Longmont, Colorado: ZIP 80504
Population: 58,675 | Median Income: $100,223 | Median Home Value: $429,300
About Longmont
Longmont started as a bold experiment in planned community living. In 1870, a group of prominent Chicago men formed the Chicago-Colorado Colony, sold memberships at $155 each, and pooled the proceeds to purchase roughly 60,000 acres of land along the Front Range. The town was formally laid out in 1871, with streets arranged in a precise grid pattern within a square mile, making it the first planned community in Boulder County. The post office opened on April 14, 1873, and the town was incorporated on November 15, 1885.
The name comes from Longs Peak, the 14,259-foot summit visible to the west, named for explorer Stephen H. Long. In French, "mont" means mountain, giving the city a name that neatly summarizes what settlers saw every morning from their doorsteps. The Colorado Central Railroad arrived from Boulder in 1877, and from that point, Longmont grew steadily as an agricultural hub for the surrounding plains.
Today, at an elevation of 4,981 feet and sitting roughly 15 miles northeast of Boulder and 34 miles north of downtown Denver, Longmont has grown to nearly 100,000 residents while keeping a character distinctly its own. It spans both Boulder and Weld counties, covers about 30 square miles, and enjoys more than 300 days of sunshine per year.
What Makes Longmont Unique
Municipal gigabit fiber internet. In 2013, Longmont's City Council voted to build its own fiber-optic broadband network called NextLight. Launched in 2014, it delivers gigabit speeds to homes and businesses across the city and has consistently earned national awards for speed and reliability. It is one of the fastest municipal internet systems in the United States, and has attracted remote workers and tech companies looking for infrastructure that larger cities often cannot match.
JCPenney got its start here. James Cash Penney arrived in Longmont in the late 1890s, used his $300 in savings to buy into a butcher shop on Main Street, and later landed a job at the dry goods store The Golden Rule, where owner Tom Callahan noticed his work ethic and offered him a partnership stake in a new store in Evanston, Wyoming. That store became the foundation for JCPenney, one of the most recognized retail chains in American history.
Colorado's first public library. Members of the original Chicago-Colorado Colony founded Library Hall in 1871, giving Colorado its first public library. The collection of around 300 books did not survive long, but the tradition took hold. A Carnegie-funded library opened in 1913 and operated until 1972. Today, Longmont Public Library serves the community from a modern facility, alongside independent bookstores including Used Book Emporium on Main Street.
Craft beer capital of the Front Range. Left Hand Brewing Company, founded in 1993 and named after Chief Niwot (whose name translates to "left hand"), helped put Longmont on the national craft beer map. Oscar Blues followed, the first U.S. craft brewery to can its own beer. Alongside them: Wibby Brewing, Bootstrap Brewing, 300 Suns, Grossen Bart, Pumphouse Brewery, Collision Brewing, and Shoes and Brews, among others.
Notable people. NASA astronaut Vance Brand was born in Longmont in 1931. The city's airport, Vance Brand Municipal Airport, carries his name. Comedian and actress Kristen Schaal grew up here. Olympic gold medalist Valarie Allman, who won the discus throw at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, graduated from Silver Creek High School in Longmont.
Living in Longmont
Compared to Boulder, which sits just 15 miles to the southwest, Longmont offers significantly more accessible housing. The median home value in the 80504 ZIP code is $429,300, and the median household income of $100,223 reflects a community that has attracted both long-established families and newer arrivals working in tech, healthcare, and the trades.
The city maintains more than 1,500 acres of parks and open space. St. Vrain Creek, a tributary of the South Platte River, runs through town just south of the city center. McIntosh Lake and Union Reservoir both offer boating, paddleboarding, and swimming. The St. Vrain Greenway trail connects much of the city by bike or on foot.
Commuters heading south toward Boulder take Highway 119, a 15-mile stretch. Those heading to Denver typically use US-287 or catch I-25 about 5 miles east of town.
Things to Do
Roosevelt Park at the corner of 4th Avenue and Coffman Street is the heart of downtown recreation, anchored by a rose garden in summer and an ice skating rink in winter. Cafe Luna, in a yellow house near the park, is a favorite morning coffee stop.
The Longmont Museum and Cultural Center on Quail Road holds rotating art exhibitions alongside permanent displays on the region's history. The Firehouse Art Center brings local and regional visual arts into a converted downtown firehouse.
For food, Jefes Tacos and Tequila draws regulars for margaritas and tacos. The Roost offers rooftop dining on Main Street. Dry Land Distillers runs a tasting room also on Main Street.
Cheese Importers on Mead Street deserves a visit: it operates a walk-in cheese cooler, a bistro, and a retail shop stocked with European cheeses, charcuterie, and imported groceries, and draws visitors from across the Front Range. Haystack Mountain Cheese, headquartered in Longmont, produces goat cheese sold throughout the region.
Just outside town, family farms including Buckner Family Farm, Ollin Farms, Ya Ya Farm and Orchard, and Sunflower Farm offer seasonal produce, U-pick experiences, and farm visits. The Boulder County Farmers Market runs every Saturday at the Boulder County Fairgrounds during the growing season.
Schools
The 80504 ZIP code is served by schools across several districts in the southeastern Longmont area:
- Frederick Senior High School (Grades 9-12)
- Mead High School (Grades 9-12)
- Coal Ridge Middle School (Grades 6-8)
- Timberline PK-8 (PreK-8)
- Firestone Charter Academy (PreK-8, Charter)
- Prairie Ridge Elementary (PreK-5)
- Legacy Elementary (PreK-5)
- Centennial Elementary (PreK-5)
Local Insights
Longmont's Prospect New Town neighborhood, developed in the mid-1990s on the city's southern edge, was the first New Urbanist community built in Colorado. Designed by architects Andres Duany and Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, it features front porches, alleys, and walkable streets that were fairly radical ideas for suburban Colorado at the time.
The city is also a Certified Colorado Creative District, recognizing the concentration of artists, makers, galleries, and creative businesses, particularly downtown along Main Street and around the Firehouse Art Center.
In spring and summer, sunflower farms on the eastern edge of the county draw photographers and visitors. The plains east of 80504 still carry the agricultural identity that the Chicago-Colorado Colony established over 150 years ago.
Explore the Longmont Community Board
Local businesses in Longmont can claim a spot on the community board for $1/month. Each listing creates a dedicated, Google-indexed webpage for your business with full LocalBusiness schema, the same structured data that helps you show up in ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews.
