Thornton, Colorado demographics

Thornton, CO demographics: median age 34.7; 32.8% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree. Age, race, households, languages and education, ACS 2020–2024 with margins of error.

ACS 2020–2024 · Thornton city, Colorado · Incorporated city · GEOID 0877290. The survey estimates a population of 144,187 for its five-year window. This is separate from the annual July 2025 population estimate on the city overview.

Median age in Thornton is 34.7 years, with a 90% margin of error of 0.7 years. There are 50,566 households (±983). Age and household distributions show how these totals are composed; they do not establish which neighborhood suits a particular person.

Every count and share is an estimate. “±” is a 90% margin of error (MOE); pp means percentage points. Derived shares use the category count divided by the named universe. Aggregated category MOEs and percentage MOEs are approximate. A margin larger than half its estimate is flagged as low precision. Blank source uncertainty is shown as unavailable, never zero.

Age distribution and sex

City, state and U.S. estimates · ACS 2020–2024
Measure / survey universe	City estimate ± MOE	State estimate ± MOE	U.S. estimate ± MOE
Median age Total population · years	34.7 ±0.7	37.7 ±0.1	38.9 ±0.1

Age groups · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 144,187
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Colorado	U.S.
Under 18	35,976 ±1,655	25.0% ±1.1 pp	21.0%	22.0%
18–34	36,811 ±1,527	25.5% ±1.1 pp	24.8%	22.8%
35–64	55,810 ±1,759	38.7% ±1.2 pp	38.6%	38.0%
65 and older	15,590 ±847	10.8% ±0.6 pp	15.6%	17.2%

Sex categories as published by ACS · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 144,187
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Colorado	U.S.
Male	72,085 ±1,172	50.0% ±0.8 pp	50.7%	49.5%
Female	72,102 ±1,173	50.0% ±0.8 pp	49.3%	50.5%

The age groups are mutually exclusive and cover the entire population. The sex categories follow this ACS table’s published classification; they are not a survey of gender identity.

Race and Hispanic origin

Race · B02001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 144,187
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Colorado	U.S.
White alone	84,741 ±2,287	58.8% ±1.6 pp	70.5%	61.0%
Black or African American alone	3,495 ±881	2.4% ±0.6 pp	4.0%	12.2%
American Indian and Alaska Native alone	2,257 ±747	1.6% ±0.5 pp	1.1%	0.9%
Asian alone	7,702 ±1,005	5.3% ±0.7 pp	3.3%	6.0%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone	218 ±165 · low precision	0.2% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.2%	0.2%
Some other race alone	16,134 ±1,976	11.2% ±1.4 pp	6.0%	7.1%
Two or more races	29,640 ±2,307	20.6% ±1.6 pp	14.9%	12.6%

Hispanic or Latino origin · B03003 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 144,187
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Colorado	U.S.
Not Hispanic or Latino	89,894 ±2,135	62.3% ±1.5 pp	77.5%	80.7%
Hispanic or Latino	54,293 ±2,109	37.7% ±1.5 pp	22.5%	19.3%

Hispanic origin and race are separate questions. People of Hispanic or Latino origin may be of any race and appear in both tables. Do not add the Hispanic share to race shares. Race alone and two-or-more-race groups are the mutually exclusive categories of the race table.

Household types, children and living alone

Household types · B11001 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 50,566
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Colorado	U.S.
Married-couple family	27,229 ±1,023	53.8% ±1.7 pp	48.3%	46.9%
Other family: male householder, no spouse present	2,935 ±424	5.8% ±0.8 pp	4.5%	5.1%
Other family: female householder, no spouse present	5,369 ±595	10.6% ±1.2 pp	8.9%	12.2%
Nonfamily: householder living alone	10,628 ±956	21.0% ±1.8 pp	28.6%	28.7%
Nonfamily: householder not living alone	4,405 ±648	8.7% ±1.3 pp	9.7%	7.0%

Households with children · B11005 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 50,566
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Colorado	U.S.
Households with people under 18	18,499 ±579	36.6% ±0.9 pp	28.4%	29.5%
Households without people under 18	32,067 ±1,182	63.4% ±2.0 pp	71.6%	70.5%

Household size · B11016 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 50,566
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Colorado	U.S.
One-person nonfamily households	10,628 ±956	21.0% ±1.8 pp	28.6%	28.7%
Two-person households	16,483 ±959	32.6% ±1.8 pp	36.0%	33.8%
Three-person households	9,236 ±787	18.3% ±1.5 pp	14.8%	15.3%
Four-person households	7,520 ±672	14.9% ±1.3 pp	12.3%	12.6%
Five-person households	4,068 ±510	8.0% ±1.0 pp	5.1%	5.9%
Six-person households	1,608 ±332	3.2% ±0.7 pp	2.0%	2.2%
Seven or more people	1,023 ±314	2.0% ±0.6 pp	1.1%	1.4%

A family household contains related people under the Census definition. A nonfamily household can contain one person or unrelated people sharing a home. Households with children can also appear in the household-type and size tables, so those tables must not be added together. Household estimates exclude people living in group quarters from the household universe.

