Lakewood, Colorado
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The City of Lakewood is a home rule municipality located in Jefferson County, Colorado, United States. Lakewood is the fourth most populous city in the State of Colorado and the 164th most populous city in the United States. The United States Census Bureau estimates that in 2005 the population of the City of Lakewood was 140,671 (164th most populous U.S. city),[1] the population of the Denver-Aurora Metropolitan Statistical Area was 2,359,994 (22nd most populous MSA),[2] the population of the Denver-Aurora-Boulder Combined Statistical Area was 2,869,377 (15th most populous CSA),[3] and the population of the Front Range Urban Corridor was 4,013,055.[2]
The City of Lakewood was incorporated in 1969. At the time of incorporation the city population was already over 90,000, making Lakewood one of the largest cities, at the time of original incorporation, in the history of the United States.
The urban/suburban development of the community known as Lakewood was begun in 1889 by Charles Welch and W.A.H. Loveland, who platted a 13-block area along Colfax Avenue west of Denver in eastern Jefferson County. Loveland, the former president of the Colorado Central Railroad, retired to the new community of Lakewood after many years of living in nearby Golden.
Lakewood also houses the prestigious Lakewood High School, ranked number one in the state by Newsweek, and the only International Baccalaureate school in Jefferson County. Lakewood's nickname is "Lilly-White Lakewood," as the suburb was historically predominately white.
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[edit] Geography
Lakewood is located at (39.706337, -105.102859)GR1.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 110.0 km² (42.5 mi²). 107.7 km² (41.6 mi²) of it is land and 2.3 km² (0.9 mi²) of it (2.05%) is water.
[edit] Demographics
As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 144,126 people, 60,531 households, and 36,500 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,338.0/km² (3,465.3/mi²). There were 62,422 housing units at an average density of 579.5/km² (1,500.8/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 87.15% White, 1.48% African American, 1.11% Native American, 2.72% Asian, 0.08% Pacific Islander, 4.88% from other races, and 2.58% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 14.54% of the population.
There were 60,531 households out of which 27.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.1% were married couples living together, 10.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.7% were non-families. 30.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.32 and the average family size was 2.92.
In the city the population was spread out with 22.2% under the age of 18, 9.6% from 18 to 24, 32.4% from 25 to 44, 23.6% from 45 to 64, and 12.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 97.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.5 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $48,109, and the median income for a family was $57,171. Males had a median income of $39,800 versus $31,128 for females. The per capita income for the city was $25,575. About 4.8% of families and 7.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.5% of those under age 18 and 4.7% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] Municipal Government
Until 1969, the area known as Lakewood had no municipal government, relying instead on several water districts, several fire districts, and the government of Jefferson County. However, the community had already existed for about 80 years.
Lakewood maintains a council/manager form of government. Citizens elect a City Council consisting of the Mayor, who is elected at-large, and 10 City Council members, two from each of the city's five geographical wards. The mayor and the council members assert the policies for the operation of the city government.
Mayor: Steve Burkholder
Ward 1: Councilmember Vicki Stack and Councilmember Cheryl Wise
Ward 2: Councilmemger Debbie Koop and Councilmember Bob Murphy
Ward 3: Councilmember Sue King and Councilmember Ed Peterson
Ward 4: Councilmember Doug Anderson and Council Member Ray Elliott
Ward 5: Councilmember Diana Allen and Mike Stevens.
[edit] State Representation
Almost the entirety of the City of Lakewood falls into Colorado House District 26. Lakewood is represented at the State Capitol building by Rep. Andy Kerr.
[edit] Sister cities
Lakewood has four sister cities, as designated by Sister Cities International:
Chester, United Kingdom- Portsmouth, United Kingdom also a Friendship City
Stade, Germany
Sutherland Shire, Australia
[edit] Lakewood in the Media
- A South Park episode took place at Casa Bonita, a local Mexican restaurant in Lakewood.
[edit] External links
- City of Lakewood (official website)
- City of Lakewood (Government Listings and Contact Information)
- Maps and aerial photos
- Street map from Google Maps, or Yahoo! Maps, or Windows Live Local
- Satellite image from Google Maps, Windows Live Local, WikiMapia
- Topographic map from TopoZone
- Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA
- [1] (Newsweek Numbers)
[edit] References
- ^ Table 1: Annual Estimates of the Population for Incorporated Places Over 100,000, Ranked by July 1, 2005 Population: April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2005 (CSV). 2005 Population Estimates. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Division (June 20, 2006). Retrieved on December 13, 2006.
- ^ a b Rankings for Metropolitan Statistical Areas: April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2005 (CSV). 2005 Population Estimates. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Division (June 21, 2006). Retrieved on December 13, 2006.
- ^ Annual Estimates of the Population of Combined Statistical Areas: April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2005 (CSV). 2005 Population Estimates. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Division (June 21, 2006). Retrieved on December 13, 2006.
