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Centennial, Colorado
Centennial, Colorado
Home rule municipality
	Centennial Civic Center located on East Arapahoe Road
	Flag
	Motto: Spirit of the Past
	Centennial in Arapahoe County, Colorado
	Centennial Location of Centennial in the United States Centennial Centennial (the United States)
	Coordinates: 39°36′14″N 104°45′37″W / 39.60389°N 104.76028°W
Country	United States
State	Colorado
County	Arapahoe County
Incorporated	February 7, 2001
Government
• Type	Home rule municipality
• Mayor	Stephanie Piko[citation needed]
Area
• Home rule municipality	77.355 km2 (29.867 sq mi)
• Land	76.976 km2 (29.721 sq mi)
• Water	0.379 km2 (0.146 sq mi)
Elevation	1,744 m (5,722 ft)
Population (2020)
• Home rule municipality	108,418
• Rank	11th in Colorado
• Density	1,409/km2 (3,648/sq mi)
• Metro	2,963,821 (19th)
• CSA	3,623,560 (17th)
• Front Range	5,055,344
Time zone	UTC−07:00 (MST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−06:00 (MDT)
ZIP Codes	80015-80016, 80111-80112, 80121-80122,; 80161 (PO Box)
Area code(s)	303/720/983
FIPS code	08-12815
GNIS feature ID	2408300
Website	www.centennialco.gov
	11th most populous Colorado city

Centennial is a home rule municipality located in Arapahoe County, Colorado, United States.^[1] The city population was 108,418 at the 2020 United States Census, making Centennial the 11th most populous municipality in Colorado.^[3] Centennial is a part of the Denver–Aurora–Lakewood, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Front Range Urban Corridor.

History

Centennial was formed on February 7, 2001, from portions of unincorporated Arapahoe County, including the former Castlewood and Southglenn census-designated places (CDPs).^[5] The citizens of the area had voted to incorporate on September 12, 2000, choosing Centennial as the official name during the vote. The name reflects Colorado's admission to the Union as the 38th state in 1876, the centennial year of the United States Declaration of Independence.^[6] The state of Colorado is nicknamed the "Centennial State".^[6]

Incorporation was approved by 77% of the voters, and the population of the area at over 100,000 made it the largest incorporation in U.S. history as of its creation. The city was incorporated in large part to prevent further annexations of unincorporated areas by the city of Greenwood Village in an attempt to improve its tax base.^[7] The taxes generated from businesses in unincorporated portions of Arapahoe County funded the majority of the county's services, including road work. A number of court cases^[specify] eventually established the right of incorporation to take precedence over the right of annexation.^{[citation needed]}

The city was incorporated on a promise to keep city taxes at 1%. (One of the campaigns against incorporation appealed to voters to maintain the 3.8% sales tax of the unincorporated county.) According to the Centennial website, the current sales tax rate is two-and-a-half times the promised rate, at 2.5%.

In 2008, Centennial voters approved a referendum by approximately a 2-to-1 margin making Centennial a home rule city.^[8]

Centennial Airport, formerly Arapahoe County Airport, lies adjacent to Centennial, but is located in unincorporated Arapahoe County. The airport is not named after the city, as it predates the city by over 30 years.

Geography

Centennial is roughly divided in half by Interstate 25, with most of its business and entertainment centers lying west of the highway. The city's boundaries are highly irregular and evocative of a gerrymander, particularly the overwhelmingly residential eastern portions of the city, which appear with Foxfield, portions of Aurora, and unincorporated areas as a distorted checkerboard on the city's map.^[9]

Centennial has many hills, gullies and ravines, and its open spaces are usually accompanied by recreational trails and parks, including Dry Creek Dam, DeKoevend Park, the High line Canal Trail, Willow Creek Trail, as well as Big Dry Creek and Little Dry Creek Trails. Centennial hosts most native wildlife and is a good reflection of Colorado's front range ecosystem. Centennial has seen a boost in coyote populations in recent years, leading to resident education on how to deter coyotes from eating family pets.^[10]

Centennial is located at 39°35'47" North, 104°50'38" West (39.5963, −104.8439).^[11]

At the 2020 United States Census, the city had a total area of 19,115 acres (77.355 km²) including 94 acres (0.379 km²) of water.^[3]

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.	%±
2010	100,377	—
2020	108,418	8.0%
U.S. Decennial Census

**Centennial, Colorado – Racial and ethnic composition**
*Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.*
Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)	Pop 2010^[12]	Pop 2020^[13]	% 2010	% 2020
White alone (NH)	82,664	81,391	82.35%	75.07%
Black or African American alone (NH)	3,146	3,545	3.13%	3.27%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)	284	266	0.28%	0.25%
Asian alone (NH)	4,340	6,794	4.32%	6.27%
Pacific Islander alone (NH)	94	109	0.09%	0.10%
Some Other Race alone (NH)	131	508	0.13%	0.47%
Mixed Race or Multi-Racial (NH)	2,261	5,387	2.25%	4.97%
Hispanic or Latino (any race)	7,457	10,418	7.43%	9.61%
Total	100,377	108,418	100.00%	100.00%

The city is approximately composed of 87.4% White, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 3.6% Asian, 2.4% African American, 0.4% Native American, and 0.3% from other races.

The median age is 37.2 years, in comparison to the 35.3-year national average. For every 100 females, there are 98 males.

Economy

National CineMedia and United Launch Alliance are among the companies based in Centennial. According to Centennial's 2023 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report,^[14] the top employers in the city are:

#	Employer
1	Comcast
2	United Healthcare
3	Arrow Electronics
4	United Launch Alliance
5	CommonSpirit Health
6	Sierra Nevada Corporation
7	The Travelers Indemnity Company
8	Ring Central
9	Standard & Poor's
10	MasTec Advanced Technologies

Schools

Most of Centennial is within the territory of the Cherry Creek Public Schools while the western portion of the city in the territory of Littleton Public Schools.^[15] Centennial is also served by a few private schools.

Private Elementary and Middle Schools

St. Thomas More Parish School
Highlands Baptist Academy
Shepherd of the Hills Christian School
Centennial Christian Academy
C.A.R.E. Middle School

Seminary

Gateway Seminary

Government

The city is governed under the council-manager form of government^[16] which limits the power of the city to levy and collect taxes. The city council has eight members. The Mayor and Council Members are all part-time officials who hold other full-time jobs.

City of Centennial Officials^[17]
Office	Incumbent
Mayor	Stephanie Piko
Council Members, District I	Robyn Carnes	Amy Tharp
Council Members, District II	Christine Sweetland	Tammy Maurer
Council Members, District III	Richard Holt	Mike Sutherland
Council Members, District IV	Don Sheehan	Marlo Alston
City Clerk	Barb Setterlind
City Manager	Matt Sturgeon

Points of interest

International Headquarters for Gamma Phi Beta sorority are located in Centennial. Gamma Phi Beta was the first women's organization to use the term "sorority".
Centennial was chosen in 2008 as the site of the first IKEA store in Colorado.^[18] The IKEA Centennial location opened on July 27, 2011. It is the second-largest IKEA store in the United States.^[19] IKEA Centennial was awarded the Project of the Year in 2011 by city of Centennial.^[20]
Centennial is home to the headquarters of the National Cattlemen's Beef Association (NCBA). NCBA also maintains an office in Washington, D.C.
Centennial is home to the headquarters of Arrow Electronics and is the largest company headquartered in Colorado.^[21]