The fourth largest county in Colorado, Jefferson County has a beautiful landscape of rolling grasslands, natural foothills, rugged mountains and tumbling mountain streams. The city was a major mining and agricultural city in the 1800s, but it has since become a thriving residential, business and industrial community. Jefferson County offers tourists and residents a variety of trails, parks and recreational activities.
Open Space Program
Jefferson County’s Open Space Program is an initiative to preserve the county’s abundant wildlife, fish-filled streams, plains, grasslands and mountain vistas in a town that is increasingly becoming urbanized. To date, the program has preserved over 50,000 acres of trails, scenic land and wildlife habitats. There are currently 30 open space parks and facilities, which include lakes, streams, recreational areas, wildlife habitats, and historic areas, in Jefferson County.
Business
Jefferson County is home to a variety of Fortune 500 businesses as well as mom-and-pop establishments. The county has a diversified and highly educated workforce of over 308,000, the second largest workforce in Colorado and Metro Denver.
Education
Jefferson County boasts a first-class public school system. According to the Colorado Department of Education, 86 percent of the county’s students graduated in 2011, up from 1.3 percent in 2010. The graduation rate for the entire county increased to 79.1 percent in 2011.Residents and businesses also have access to higher educational institutions such as the University of Colorado, Arapahoe Community College, Colorado School of Mines and the Colorado Christian University.
