† Citizen voting-age population estimated for prior cycles; 2004 predates the ACS and is extrapolated. Source: ACS 5-year, table B05003.
——
D+60R+60
20042024
Boundary by 2024 margin · Precinct returns · VEST · MIT Election Lab
People and households
Who lives here
Exact values for this place, its state, and the United States.
Race · ethnicity · ancestry
Communities and origins
GroupThorntonColoradoUnited States
German18.2%17.9%12.5%
English10.9%12.6%9.5%
Irish10.8%11.2%9.4%
Italian5.5%4.9%4.8%
American3.9%3.5%5.3%
French2.2%2.0%1.6%
Polish2.1%2.1%2.2%
Scottish2.1%2.5%1.3%
Mexican30.6%15.8%11.3%
Spaniard1.2%1.0%—
Spanish1.2%1.2%—
Puerto Rican0.7%0.7%1.8%
Salvadoran0.5%0.3%0.7%
Colombian0.4%0.3%0.4%
Guatemalan0.3%—0.5%
Venezuelan0.3%——
Vietnamese1.0%0.4%0.6%
Chinese0.7%0.6%1.3%
Asian Indian0.6%0.6%1.4%
Hmong0.6%——
Filipino0.4%0.3%0.9%
Korean0.3%0.3%0.4%
Japanese0.3%—0.2%
Nepalese0.3%——
African American†1.9%2.8%9.9%
Aztec3.5%0.1%—
Hispanic or Latino counts residents of any race; the race groups count only their non-Hispanic residents, so the groups are mutually exclusive and sum to 100%. Expand a row to see ancestries reported within that group.
Age and life stage
Measure
Thornton
Colorado
United States
Median age
34.7
37.9
39.1
Age 18–24
10.0%
9.2%
9.2%
Age 65 and older
10.8%
15.5%
17.2%
Household economy
Measure
Thornton
Colorado
United States
Median household income
$103,088
$95,470
$84,427
Poverty rate
7.0%
9.5%
12.5%
Bachelor's degree or higher (25+)
32.8%
45.5%
35.6%
Languages at home
Measure
Thornton
Colorado
United States
Speaks a non-English language at home
25.9%
16.2%
22.3%
Spanish
19.7%
11.1%
13.6%
Other Indo-European
1.4%
1.0%
2.0%
Other Asian & Pacific Island
1.2%
0.7%
1.1%
Religious landscape
Measure
Thornton
Colorado
United States
Catholic
—
15.1%
18.6%
Evangelical Protestant
—
11.7%
16.5%
Unclaimed / not counted
—
64.7%
51.5%
American Community Survey 2024 5-year (CVAP, income, age, poverty, education, language, race, ancestry) · presidential returns from MIT Election Lab through 2024 · 2020 U.S. Religion Census (ASARB) — congregational adherents; unclaimed is the residual not counted by congregations.
Thornton, Colorado
presidential history
Presidential margin, 2004–2024
Democratic minus Republican, by election
Presidential margin over time
Year
Margin (D minus R)
2004
+0.0%
2008
+16.3%
2012
+12.7%
2016
+5.3%
2020
+13.6%
2024
+7.7%
DemocraticRepublican
6 presidential elections
Third column names the leading third-party or independent finisher. Source · MIT Election Lab · ICPSR · VEST (precinct-level 2024). Swing · margin change from the prior cycle. vs U.S. · margin relative to the national result that year. Third-party votes in 2012 are allocated from certified county totals by this place's share of each county's two-party vote — that cycle's precinct source records two-party splits. † 2004 sub-county results are estimated: the source's block-level detail for this cycle was unreliable — either county/municipality-level consolidated reporting (COVID-era) or a precinct-to-block allocation that misplaced votes — so the figures are allocated from the constituent county totals in proportion to the place and scaled to certified totals.
Year
Won
Democratic
Republican
Other
Margin
Swing
vs U.S.
Total
D
52.5%Harris36,288
44.8%Trump30,995
2.7%
D+7.7
R+5.9
D+9.1
69,147
D
55.5%Biden38,524
41.9%Trump29,092
2.6%
D+13.6
D+8.3
D+9.1
69,386
D
48.1%Clinton27,215
42.9%Trump24,236
9.0%
D+5.3
R+7.5
D+3.2
56,560
D
54.9%Obama28,288
42.1%Romney21,729
3.0%
D+12.7
R+3.6
D+8.9
51,553
D
57.2%Obama27,174
40.9%McCain19,434
1.8%
D+16.3
D+16.3
D+9.0
47,470
D
49.4%Kerry20,114
49.4%Bush20,104
1.2%
D+0.02
—
D+2.5
40,697
Thornton's rapid population growth—driven largely by younger Latino and working-class families moving north from Denver—has shifted it from reliably Republican territory into a genuine swing zone that both parties now contest seriously.
Across the recorded series it reached a Democratic high of 16.3 points in 2008. Between 2020 and 2024 the city moved 5.9 points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was 7.7 points.
A population of 144,187, a 50% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $103,088 describe the city. The city's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Sparks and Riverside.
Akashic
Political twins — cities
The cities whose fingerprint — 2000–2024 trajectory, demographics, ancestry, religion — sits closest to this one, and why.
Twin score (0–100) = weighted cosine between tier-standardized fingerprints: presidential margins 2000–2024 with 12-yr trend and elasticity, ACS income, age, education, population and race, top reported ancestries, and religious adherence — chips name the closest-shared dimensions and the widest gap. Re-weight the groups in the twins explorer.
In 2024, Thornton, Colorado voted Democratic by 7.7 points (D+7.7), carried by the Democratic candidate. Out of 69,147 votes cast, 36,288 went Democratic and 30,995 went Republican.
How many people live in Thornton, Colorado?
Thornton, Colorado has a population of 144,187 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Thornton, Colorado?
Median household income in Thornton, Colorado is $103,088 — above the national median of $80,734. The Colorado state median is $95,470.
What is the political history of Thornton, Colorado?
Akashic tracks 6 presidential elections in Thornton, Colorado from 2004 to 2024. Of those, 6 went Democratic and 0 went Republican.
