 (MDT)
ZIP codes	80012, 80014, 80022, 80033, 80123, 80201–80212, 80214–80239, 80241, 80243–80244, 80246–80252, 80256–80257, 80259-80261, 80263-80266, 80271, 80273–80274, 80279–80281, 80290–80291, 80293–80295, 80299
Area codes	303/720/983
GNIS place ID	201738
GNIS city ID	2410324
FIPS code	08-20000
Website	www.denvergov.org

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Denver (/ˈdɛnvər/ ^ⓘ DEN-vər) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Officially a consolidated city and county, it is located in the South Platte River valley on the western edge of the High Plains, and is just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains (Rockies). Denver is the 19th-most populous city in the United States and the fifth-most populous state capital, with a population of 715,522 at the 2020 census. The ten-county Denver metropolitan area, with 3.1 million residents, is the 19th-largest metropolitan area in the country and functions as the economic and cultural center of the broader Front Range Urban Corridor.

Denver's downtown district lies about 12 miles (19 kilometers) east of the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. Named after James W. Denver, the governor of the Kansas Territory at the time, Denver was founded at the confluence of Cherry Creek and the South Platte River in 1858 during the Gold Rush era. Nicknamed the "Mile High City" because its official elevation is exactly one mile (5280 feet or 1609.344 meters) above sea level, Denver grew beyond its prospecting origins to become the principal commercial and transportation hub for a broad region spanning the Great Plains and Rocky Mountain West. The 105th meridian west of Greenwich, the longitudinal reference for the Mountain Time Zone, passes directly through Denver Union Station.

As the most populous metropolitan area in a 560-mile (900 km) radius, Denver is a major cultural hub with a variety of museums and cultural institutions, including the Denver Performing Arts Complex, the Denver Art Museum and the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. Denver has professional sports teams in five leagues and hosts the headquarters of eight Fortune 500 firms.