# Burlington, Colorado

Burlington is the home rule city that is the county seat and most populous community of Kit Carson County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 3,172 at the 2020 United States census.

## History

Burlington was originally laid out one mile west of its present location in 1887 by a man named Lowell in anticipation of the arrival of the railroad. The Burlington, Colorado, post office opened on April 29, 1887. In addition to having the location wrong, Lowell also did not have title to the land. When the railroad did arrive, the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad, it built its depot at the present site of Burlington and those who had built in Old Burlington moved their buildings to the new townsite. Trains began running in 1888. "The Settlement", about 12 miles northwest of Burlington, was settled by German immigrants from Russia, many from Hoffnungstal, South Russia, who, in addition to their homesteads, built Congregational and Lutheran churches.
Burlington, CO is on the Loewen database of possible sundown towns, although Tougaloo College recognizes that it is "surely not" still one.

## Geography

Burlington is located on the High Plains in eastern Colorado.
At the 2020 United States census, the city had a total area of 1,378 acres (5.575 km$^2$), all of it land.
The easternmost interchange in Colorado on Interstate 70 is located at Burlington, 12 miles (19 km) west of the Kansas state line.

### Climate

Burlington has a typical High Plains cool semi-arid climate with hot, dry summers punctuated by occasional heavy thunderstorm rains, and cold, very dry winters. Snowfall is occasionally heavy, with an average annual amount of 33.7 inches (86 cm) – but mostly the winter weather is very dry and extremely variable in temperatures. More than 33 afternoons (over a third) each winter can be expected to reach or exceed 50 °F (10 °C), but 4.9 mornings each year will drop to or under 0 °F (−17.8 °C) and 24.3 afternoons do not top freezing.
Climate data for Burlington, Colorado, 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1903–present :
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 79 (26) | 85 (29) | 93 (34) | 95 (35) | 100 (38) | 112 (44) | 109 (43) | 109 (43) | 104 (40) | 99 (37) | 87 (31) | 81 (27) | 112 (44) |
| Mean maximum °F (°C) | 66.6 (19.2) | 69.5 (20.8) | 79.8 (26.6) | 85.6 (29.8) | 92.0 (33.3) | 99.2 (37.3) | 101.3 (38.5) | 98.8 (37.1) | 95.6 (35.3) | 88.7 (31.5) | 76.5 (24.7) | 67.0 (19.4) | 102.2 (39.0) |
| Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 43.8 (6.6) | 46.2 (7.9) | 56.5 (13.6) | 64.0 (17.8) | 73.6 (23.1) | 85.2 (29.6) | 90.5 (32.5) | 87.9 (31.1) | 80.5 (26.9) | 67.4 (19.7) | 53.8 (12.1) | 44.0 (6.7) | 66.1 (19.0) |
| Daily mean °F (°C) | 30.6 (−0.8) | 32.6 (0.3) | 41.4 (5.2) | 48.8 (9.3) | 59.1 (15.1) | 70.3 (21.3) | 75.5 (24.2) | 73.3 (22.9) | 65.3 (18.5) | 52.0 (11.1) | 40.0 (4.4) | 31.1 (−0.5) | 51.7 (10.9) |
| Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 17.3 (−8.2) | 19.0 (−7.2) | 26.3 (−3.2) | 33.7 (0.9) | 44.6 (7.0) | 55.4 (13.0) | 60.5 (15.8) | 58.7 (14.8) | 50.0 (10.0) | 36.7 (2.6) | 26.1 (−3.3) | 18.2 (−7.7) | 37.2 (2.9) |
| Mean minimum °F (°C) | −1.2 (−18.4) | 1.3 (−17.1) | 9.5 (−12.5) | 19.5 (−6.9) | 31.1 (−0.5) | 45.2 (7.3) | 52.8 (11.6) | 50.5 (10.3) | 36.9 (2.7) | 20.4 (−6.4) | 9.8 (−12.3) | 0.8 (−17.3) | −6.3 (−21.3) |
| Record low °F (°C) | −25 (−32) | −23 (−31) | −22 (−30) | −3 (−19) | 21 (−6) | 31 (−1) | 36 (2) | 37 (3) | 20 (−7) | −1 (−18) | −8 (−22) | −22 (−30) | −25 (−32) |
| Average precipitation inches (mm) | 0.36 (9.1) | 0.59 (15) | 1.01 (26) | 2.00 (51) | 2.70 (69) | 2.80 (71) | 3.36 (85) | 2.69 (68) | 1.29 (33) | 1.42 (36) | 0.52 (13) | 0.51 (13) | 19.25 (489.1) |
| Average snowfall inches (cm) | 5.3 (13) | 6.8 (17) | 5.8 (15) | 3.9 (9.9) | 0.3 (0.76) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 2.7 (6.9) | 3.7 (9.4) | 5.2 (13) | 33.7 (84.96) |
| Average extreme snow depth inches (cm) | 3.1 (7.9) | 3.5 (8.9) | 2.7 (6.9) | 1.8 (4.6) | 0.3 (0.76) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 1.9 (4.8) | 2.4 (6.1) | 3.0 (7.6) | 7.6 (19) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in) | 3.1 | 3.5 | 4.2 | 6.2 | 8.7 | 7.8 | 8.3 | 7.3 | 3.9 | 5.1 | 3.2 | 3.4 | 64.7 |
| Average snowy days (≥ 0.1 in) | 3.0 | 3.1 | 2.6 | 1.4 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 3.1 | 16.4 |
| Source 1: NOAA ||||||||||||||
| Source 2: National Weather Service ||||||||||||||

