Welcome to Lafayette ...
The city of Lafayette is located in Boulder County<1>.
The location of Lafayette has been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (ie- the GNIS).<2>
While we don't have a date for the founding of Lafayette, you might consider that their post office opened in 1889.
The city was incorporated January 6, 1890.
When the people of Lafayette refer to themselves (known as a demonym), they frequently use Lafayettean<3>
From the Census Estimates for 2019, Lafayette has a population of 28,495 people<4> (see below for details).
Lafayette is 5,250 feet [1,600 m] above sea level.<5> In other words, the altitude of Lafayette is about 1 mile [or ~1½ km] above sea level.
Time Zone: Lafayette lies in the Mountain Time Zone (MST/MDT) and observes daylight saving time
Area codes for Lafayette: (303) & (720)<6>
The ZIP code for Lafayette: 80026<7>
Websites for Lafayette ...
Official Website: www.cityoflafayette.com/
Population Details ...
Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Lafayette had an population of 28,495 people. This is an increase of 16.53% since the 2010 Census (or an increase of 22.84% since the 2000 Census).
At the time of the 2010 Census, Lafayette had a population of 24,453 people (which is 8.3% of the total population of Boulder County). This makes Lafayette the county's 3rd most populous community.
The population of Lafayette represents 0.49% of the population of Colorado (which has 5,029,196 people), making it the state's 26th most populous community.
With a 2010 count of 24,453 people, the population of Lafayette increased 5.41% from the 2000 Census (which had a count of 23,197 people).
More information can be found on the Census Page for Lafayette.
Communities Also Named Lafayette ...
Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are 38 communities that are also named Lafayette - they are located in Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa (2), Kansas (2), Kentucky, Louisiana (2), Maryland, Michigan (2), Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio (5), Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania (2), Rhode Island, Tennessee (2), Texas (2), Virginia (2) and West Virginia.
For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Lafayette.
Communities near Lafayette ...
We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Lafayette.
- Denver
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denver
- Denver is located in Denver County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 735,538 people
- Former names for Denver:
- Auraina
- Denver City
- Montana City
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Denver <8>
- Thornton
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Thornton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thornton
- Thornton is located in Adams County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 148,113 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Thornton <8>
- Arvada
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arvada
- Arvada is located in Jefferson County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 121,936 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Arvada <8>
- Westminster
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westminster
- Westminster is located in Adams County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 115,046 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Westminster <8>
- Boulder
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boulder
- Boulder is located in Boulder County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 107,645 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Boulder <8>
- Longmont
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Longmont
- Longmont is located in Boulder County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 98,445 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Longmont <8>
- Commerce City
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Commerce City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Commerce City
- Commerce City is located in Adams County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 59,317 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Commerce City <8>
- Brighton
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brighton
- Brighton is located in Adams County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 40,783 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Brighton <8>
- Northglenn
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Northglenn have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Northglenn
- Northglenn is located in Adams County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 38,845 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Northglenn <8>
- Wheat Ridge
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wheat Ridge
- Wheat Ridge is located in Jefferson County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 31,857 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wheat Ridge <8>
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 Lafayette. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Lafayette.
Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Lafayette. 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 Lafayette.
We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Lafayette. Our list includes 11 papers. See our Newspapers Page for Lafayette.
TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Lafayette ...
Looking for more information about Lafayette? 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 Lafayette, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for Lafayette.
Adding Lafayette to Our Gazetteer ...
We originally found mention of Lafayette 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 Lafayette was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<9>
From that list, the Lafayette post office opened in 1889.
We also found Lafayette in the book titled Business Atlas and Shippers' Guide (1895).
For more details, see References and Mentions for Lafayette.
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Lafayette: www.cityoflafayette.com/
The official website for Boulder County: www.co.boulder.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 Boulder, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. |
| <2> | 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. |
| <3> | A demonym is the name for a resident of a community which is usually derived from (or is related to) the name of that community. In other words, it's how the residents of Lafayette refer to themselves. It's important to note that there aren't any rules for taking a city's name and turning it into a demonym. A demonym is informal and while the majority of Lafayette may use one name, keep in mind that others may use something different. |
| <4> | Population counts have been provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. For more detail, please visit our Census Page for Lafayette. |
| <5> | The elevation is an estimate for the area around Lafayette - it will be higher in some places and lower in others. |
| <6> | Area code (720) is an overlay for area code (303). |
| <7> | 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 Lafayette). When looking for a ZIP Code, whether Lafayette or elsewhere, it's always best to check the website of the United States Postal Service (USPS). |
| <8> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <9> | A copy of their list with background information can be found at: https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/ |