The Cache la Poudre River runs through the town, which lies on high ground suitable for a railroad. It is approximately half-way between Fort Collins and Greeley on the BNSF Railway, and somewhat near the midpoint of a triangle formed by those two cities and Loveland. The centralized location of the town has given rise to rapid growth in the last two decades.
As of the census of 2000, there were 9,896 people, 3,563 households, and 2,697 families residing in the town. The population density was 675.6 people per square mile (260.8/km²). There were 3,692 housing units at an average density of 252.1/sq mi (97.3/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 91.75% White, 0.45% African American, 0.74% Native American, 0.52% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 4.26% from other races, and 2.21% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 10.50% of the population.
There were 3,563 households out of which 42.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 64.2% were married couples living together, 7.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.3% were non-families. 19.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.73 and the average family size was 3.15.
In the town the population was spread out with 29.8% under the age of 18, 7.4% from 18 to 24, 35.1% from 25 to 44, 20.0% from 45 to 64, and 7.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 96.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.8 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $54,976, and the median income for a family was $60,305. Males had a median income of $42,543 versus $29,280 for females. The per capita income for the town was $23,957. About 3.9% of families and 5.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.4% of those under age 18 and 6.2% of those age 65 or over.