The Front Range Urban Corridor is an oblong region of urban population located along the eastern face of the Southern Rocky Mountains, encompassing 18 counties in the US states of Colorado and Wyoming. The corridor derives its name from the Front Range, the mountain range that defines the western boundary of the corridor which serves as a gateway to the Rocky Mountains. The region comprises the northern portion of the Southern Rocky Mountain Front geographic area, which in turn comprises the southern portion of the Rocky Mountain Front geographic area of Canada and the United States. The Front Range Urban Corridor had a population of 5,055,344 at the 2020 census, an increase of +16.65% since the 2010 census, and a population of approximately 5.3 million as of 2025 census estimates.

The corridor contains some of the West's largest cities, such as Denver and Colorado Springs. It also contains smaller but significant urban areas such as Pueblo, Fort Collins and Cheyenne. Its main transportation corridor is Interstate 25. There have been many proposals over the years for a single passenger rail connecting most the major urban areas within the corridor though none have come to fruition as of mid-2026. However, plans are actively under development and moving forward for the Colorado Connector (CoCo), also known as the Front Range Passenger Rail. The first phase of service connecting Denver and Fort Collins could commence as soon as 2029, with full corridor service (sans Cheyenne, Wyoming) occurring just a few years after that.

Extent

The Front Range Urban Corridor stretches about 200 miles (320km) from Pueblo, Colorado, north along Interstate 25 to Cheyenne, Wyoming, and includes the Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area; the Colorado Springs, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area; the Boulder, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area; the Fort Collins, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area; the Greeley, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area; the Pueblo, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area; the Cheyenne, WY Metropolitan Statistical Area; and the Cañon City, CO Micropolitan Statistical Area. The corridor comprises three primary subregions: the South Central Colorado Urban Area, the North Central Colorado Urban Area, and the Cheyenne Metropolitan Area.

The influence of the Corridor extends well beyond its defined boundaries. The Colorado Eastern Plains, several Colorado mountain communities and counties, the Nebraska Panhandle, and Albany County, Wyoming, among other areas, are culturally and economically tied to the Corridor, though they are not considered to be a part of it.[citation needed]

The definition included here is not used for the greater Southern Rocky Mountain Front, one of the 11 megaregions of the United States. The megaregion's area is larger, extending south from Pueblo along the I-25 corridor into New Mexico, including Albuquerque and Santa Fe.

Counties

The 18 counties of the Front Range Urban Corridor
2020 rankCounty2020 censusChange2010 censusChange2000 censusArea (mi2)Core-based statistical areaUrban region
1El Paso County, Colorado730,395+17.38%622,263+20.38%516,9342,130Colorado Springs, CO MSASouth Central Colorado
2City and County of Denver, Colorado715,522+19.22%600,158+8.37%553,805155Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO MSANorth Central Colorado
3Arapahoe County, Colorado655,070+14.52%572,003+17.01%488,829855
4Jefferson County, Colorado582,910+9.05%534,543+1.73%525,449774
5Adams County, Colorado519,572+17.66%441,603+26.87%348,0761,184
6Larimer County, Colorado359,066+19.84%299,630+19.14%251,4942,634Fort Collins-Loveland, CO MSA
7Douglas County, Colorado357,978+25.40%285,465+62.44%175,732843Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO MSA
8Boulder County, Colorado330,758+12.29%294,567+9.19%269,784740Boulder, CO MSA
9Weld County, Colorado328,981+30.12%252,825+39.86%180,7664,017Greeley, CO MSA
10Pueblo County, Colorado168,162+5.72%159,063+12.42%141,4902,398Pueblo, CO MSASouth Central Colorado
11Laramie County, Wyoming100,512+9.56%91,738+12.41%81,6072,688Cheyenne, WY MSASoutheast Wyoming
12City and County of Broomfield, Colorado74,112+32.61%55,889+42.57%39,20234Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO MSANorth Central Colorado
13Fremont County, Colorado48,939+4.52%46,824+1.47%46,1451,534Cañon City, CO MSASouth Central Colorado
14Elbert County, Colorado26,062+12.89%23,086+16.17%19,8721,851Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO MSANorth Central Colorado
15Teller County, Colorado24,710+5.82%23,350+13.60%20,555559Colorado Springs, CO MSASouth Central Colorado
16Park County, Colorado17,390+7.31%16,206+11.59%14,5232,211Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO MSANorth Central Colorado
17Clear Creek County, Colorado9,397+3.40%9,088−2.51%9,322396
18Gilpin County, Colorado5,808+6.75%5,441+14.38%4,757150
Total18 counties5,055,344+16.65%4,333,742+17.50%3,688,34225,1538 core-based statistical areas3 urban regions

Municipalities

The 19 municipalities of the Front Range Urban Corridor with a population of at least 50,000
2020 rankMunicipality2020 censusChange2010 censusChange2000 census
1City and County of Denver, Colorado715,522+19.22%600,158+8.21%554,636
2City of Colorado Springs, Colorado478,961+15.02%416,427+15.39%360,890
3City of Aurora, Colorado386,261+18.82%325,078+17.61%276,393
4City of Fort Collins, Colorado169,810+17.94%143,986+21.35%118,652
5City of Lakewood, Colorado155,984+9.09%142,980−0.80%144,126
6City of Thornton, Colorado141,867+19.44%118,772+44.17%82,384
7City of Arvada, Colorado124,402+16.88%106,433+4.19%102,153
8City of Westminster, Colorado116,317+9.62%106,114+5.13%100,940
9City of Pueblo, Colorado111,876+4.95%106,595+4.38%102,121
10City of Greeley, Colorado108,795+17.12%92,889+20.74%76,930
11City of Centennial, Colorado108,418+8.01%100,377NANA
12City of Boulder, Colorado108,250+11.16%97,385+2.86%94,673
13City of Longmont, Colorado98,885+14.62%86,270+21.35%71,093
14City of Loveland, Colorado76,378+14.24%66,859+32.11%50,608
15City and County of Broomfield, Colorado74,112+32.61%55,889+46.03%38,272
16Town of Castle Rock, Colorado73,158+51.68%48,231+138.48%20,224
17City of Cheyenne, Wyoming65,132+9.53%59,466+12.18%53,011
18City of Commerce City, Colorado62,418+35.95%45,913+118.73%20,991
19Town of Parker, Colorado58,512+29.17%45,297+92.28%23,558

Wyoming jurisdictions

In Wyoming, the Front Range Urban Corridor includes the Town of Albin, the Town of Burns, the City of Cheyenne, the Town of Pine Bluffs, and unincorporated Laramie County.

Colorado jurisdictions

In Colorado, the Front Range Urban Corridor includes:

Gallery of the most populous municipalities

See also

External links