## Demographics

As of the census of 2010, there were 4,191 people, 1,478 households, and ? families residing in the city. The population density was 1,995.7 inhabitants per square mile (770.5/km$^2$). There were 1,478 housing units at an average density of 703.8 per square mile (271.7/km$^2$). The racial makeup of the city was 84.3% White, 6.2% African American, 1.2% Native American, 0.5% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 8.5% from other races, and 0.90% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 27.5% of the population.
There were 1,287 households, out of which 32.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.0% were married couples living together, 8.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.7% were non-families. 30.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 3.11.
In the city, the population was spread out, with 25.2% under the age of 18, 8.6% from 18 to 24, 32.8% from 25 to 44, 19.7% from 45 to 64, and 13.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 121.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 126.2 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $33,854, and the median income for a family was $42,500. Males had a median income of $29,167 versus $19,018 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,054. About 12.2% of families and 14.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 20.3% of those under age 18 and 15.8% of those age 65 or over.

## Government

Burlington is a home rule municipality.

## Education

Burlington Public Schools are part of the Burlington Public School District RE-6J. The district has one elementary school, one middle school and one high school. Burlington also has several private schools.
Burlington Elementary School, Burlington Middle School and Burlington High School are located in Burlington.

## Media
### Print

Burlington has a weekly newspaper, The Burlington Record. A run of 3 years, 1910–1912, of the Kit Carson County Record is archived in the Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection.

### Radio

The following radio stations are licensed to Burlington:
AM
| Frequency | Callsign | Format | Notes |
| 1140 | KNAB | Adult Standards/MOR | |
FM
| Frequency | Callsign | Format | Notes |
| 88.1 | K201FK | Christian | Translator of KAWZ, Twin Falls, Idaho |
| 89.5 | K208CH | Contemporary Christian | Translator of KTLF, Colorado Springs |
| 104.1 | KNAB-FM | Country | |

## National Historic Landmark

* Kit Carson County Carousel (National Historic Landmark)

## Notable people

Notable individuals who were born in or have lived in Burlington include:
* Robert P. Kerr (1892–1960), film director, actor, screenwriter
* Mike Lounge (1946–2011), engineer, astronaut
* Beau McCoy (1980- ), Nebraska state legislator
* Susan Phillips (1949- ), Missouri state legislator