No. Applewood is not a city or a town. It is an unincorporated community in Jefferson County, Colorado, which the U.S. Census Bureau counts as a census-designated place, so the county, not a city hall, handles zoning, permits and most local services.
It is one of the most common questions about the area west of Denver, and the confusion makes sense. Applewood has a name everyone in the west metro recognizes, its own golf course, its own shopping centers and decades-old subdivisions with Applewood in their names. What it does not have is a mayor, a city council or a city limit sign.
Mailing addresses add to the puzzle. Depending on the street, a home people describe as being in Applewood may carry a Golden, Lakewood or Wheat Ridge address, and a few neighborhoods sold under the Applewood name sit inside an actual city. The place name on an envelope follows the post office, not the government that serves the property.
Jason Sirois is a Denver Realtor with FORM at Compass and an Applewood resident. Here is what Applewood legally is, who provides services there, how taxes compare with the cities around it, and what that means if you own or are buying a home in the area.
What is Applewood, legally?
Applewood is an unincorporated community and a census-designated place, or CDP, in Jefferson County. A CDP is a statistical area the Census Bureau draws so it can report figures for a named community that has no municipal government of its own. It is a counting tool, not a government.
The Census Bureau first defined the Applewood CDP for the 1970 census. Its boundary has shifted since: for the 2000 census, part of the former Applewood CDP was split off to form the West Pleasant View CDP. The basics, as reported from Census Bureau data:
| Item | Applewood CDP |
|---|---|
| Legal status | Unincorporated community in Jefferson County |
| Census status | Census-designated place, first defined for the 1970 census |
| Population, 2020 census | 7,833 |
| Total area | About 4.49 square miles |
| ZIP code listed for the CDP | 80401, served by the Golden post office |
| Neighbors | Fairmount to the north, Wheat Ridge to the northeast, Lakewood to the southeast, West Pleasant View to the southwest, South Table Mountain to the west |
Source: U.S. Census Bureau 2020 census figures and CDP definitions, as compiled on the Applewood, Colorado reference entry.
Why Applewood addresses say Golden, Lakewood or Wheat Ridge
People use “Applewood” for a wider area than the census boundary, and the mailing address depends on which post office delivers to the street. Applewood West homes typically carry a Golden address. Applewood Knolls homes carry Lakewood 80215 addresses while sitting in unincorporated Jefferson County, as we noted in our earlier post on Applewood Knolls schools.
Some neighborhoods marketed under the Applewood umbrella are inside a city. Paramount Heights, the 1950s subdivision on Skyline and Hillside drives, is in the City of Wheat Ridge. For those addresses, Wheat Ridge sets the zoning and collects city sales tax, even though many people still call the area Applewood.
The practical takeaway: the city name on a listing or a utility bill does not tell you which government serves a property. The county assessor’s record and the property tax bill do, because they list every taxing authority for that parcel.
Who provides services in unincorporated Applewood?
Without a city, services come from Jefferson County and a set of special districts, each with its own board and, in most cases, its own line on the property tax bill.
- Zoning, building permits and code enforcement: Jefferson County Planning and Zoning serves the unincorporated county, issuing fence, sign, grading, driveway and building permits and handling land use questions.
- Parks and recreation: the Prospect Recreation & Park District, a special district covering mostly unincorporated northern Jefferson County, including Applewood. It runs Applewood Golf Course, Applewood Park, the Applewood Trail and several other parks.
- Schools: Jeffco Public Schools. Elementary schools serving parts of the Applewood CDP include Maple Grove, Stober and Welchester, and high school assignments split between Golden High School and Wheat Ridge High School depending on the address.
- Fire, water and sanitation: provided by special districts or water companies rather than a city department. Which ones serve a home depends on the address, and the tax bill and title documents show them.
The park district is a good example of how this works. It funds itself with a property tax levy of 6.6 mills, according to the district, of which 2.6 mills pay off bonds issued to buy Applewood Golf Course. The Trust for Public Land bought the 146-acre course in partnership with the district in late 2016.
