Lakewood is a city in Colorado, the United States. It was founded in 1889. Its population ranks fifth of all the Colorado cities. It ranks 172nd (in population) out of all the cities in the United States. In 2010, the population was 142,980. According to the United States Census in 2010, the city population was 142,980. Lakewood is to the west of Denver, Colorado's capital. It is one of the key cities of the Denver–Aurora–Lakewood, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area and a major city of the Front Range Urban Corridor.