Niwot is named for Arapaho Chief Niwot, a tribal leader in the Boulder area during the nineteenth century.[5] The name means "left-handed".
The town of Niwot was first platted in 1875 along either side of the Colorado Central Railroad.[6] Initially, the town's commercial district was to the west of the railroad, while the residential was to the east. By the early 1900s, the bulk of the town shifted to the east side of the track, while the buildings to the west were either relocated or burned down.[6]
Niwot is recognized for being the former headquarters of footwear company Crocs, Inc. for more than a decade prior to June 2020.[7]
According to the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey data estimates for 2019, there were 1,541 households, out of which 31.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 63.4% were married couples living together, and 28.5% were non-families. The average household size was 2.51 and the average family size was 3.00.
The median income for a household in the CDP was $118,914, and the median income for a family was $179,038. Males had a median income of $81,813 versus $39,279 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $74,961. About 2.9% of families and 6.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.8% of those under age 18 and 3.8% of those age 65 or over.
