Welcome to Fort Collins ...
The city of Fort Collins is located in Larimer County<1> and is the County Seat for Larimer County.
While we don't have a date for the founding of Fort Collins, you might consider that their post office opened in 1865.
The city was incorporated February 12, 1883.
A typical abbreviation for Fort Collins: Ft. Collins
From the Census Estimates for 2019, Fort Collins has a population of 168,057 people<2> (see below for details).
Fort Collins is 4,990 feet [1,521 m] above sea level.<3> In other words, the elevation of Fort Collins is about 1 mile [or ~1½ km] above sea level.
Time Zone: Fort Collins lies in the Mountain Time Zone (MST/MDT) and observes daylight saving time
The telephone area code for Fort Collins: (970)
The ZIP codes for Fort Collins: 80521-80528, 80553<4>
Websites for Fort Collins ...
Official Website: www.ci.fort-collins.co.us/
Chamber of Commerce: www.fortcollinschamber.com/
Junior League: www.jlweb.org/fortcollins/
Population Details ...
Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Fort Collins had an population of 168,057 people. This is an increase of 16.72% since the 2010 Census (or an increase of 41.64% since the 2000 Census).
At the time of the 2010 Census, Fort Collins had a population of 143,986 people (or 48.05% of the total population of Larimer County). This makes Fort Collins the county's most populous community.
The population of Fort Collins represents 2.86% of the total population of Colorado (which has 5,029,196 people), making it the state's 4th most populous community.
With a 2010 count of 143,986 people, the population of Fort Collins increased 21.35% from the 2000 Census (with a count of 118,652 people).
More information can be found on the Census Page for Fort Collins.
Communities near Fort Collins ...
We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Fort Collins.
- Loveland
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Loveland have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loveland
- Loveland is located in Larimer County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 83,517 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Loveland <6>
- Windsor
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windsor
- Windsor is located in Weld County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 27,659 people
- Former names for Windsor:
- New Liberty
- New Windsor
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Windsor <6>
- Johnstown
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnstown
- Johnstown is located in Weld County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 13,923 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Johnstown <6>
- Berthoud
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berthoud
- Berthoud is located in Larimer County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 10,806 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Berthoud <6>
- Wellington
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wellington have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wellington
- Wellington is located in Larimer County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 9,620 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wellington <6>
- Severance
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Severance have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Severance
- Severance is located in Weld County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 7,634 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Severance <6>
- Eaton
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eaton
- Eaton is located in Weld County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 6,000 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Eaton <6>
- Ault
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ault
- Ault is located in Weld County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,126 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ault <6>
- Pierce
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pierce have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pierce
- Pierce is located in Weld County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 938 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pierce <6>
- Nunn
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Nunn have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nunn
- Nunn is located in Weld County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 497 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Nunn <6>
To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.
We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Fort Collins. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Fort Collins.
Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Fort Collins. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Fort Collins.
We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Fort Collins. Our list includes 50 papers. See our Newspapers Page for Fort Collins.
TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Fort Collins ...
Looking for more information about Fort Collins? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.
In addition to the Tourism page for Fort Collins, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for Fort Collins.
Adding Fort Collins to Our Gazetteer ...
We originally found mention of Fort Collins in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.
From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found for Fort Collins was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<7>
From that list, the Fort Collins post office opened in 1865.
We also found Fort Collins in the book titled List of Post Offices in the United States (1870).
For more details, see References and Mentions for Fort Collins.
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Fort Collins: www.ci.fort-collins.co.us/
The official website for Larimer County: www.co.larimer.co.us/
The official website for State of Colorado: https://www.colorado.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | If you're interested in how the shape of Colorado's counties, including Larimer, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. |
| <2> | Population counts have been provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. For more detail, please visit our Census Page for Fort Collins. |
| <3> | The elevation is an estimate for the area around Fort Collins - it will be higher in some places and lower in others. |
| <4> | ZIP Codes have been created by the United States Postal Service (USPS) as a way of grouping addresses to make delivery more efficient. The boundaries of the ZIP Code can be changed, re-assigned, eliminated or overlapped with other ZIP Codes. So keep in mind that any given ZIP Code is only 'loosely' associated with a city (such as Fort Collins). When looking for a ZIP Code, whether Fort Collins or elsewhere, it's always best to check the website of the United States Postal Service (USPS). Our list of ZIP Codes for Fort Collins includes: 80521, 80522, 80523, 80524, 80525, 80526, 80527 & 80528. |
| <5> | The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required. |
| <6> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <7> | A copy of their list with background information can be found at: https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/ |