Life in Denver

• Elevation: 5280 feet
• 300+ days of sunshine each year (more than San Diego or Miami Beach)
• Average precipitation: just 14 inches each year
• Population of City of Denver is about 575,000 with 2.4 million in the entire metro area
• National Jewish Medical and Research Center is the top respiratory hospital in the country (for nine years)- US News & World Report, 2006
• UCD is ranked 4th/75 public medical schools and 15th of all medical schools in NIH research expenditures.
• Second best place to live-Sperling 2003
• Denver metro area is “the best city for singles”-Forbes Magazine 2006
• Diverse neighborhoods and ethnic groups (Largest Cinco de Mayo celebration, Martin Luther King Day Parade)
• Colorado has the second most highly educated workforce in the nation- US Census Bureau, 2005.
• The fourth highest concentration of scientists and engineers-National Science Board, 2006.
• Nation’s largest city park system (more than 200 parks in the city and over 20,000 acres of parks in the nearby mountains)
• Half of the state is dedicated to public recreation (2 national parks, 6 national monuments, 11 national forests, and 30 state parks)
• Denver ranks in the top 10 Green cities in the US
• There are 26 Ski Resorts in the state, 6 of which made the top ten resorts in North America, and most are within 2 hours of Denver
• Mountains:  more than 1,000 over 10,000 ft. and 58 peaks over 14,000 ft.
• Denver International Airport was voted the third best airport in the world-AETRA passenger survey, 2006.
• FasTracks is the largest one-time build out of any mass transit system in US history-Regional Transportation District, 2006.
• Denver citizens contribute more public funding for the arts per capita than any other US city
• The largest performing arts complexes in the world (Award-winning theatre company, Broadway touring productions, Internationally acclaimed opera and orchestra)
• Denver brews more beer than any other American city-Denver Chamber of Commerce, 2006.