Limon, Colorado

Limon (pronounced ) is a statutory town in Lincoln County, Colorado, United States.

1990 tornado

On June 6, 1990, an F3 tornado touched down near Matheson (about 16 miles west of Limon), tearing roughly east-northeast through fields. Minutes later, the then rain-wrapped tornado arrived, devastating the city. The storm injured 14 people, but remarkably no one was killed. Most of Limon's business district had been laid to ruins in just moments.

Governor Roy Romer declared Limon a disaster area the next day.

Limon successfully rebuilt its business district adding streetscaping, a new Town Hall, relocating a medical clinic and Limon Memorial Library, creating Hub City Senior Center and a new fire station. Downtown Limon is now a thriving center of the community demonstrating the strength of this rural community.

Geography

Limon is located at at an elevation of . Although entirely in Lincoln County, Limon is located immediately east of the Elbert County line. It lies on the north side of Big Sandy Creek, a tributary of the Arkansas River, on the eastern edge of the Colorado Piedmont region of the Great Plains, and is near the eastern end of the Palmer Divide. Located in east-central Colorado at the junction of Interstate 70, U.S. Highway 287, U.S. Highway 40, U.S. Highway 24, and State Highway 71, Limon is far from any major city or town, being northeast of Colorado Springs, southeast of Denver, and west of Kansas City.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , all land.

Climate

Limon has a semi-arid steppe climate (Köppen BSk) with cold, dry winters and warm, mildly wetter summers. Due to its location on the eastern plains, the town is often subject to severe, sometimes violent thunderstorms throughout the summer. Large hail, damaging winds, heavy rain, and tornadoes are common in the summer months. The high temperature reaches or exceeds an average of 32.3 days a year and reaches or exceeds an average of 0.8 days a year. The minimum temperature falls below the freezing point an average of 195.9 days a year.

|source 2 = NOAA (average snowfall/snowy days 1981–2010)

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, Limon had a population of 2,043. The median age was 37.3 years. 26.3% of residents were under the age of 18 and 15.6% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 98.9 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 91.7 males age 18 and over.

0.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 100.0% lived in rural areas.

There were 846 households in Limon, of which 29.8% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 41.6% were married-couple households, 22.2% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 29.1% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 35.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

There were 828 households, out of which 32.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.9% were married couples living together, 4.7% had a male householder with no wife present, 10.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.5% were non-families. 37.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 18.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.27, and the average family size was 3.00.

Economy

The Limon Correctional Facility is part of the Colorado Department of Corrections system and is a major employer in the area with employment of roughly 350.

Limon is the western terminus of the Kyle Railroad and it is here the regional interchanges with the Union Pacific Railroad. Trains previously stopped at Limon Railroad Depot.

Education

Limon Schools

Limon Schools has a new K-12 facility that opened in the fall of 2015. The $22.5 million project built two stories of new classrooms that accommodate up to 600 students.

Limon Elementary School is a public coed school with 240 students in grades K-5. According to state standards, 82% of students at this school are considered proficient in math or reading.

Limon Junior-Senior High School has 233 students in grades 6–12. According to state standards, 77% of students at this school are considered proficient in reading. Graduation rate is 90%.

Morgan Community College

Morgan Community College: Limon Center serves Arickaree, Flagler, Genoa-Hugo, Karval, Kit Carson, Limon, and Woodlin high schools. It currently offers A.A., A.S., A.A.S. & A.G.S. degrees; Transfer courses; Nursing pre-requisites; Agriculture & Business Management; GED preparation & testing; Specialty classes for teacher re-licensure; EMS training; and Computer classes.

Limon Child Development Center

Limon Child Development Center (Limon Head Start) offers a full-day, full-year preschool program for children ages 3–5. There are various funding programs available for children including Head Start, Colorado Preschool Program (CPP), CCCAP through the Lincoln County Department of Human Services, and private pay tuition.

Media

Print

The Limon Leader was the city’s weekly newspaper, published by Hoffman Publications, LLC and has a circulation of about 3,200 copies. The last issue was published on October 30, 2025.

Radio

The following radio stations are licensed to or broadcast from Limon:

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|1120||KCRN||Adult Contemporary||Limon, Colorado||-

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|91.9||K220IK||Religious||Limon, Colorado||Translator of KAWZ, Twin Falls, Idaho

|93.7||KBUD||Classic Hits||Limon, Colorado|| Defunct as of 2016

Television

Limon is in the Denver television market.

Transportation

Highways

Limon is connected by Interstate 70 east to Kansas and west to Denver. The Ports-to-Plains Corridor, including US 40/287 south and Colorado Highway 71 to the north, connects to Texas and South Dakota. Proposals for Interstate 27 follow US 287 southwards and the Heartland Expressway northwards.

Colorado State Highway 71 connects south from Limon to Pueblo. U.S. Route 24 is a direct passage southwest from Limon to Colorado Springs.

Railroads

Limon is served by the Union Pacific Railroad and the Kyle Railroad, a short-line railroad owned by Genesee & Wyoming, Inc. The Kyle Railroad runs from North Central Kansas into Eastern Colorado with Limon as the western terminus where it interchanges with the Union Pacific Railroad.

Aviation

The Town of Limon is from Denver International Airport, the largest airport in the state. Colorado Springs Airport is located about from Limon.

Limon Municipal Airport is a public use airport located at the eastern edge of town. The two-runway airport encompasses approximately and is owned and operated by the town government. The general aviation airport utilized by a range of aircraft ranging from single-engine aircraft up to small sized multi-engine business jets.

References

External links

Town of Limon website