5280 Magazine

What 5280 Magazine does

5280 Magazine (legal entity 5280 Elevated, Inc.) is a privately held regional publishing company headquartered at 950 17th Street, Suite 1150, Denver, Colorado, founded in 1993. It publishes a monthly lifestyle magazine covering Denver and Colorado — content spans restaurants, events, health, real estate, culture, adventure, home, and topical news including sports, politics, infrastructure, environment, education, and business. The print magazine is supported by a digital ecosystem at 5280.com, email newsletters, social media channels, and the 5280 Scene promotions and ticketing platform.

The core product set includes the flagship monthly 5280 Magazine, the 5280 Health annual special issue, four paid editorial directories (Top Doctors, Top Dentists, Denver's Top Lawyers, Top Real Estate Producers), and signature events such as Top of the Town. The annual ranking lists are produced through data partnerships with Castle Connolly (healthcare research) and DataJoe Research (legal), yielding proprietary data assets covering 1,200+ physicians across 75+ specialties and a tiered Black Diamond recognition system for real estate producers based on sales volume.

Revenue is generated through four streams: print and digital magazine subscriptions (priced at $19.95/year), advertising and sponsorship sold to local and national advertisers, paid directory listings for professional service providers across four verticals, and event ticketing and award nominations through 5280 Scene. The company serves two primary customer sets: Denver metro consumers seeking curated local recommendations, and healthcare, dental, legal, and real estate professionals seeking recognition-based marketing channels in the Denver market. The company employs 101–250 people and is privately held with no disclosed outside investment.

Name

5280 Magazine

Legal name

5280 Elevated, Inc.

Website

https://5280.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1993

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

5280 Magazine is a Denver-based regional publisher of a monthly lifestyle magazine and digital content covering restaurants, health, real estate, culture, adventure, and Colorado news, serving Denver metro consumers through subscriptions and local advertisers and professionals through paid directories (Top Doctors, Dentists, Lawyers, Real Estate Producers) and events.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Regional Lifestyle Magazine Publishing

NAICS

Periodical Publishers (51312)

SIC

Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721)

akta.pro primary industry

Consumer Lifestyle & Fashion Magazines (MPAJAEAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Health, Fitness & Wellness Magazines (MPAJAEAD), News, Politics & Current Affairs Magazines (MPAJAEAO)

Keywords

• City magazine publishing
• Lifestyle publication
• Local journalism
• Professional directories
• Event marketing

Headquarters

HQ city

Denver

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Magazine Subscriptions: The primary revenue model includes print and digital magazine subscriptions sold directly to consumers. The website promotes subscription offers including 1 year for $19.95, with physical magazine issues available via newsstand and direct mail.
2. Advertising & Sponsorship: The magazine and website generate revenue through advertising sold to local and national brands. The website notes participation in affiliate marketing programs and clear labeling of sponsored content vs. editorial.
3. Directory Products & Listings: Paid directory listings for professional service providers including doctors, dentists, lawyers, and real estate agents. These directories (directory.5280.com) serve as lead-generation products for B2B professional clients.
4. Awards & Event Tickets: Revenue from events such as 5280 Top of the Town, Top Lawyers nominations, and Top Real Estate Producer programs. The 5280 Scene promotions page sells tickets to Top of the Town events and collects nominations for annual awards.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

5280 Magazine is a Denver-focused regional lifestyle magazine published monthly in print and digital formats, covering restaurants, events, health, real estate, culture, news, and outdoor adventure across the Denver metro area and Colorado. The publication also operates searchable online directories of doctors, dentists, lawyers, and real estate professionals, produces annual ranked editorial lists, and hosts signature community events including Top of the Town.

Product overview

5280 Magazine is a Denver-based lifestyle publication offering a print and digital magazine subscription alongside a suite of editorial directories and events. The core offering is the monthly 5280 Magazine covering restaurants, events, health, real estate, culture, and adventure content. The company operates complementary directories for doctors, dentists, lawyers, and real estate professionals (5280 Directories), produces annual ranked lists (Top Doctors, Top Dentists, Top Real Estate Producers), and hosts events through its 5280 Scene sub-brand including the Top of the Town event. Special issues like 5280 Health extend the brand into specific verticals.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• 5280 Magazine

Quantifiable outcome

• Top Doctors list covers 1,200+ physicians across 75+ medical specialties in the Denver metro area
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• OpenTableminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 6 March 2026OpenTable is the presenting sponsor of Denver Restaurant Week 2026, an annual culinary celebration featuring 330+ Denver restaurants. 5280 covers the event as editorial content.
• DataJoe ResearchcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 12 January 2026DataJoe Research conducted the independent research and compilation for 5280 magazine's Denver's Top Lawyers 2026 list, including license verification and disciplinary record review. This is a key research partnership supporting the magazine's annual peer-voted legal directory.
• Castle ConnollycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 August 2025Castle Connolly, a healthcare research and information company with 30+ years of experience, partnered with 5280 for the third consecutive year to produce the Top Doctors list. Castle Connolly's physician-led research team vets professionals through peer nomination, professional qualification review, and outcomes data analysis.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Boston Magazine: Metro Boston city magazine covering dining, culture, real estate, and lifestyle. Operates a similar model with a print magazine, proprietary Top Doctors/Top Lawyers lists, directories, and events. Closest comparable by revenue mix and editorial positioning.
• Philadelphia Magazine: City magazine serving Greater Philadelphia with dining, health, real estate, and culture coverage. Operates comparable Top Doctors lists, directories, and city-focused editorial lists in a similar mid-tier metro market.
• Chicago Magazine: Chicago's flagship city magazine covering dining, culture, real estate, and news. Operates Top Doctors lists, awards events, and a multi-channel lifestyle brand analogous to 5280's Denver playbook.
• Los Angeles Magazine: City magazine covering LA's dining, culture, health, and lifestyle. Comparable diversified model with Top Doctors directories and a city-focused editorial brand, though operating in a much larger metro.
• Seattle Met: Pacific Northwest city magazine covering dining, outdoors, culture, and lifestyle. Closely analogous mid-tier city magazine with similar directory products (Top Doctors) and event-driven monetization.
• Atlanta Magazine: City magazine for the Atlanta metro covering dining, culture, and lifestyle, with a Top Doctors directory product. Operates a similar mid-tier metro franchise model to 5280.
• Portland Monthly: City magazine serving Portland with comparable coverage of dining, culture, outdoors, and health. Operates annual Top Doctors lists and a regional lifestyle brand similar in size and scope to 5280.
• Cincinnati Magazine: Mid-tier Midwest city magazine covering dining, culture, and lifestyle. Comparable in scale and business model, with directory products and annual awards for top local professionals.

Broad incumbents

• Texas Monthly: Statewide lifestyle magazine with a substantially larger audience and broader geographic reach than 5280. Comparable business model (subscriptions, events, directories) but operates at a meaningfully larger scale and is recognized nationally for editorial quality.

Regional players

• Aspen Magazine: Colorado-based lifestyle publication focused on Aspen and the Roaring Fork Valley. Geographic peer within the same state but serves a different (mountain resort) sub-market rather than the Denver metro.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/5280magazine
• Facebookfacebook.com/5280magazine
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/5280-publishing

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about 5280 Magazine