Nativity and languages spoken at home

Nativity · B05002 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 144,187
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Colorado	U.S.
Native	123,936 ±1,540	86.0% ±1.1 pp	90.2%	85.9%
Foreign born	20,251 ±1,542	14.0% ±1.1 pp	9.8%	14.1%

Language spoken at home · C16001 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 5 and older: 135,138
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Colorado	U.S.
English only	100,125 ±2,488	74.1% ±1.8 pp	83.8%	77.7%
Spanish	26,621 ±2,076	19.7% ±1.5 pp	11.1%	13.6%
French, Haitian, or Cajun	153 ±142 · low precision	0.1% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.4%	0.7%
German or other West Germanic	525 ±244	0.4% ±0.2 pp	0.4%	0.5%
Russian, Polish, or other Slavic	1,170 ±372	0.9% ±0.3 pp	0.6%	0.7%
Other Indo-European	1,891 ±888	1.4% ±0.7 pp	1.0%	2.0%
Korean	267 ±119	0.2% ±0.1 pp	0.2%	0.3%
Chinese, including Mandarin and Cantonese	812 ±404	0.6% ±0.3 pp	0.5%	1.1%
Vietnamese	1,220 ±570	0.9% ±0.4 pp	0.4%	0.5%
Tagalog, including Filipino	222 ±115 · low precision	0.2% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.2%	0.6%
Other Asian and Pacific Island	1,609 ±537	1.2% ±0.4 pp	0.6%	1.1%
Arabic	65 ±73 · low precision	0.0% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.2%	0.5%
Other and unspecified	458 ±214	0.3% ±0.2 pp	0.7%	0.8%

Foreign born means not a U.S. citizen at birth; it includes naturalized citizens. Language categories describe speech at home among people age five and older. A language other than English at home does not establish that someone cannot speak English. This city page uses the published C16001 summary categories because the more detailed B16001 table does not provide these city records in this release.

Educational attainment

Highest completed education · B15003 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 25 and older: 93,803
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Colorado	U.S.
Less than high school graduate	11,347 ±1,038	12.1% ±1.1 pp	7.1%	10.4%
High school graduate or equivalency	24,081 ±1,492	25.7% ±1.5 pp	19.7%	26.0%
Some college, no degree	19,486 ±1,256	20.8% ±1.3 pp	19.2%	19.1%
Associate’s degree	8,136 ±709	8.7% ±0.7 pp	8.3%	8.8%
Bachelor’s degree	20,696 ±1,156	22.1% ±1.2 pp	28.1%	21.6%
Graduate or professional degree	10,057 ±824	10.7% ±0.9 pp	17.6%	14.1%

The denominator excludes residents under 25. Each person is counted in the highest attainment category they completed. This table does not measure the quality of local schools or the education level of every current student.

Residence one year earlier

Geographic mobility · B07003 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 1 and older: 142,692
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Colorado	U.S.
Same house	122,346 ±2,112	85.7% ±1.5 pp	84.1%	87.7%
Moved within same county	10,743 ±1,694	7.5% ±1.2 pp	6.7%	6.3%
Moved from a different county in the same state	5,753 ±1,099	4.0% ±0.8 pp	4.8%	3.1%
Moved from a different state	3,411 ±813	2.4% ±0.6 pp	3.8%	2.3%
Moved from abroad	439 ±245 · low precision	0.3% ±0.2 pp · low precision	0.6%	0.6%

These are respondents’ residence patterns one year before their survey response, pooled across the five-year window. They are not a net migration count for 2025. A person can move to a different house within the same city or county; moves within the same county should not automatically be interpreted as new arrivals to the city.

Health insurance, internet access and veterans

9.9% of Thornton residents (±1.1 percentage points) had no health insurance coverage when surveyed, compared with 7.7% in Colorado and 8.4% nationally. 96.5% of households subscribe to broadband of any type, including cellular data plans. A subscription is not the same as available service: the FCC National Broadband Map shows providers at a specific address.

City, state and U.S. shares · ACS 2020–2024
Measure	Thornton	Colorado	U.S.	Compared with Colorado
People without health insurance Civilian noninstitutionalized population	9.9% ±1.1 pp	7.7%	8.4%	Higher
Households with a broadband subscription Households	96.5% ±0.8 pp	93.5%	91.0%	Higher
Veterans Civilian population age 18 and older	6.2% ±0.7 pp	7.5%	6.2%	Lower

Reading and reusing the estimates

The Census table links above lead to the original detailed tables. Counts, source universes and uncertainty are retained in the source observation download for Thornton . Compare these figures with the same survey window; do not compare one city’s five-year estimate with another city’s annual estimate as though they measured the same period. For methods, see uncertainty and denominator calculations.

Read Thornton housing and cost context or return to the city profile.