The City of Arvada is centrally located in Jefferson County and Adams County of the State of Colorado. Arvada is located approximately seven miles northwest of the Colorado State Capitol in Denver, and approximately 12 miles from the city of Boulder. The United States Census Bureau estimates that the population of Arvada was 103,966 in 2005, an increase of 1.77% since the 2000 census. Arvada is the eighth most populous city in the State of Colorado and the 241st most populous city in the United States. Many people relocate to Arvada each year. One reason is the easy commute to Boulder, Denver, Broomfield and Denver International Airport. Another reason is the Jefferson County Schools. Colorado is an incredible place to live, there is always something to do! In the winter you will enjoy unparallelled skiing, cross country skiing, walking and biking. In the summer you can white water raft, fish, enjoy the gorgeous forests and parks and swim and boat in the many lakes. History The first documented gold discovery here occurred on June 22, 1850. A prospector headed for California, Lewis Ralston, dipped his gold pan into Clear Creek. His return was a $5 gold nugget (about 1/4 ounce). In 1858, Ralston brought a group of prospectors back to the site of his first discovery. Farmers soon arrived in order to sell supplies to miners. The railroad was built through the area in 1870. The settlers, needing to establish a town so that the railroad stop could have a name, filed a town plat. The town was named Arvada after the brother-in-law of one of the settlers. Geography Arvada is located at 39¡Æ49¡Ç12¡ÈN, 105¡Æ6¡Ç40¡ÈW (39.819962, -105.110975)GR1. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 85.1 km©÷ (32.8 mi©÷). 84.6 km©÷; (32.7 mi©÷) of it is land and 0.5 km©÷ (0.2 mi©÷) of it (0.58%) is water. Arvada is northwest of nearby Denver, Colorado. By 2015, it may be the endpoint of the Gold Corridor in Denver's FasTracks commuter rail network depending on the final decisions of the transit board. There were 39,019 households out of which 34.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.5% were married couples living together, 9.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.9% were non-families. 23.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.60 and the average family size was 3.07. In the city the population was spread out with 26.2% under the age of 18, 7.8% from 18 to 24, 30.4% from 25 to 44, 24.9% from 45 to 64, and 10.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 96.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.9 males. The median income for a household in the city was $55,541, and the median income for a family was $63,273. Males had a median income of $42,126 versus $30,802 for females. The per capita income for the city was $24,679. About 3.5% of families and 5.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.4% of those under age 18 and 6.1% of those age 65 or older. Notable Residents Nick Fazekas, 2nd round draft pick in 2007 NBA Draft by the Dallas Mavericks.