How Applewood’s sales tax compares with nearby cities
One of the clearest differences between unincorporated Applewood and the surrounding cities is sales tax. With no city, there is no city sales tax layer.
| Location | City sales tax | Combined rate |
|---|---|---|
| Unincorporated Jefferson County, including Applewood | None | 4.5% |
| City of Golden | 3.0% | 7.5% |
| City of Lakewood (most of the city) | 3.0% | 7.5% |
| City of Wheat Ridge | 3.5% | 8.0% |
Sources: Jefferson County sales tax FAQ (state 2.9%, RTD 1%, cultural 0.1%, Jeffco Open Space 0.5%); City of Golden and City of Lakewood tax rate pages; City of Wheat Ridge’s 3.5% city rate added to the same 4.5% base. Rates as of October 2026.
Several of these rates are on the November 3, 2026 ballot. Wheat Ridge voters will decide a one-cent city sales tax increase, which we explained in our post on the Wheat Ridge sales tax ballot question, and Lakewood voters will decide a city increase as well. Sales tax is charged where you shop, not where you live, so an Applewood homeowner pays the Wheat Ridge or Lakewood rate when shopping in those cities.
Could Applewood be annexed or become a city?
Colorado law sets out separate processes for annexing land into an existing city and for incorporating a new one. Under the state’s Municipal Annexation Act of 1965, a typical petition annexation requires that at least one-sixth of the area’s perimeter touch the annexing city, and that the petitioners be more than half of the landowners owning more than half of the land, or all of it.
In practice, that means Applewood’s status changes parcel by parcel, if at all, rather than all at once. A city cannot simply draw a new line around the area; an annexation has to meet the statute’s contiguity and ownership tests and go through the annexing city’s public hearing process. Incorporating Applewood as its own city would be a separate, larger step under state law.
For now, the bigger near-term change for unincorporated Applewood is at the county. Jefferson County’s draft Unified Land Use Code would rewrite the zoning rules that apply here, which we covered in what the county’s draft code means for Applewood properties.
What it means for owners, buyers and sellers
Being in the county rather than a city changes who you call and which rules apply. A deck, a fence, an accessory dwelling unit or a lot split in unincorporated Applewood goes through Jefferson County, while the same project a few blocks east in Wheat Ridge goes through the city. The rules are not the same, so confirm jurisdiction before you design anything.
For buyers, the parcel’s jurisdiction affects zoning, the districts on the tax bill and, for some addresses, which high school the home feeds, a question we answered for Applewood West. For sellers, stating the jurisdiction plainly in the listing heads off the most common question before a showing. Our Applewood community page has more on the neighborhoods and homes across the area.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Applewood part of Golden?
No. Applewood is unincorporated Jefferson County. Many Applewood homes use a Golden mailing address because the Golden post office delivers there, but they are outside Golden’s city limits unless a specific parcel was annexed.
Is Applewood part of Lakewood or Wheat Ridge?
The Applewood CDP is not. It borders both cities. Some neighborhoods people call Applewood, such as Paramount Heights, are inside Wheat Ridge, and Applewood Knolls uses Lakewood addresses while staying in the county.
Does Applewood have a mayor or city council?
No. Jefferson County’s elected Board of County Commissioners governs unincorporated areas, including Applewood, along with the boards of the special districts that serve it.
Who issues building permits in Applewood?
For unincorporated addresses, Jefferson County Planning and Zoning issues building, fence, grading and driveway permits. Addresses inside Wheat Ridge, Lakewood or Golden go through that city.
Is there city sales tax in Applewood?
No. Purchases in unincorporated Jefferson County carry a combined 4.5% rate made up of state, RTD, cultural and county open space taxes, with no city layer, according to Jefferson County.
How do I know if my home is in unincorporated Jefferson County?
Look up the parcel on the Jefferson County Assessor’s site or check your property tax bill. If no city appears among the taxing authorities, the property is in the unincorporated county.
This post is general information based on U.S. Census Bureau, Jefferson County, City of Golden, City of Lakewood, City of Wheat Ridge and Prospect Recreation & Park District sources available as of October 14, 2026. Tax rates, district boundaries and land use rules change, and individual parcels vary. It is not legal or tax advice. Confirm the jurisdiction and districts for a specific property with Jefferson County.
