# Brighton, Colorado

Brighton is a home rule city city located in Adams and Weld counties, Colorado, United States. Brighton is the county seat of Adams County and is a part of the Denver-Aurora, CO Combined Statistical Area and the Front Range Urban Corridor. The city population was 40,083 at the 2020 United States census with 39,718 residing in Adams County and 365 residing in Weld County.

## History

Brighton was founded as a stage/railroad depot and farming community named Hughes. The Hughes, Colorado Territory, post office opened on April 13, 1871, Colorado became a state on August 1, 1876, and the Hughes post office was renamed Brighton on August 4, 1879. The town was named for Brighton Beach, New York.
The Town of Brighton was incorporated on September 1, 1887. Adams County was created on April 15, 1901, with Brighton as its seat.

## Geography

Brighton is a suburb of Denver located at coordinates 39°59′07″N 104°49′14″W﻿ / ﻿39.9853°N 104.8205°W﻿ / 39.9853; -104.8205﻿ (Brighton, Colorado) at an elevation of 4,987 feet (1,520 m).
At the 2020 United States census, the city had a total area of 13,783 acres (55.777 km$^2$), including 185 acres (0.747 km$^2$) of water.

### Climate

According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Brighton has a cold semi-arid climate, abbreviated BSk on climate maps.
Climate data for Brighton, Colorado, 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1973–present :
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 74 (23) | 80 (27) | 82 (28) | 91 (33) | 99 (37) | 104 (40) | 105 (41) | 103 (39) | 100 (38) | 90 (32) | 82 (28) | 75 (24) | 105 (41) |
| Mean maximum °F (°C) | 65.3 (18.5) | 67.7 (19.8) | 76.3 (24.6) | 82.4 (28.0) | 90.5 (32.5) | 97.8 (36.6) | 100.5 (38.1) | 97.8 (36.6) | 93.8 (34.3) | 85.1 (29.5) | 74.2 (23.4) | 65.5 (18.6) | 101.0 (38.3) |
| Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 44.4 (6.9) | 45.9 (7.7) | 55.9 (13.3) | 62.9 (17.2) | 71.9 (22.2) | 84.1 (28.9) | 90.0 (32.2) | 87.6 (30.9) | 79.8 (26.6) | 65.9 (18.8) | 53.3 (11.8) | 44.0 (6.7) | 65.5 (18.6) |
| Daily mean °F (°C) | 30.2 (−1.0) | 32.2 (0.1) | 41.3 (5.2) | 48.4 (9.1) | 57.5 (14.2) | 68.3 (20.2) | 74.1 (23.4) | 72.0 (22.2) | 63.6 (17.6) | 50.4 (10.2) | 39.1 (3.9) | 30.2 (−1.0) | 50.6 (10.3) |
| Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 16.1 (−8.8) | 18.5 (−7.5) | 26.7 (−2.9) | 33.9 (1.1) | 43.2 (6.2) | 52.4 (11.3) | 58.2 (14.6) | 56.4 (13.6) | 47.4 (8.6) | 35.0 (1.7) | 25.0 (−3.9) | 16.3 (−8.7) | 35.8 (2.1) |
| Mean minimum °F (°C) | −5.7 (−20.9) | −2.6 (−19.2) | 9.4 (−12.6) | 20.4 (−6.4) | 29.8 (−1.2) | 42.7 (5.9) | 50.9 (10.5) | 48.5 (9.2) | 35.1 (1.7) | 18.9 (−7.3) | 5.4 (−14.8) | −4.7 (−20.4) | −13.5 (−25.3) |
| Record low °F (°C) | −23 (−31) | −24 (−31) | −13 (−25) | −8 (−22) | 19 (−7) | 34 (1) | 44 (7) | 41 (5) | 19 (−7) | 0 (−18) | −14 (−26) | −26 (−32) | −26 (−32) |
| Average precipitation inches (mm) | 0.42 (11) | 0.43 (11) | 0.98 (25) | 1.77 (45) | 2.35 (60) | 1.41 (36) | 1.72 (44) | 1.77 (45) | 1.18 (30) | 1.02 (26) | 0.69 (18) | 0.37 (9.4) | 14.11 (360.4) |
| Average snowfall inches (cm) | 5.2 (13) | 5.3 (13) | 6.0 (15) | 3.1 (7.9) | 0.5 (1.3) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.2 (0.51) | 3.2 (8.1) | 5.8 (15) | 5.2 (13) | 34.5 (86.81) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in) | 3.9 | 4.4 | 5.6 | 6.9 | 8.3 | 6.6 | 6.9 | 6.1 | 5.4 | 4.9 | 4.4 | 3.7 | 67.1 |
| Average snowy days (≥ 0.1 in) | 3.8 | 3.9 | 3.3 | 2.1 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 1.1 | 3.1 | 3.9 | 21.7 |
| Source 1: NOAA ||||||||||||||
| Source 2: National Weather Service ||||||||||||||

## Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 20,905 people, 6,718 households, and 5,058 families living in the city. The population density was 1,224.1 inhabitants per square mile (472.6/km$^2$). There were 6,990 housing units at an average density of 409.3 per square mile (158.0/km$^2$). The racial makeup of the city was 76.91% White, 0.99% African American, 1.47% Native American, 1.10% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 16.29% from other races, and 3.20% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 38.22% of the population.
There were 6,718 households, out of which 40.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.6% were married couples living together, 11.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.7% were non-families. 19.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.92 and the average family size was 3.34.
In the city, the age distribution of the population shows 28.6% under the age of 18, 10.1% from 18 to 24, 32.7% from 25 to 44, 18.8% from 45 to 64, and 9.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females, there were 108.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 108.3 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $46,779, and the median income for a family was $53,286. Males had a median income of $35,686 versus $27,103 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,927. About 6.1% of families and 9.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.0% of those under age 18 and 8.6% of those age 65 or over.

## Economy

Brighton is the home of two Vestas manufacturing plants, a wind turbine blade factory and a nacelle manufacturing plant. The factories are valued at $290 million and will provide 1,350 employment opportunities: 650 in the blade factory and another 700 in the nacelle manufacturing plant. Groundbreaking for the factories took place on March 25, 2009.
The Prairie Center is a 396-acre (1.60 km$^2$) shopping center with a pedestrian-oriented retail village.
The Greater Brighton Chamber of Commerce and Tourism Bureau began helping small businesses in the Brighton community in 1955, paving the way for the expansion of Brighton retail, and manufacturing. The Brighton Chamber helped to secure Brighton as an Agritourism destination within the Denver Metro area for Farm Fresh Produce and opening the Brighton Visitors Center in May 2020. The Greater Brighton Chamber of Commerce is ranked the 14th Best Chamber in the Denver area per the Denver Business Journal.

## Education

School District 27J serves the community.

## Notable people

Notable individuals who were born in or have lived in Brighton include:
* Todd Helton (born 1973), baseball 1st baseman
* John L. Kane Jr. (born 1937), U.S. federal judge
* Richard Ling (born 1954), Shaw Foundation Professor of Media Technology at Nanyang Technological University
* Max Pfeffer, Senior Associate Dean of the Cornell University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.
* Dillon Serna (born 1994), soccer midfielder
* Brian Shaw, leading American strongman
* Angie Zapata (1989–2008), murder victim

## Sister city

Brighton has a sister city, as designated by Sister Cities International:
* Ziębice, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, Poland