City · Mesa County, Colorado

Grand Junction, Colorado

Grand Junction is a city in Mesa County, Colorado, part of the Grand Junction, CO metro area. It has 68,142 residents. Grand Junction, Colorado has a quality-of-life score of 63 out of 100 (high), ranking #5,806 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Colorado it ranks #121 of 220 cities and towns. It ranks best on preventable hospital stays (low), average commute time (low) and fine particulate matter (PM2.5) (low). It ranks worst on distance to an airport (high), suicide rate (high) and drought exposure (high).

63High

Quality-of-life score: #5,806 of 15,651 cities and towns
Colorado: #121 of 220 in CO
Population: 68,142 (2020-2024)
Land area: 41 mi²
Density: 1,671.1 /mi²
FIPS code: 0831660

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 72 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety21#12,338/15,637
Economy46#8,475/15,631
Housing55#6,749/14,977
Health54#7,185/15,609
Healthcare68#4,936/15,650
Environment99#211/15,453
Education60#6,334/15,649
Infrastructure87#1,983/15,650
Community38#9,762/15,651
Leisure & amenities45#8,622/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Grand Junction, Colorado ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Mesa County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Preventable hospital stays · low1,260 /100k
99/100Colorado 1,686 /100kUnited States 2,769 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteMesa County value
Average commute time · low15.8 min
97/100Colorado 25.2 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013
Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) · low5.1 µg/m³
96/100Colorado 5.8 µg/m³United States 8.0 µg/m³2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyMesa County value
Primary care physicians · high125 /100k
94/100Colorado 84 /100kUnited States 76 /100k2022University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteMesa County value
Distance to an Amtrak station · low6 mi
94/100Colorado 30 miUnited States 43 mi2026Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauMesa County value
Effective property tax rate · low0.39%
94/100Colorado 0.50%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090

Weaknesses

Distance to an airport · high186 mi
1/100Colorado 40 miUnited States 33 mi2025Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauMesa County value
Suicide rate · high31.3 /100k
3/100Colorado 22.4 /100kUnited States 14.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataMesa County value
Drought exposure · high86%
8/100Colorado 70%United States 43%Oct 2025–Sep 2026National Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAAMesa County value
Pharmacies · low0.9 /10k
11/100Colorado 0.9 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsMesa County value
Firearm deaths · high21.3 /100k
13/100Colorado 15.5 /100kUnited States 12.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataMesa County value
Grocery stores · low1.0 /10k
13/100Colorado 1.0 /10kUnited States 1.7 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsMesa County value

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

PopulationRising
62,062 (2015-2019) → 68,142 (2020-2024)
+9.8%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Child poverty rateImproving
18.7% (2015-2019) → 10.8% (2020-2024)
−7.9 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
85.1% (2015-2019) → 92.3% (2020-2024)
+7.2 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Median household incomeImproving
$52,504 (2015-2019) → $70,080 (2020-2024)
+33%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
53.5% (2015-2019) → 47.2% (2020-2024)
−6.2 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Home price to income ratioWorsening
4.5× (2015-2019) → 5.6× (2020-2024)
+23%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Grand Junction, Colorado improved on 8 of 14 measures with a comparison and declined on 1. 4 moved within the margin of error and 1 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved8

Unemployment−2 points6.9% → 4.8%
Child poverty−7.9 points18.7% → 10.8%
Poverty−3.8 points15.6% → 11.8%
Rent burden−6.2 points53.5% → 47.2%
Rent / income−2.7 points31.8% → 29.1%

Declined1

Price / income+1.0×4.5× → 5.6×

All 14 measures

Change of every measure of Grand Junction, Colorado between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	16.4 min2015-2019	15.8 min2020-2024	−0.6 min	Within the margin of error	56%
Bachelor's degree or higher	34.7%2015-2019	38.1%2020-2024	+3.4 points	Improved	55%
Broadband subscriptions	85.1%2015-2019	92.3%2020-2024	+7.2 points	Improved	45%
Child poverty rate	18.7%2015-2019	10.8%2020-2024	−7.9 points	Improved	77%
Effective property tax rate	0.48%2015-2019	0.39%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Little change	32%
High school diploma or higher	90.1%2015-2019	93.7%2020-2024	+3.6 points	Within the margin of error	73%
Home price to income ratio	4.5×2015-2019	5.6×2020-2024	+1.0×	Declined	20%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4622015-2019	0.4432020-2024	−0.019	Within the margin of error	67%
Median household income	$52,5042015-2019	$70,0802020-2024	+33%	Improved	62%
Poverty rate	15.6%2015-2019	11.8%2020-2024	−3.8 points	Improved	74%
Rent as share of income	31.8%2015-2019	29.1%2020-2024	−2.7 points	Improved	73%
Rent-burdened households	53.5%2015-2019	47.2%2020-2024	−6.2 points	Improved	75%
Unemployment rate	6.9%2015-2019	4.8%2020-2024	−2 points	Improved	82%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	10.6%2015-2019	11.8%2020-2024	+1.2 points	Within the margin of error	33%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Grand Junction, Colorado five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Grand Junction, Colorado in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Grand Junction, Colorado itself moved +6.9 points in standing on average over the same 10 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

68,142 residents (±46)

Men
Women

80 and over
70–79
60–69

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

29,935 households (±672)

Grand Junction, Colorado
Colorado share

Under $25k16%4,900
$25k–50k18%5,453
$50k–75k18%5,515

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

29,935 households (±672)

Grand Junction, Colorado
Colorado share

Own64%19,023
Rent36%10,912

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Own (+5.4 points).

Table view

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

33,352 workers (±962)

Grand Junction, Colorado
Colorado share

Drive alone72%23,857
Carpool8.8%2,937
Public transit0.8%†251

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the Grand Junction, CO

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Mesa County, the county holding most of Grand Junction's residents.

Mesa County has 4,827 employer establishments, 302 for every 10,000 residents (1.22× the US rate of 248; 0.98× Colorado's), with 56,737 paid employees at an average annual pay of $54,260. The Census Bureau also counts 14,516 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 4,827; 14,516 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 302; US 248 · Colorado 309
Paid employees: 56,737
Average annual pay: $54,260; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Mesa County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Specialty trade contractors	394	24.7	1.59×More than typical	3,366	$66,402	1,203
Ambulatory health care services	372	23.3	1.12×About typical	5,261	$72,998	742
Lessors of real estate	334	20.9	1.70×More than typical	733	$48,662	1,920
Restaurants and other eating places	258	16.1	0.88×About typical	5,593	$24,446	33
Real estate agents and brokers	202	12.6	2.60×More than typical	337	$52,890	415
Construction of buildings	183	11.5	1.51×More than typical	870	$77,190	545
Building equipment contractors	165	10.3	1.72×More than typical	1,407	$61,555	161
Management, scientific and technical consulting	136	8.5	1.27×More than typical	373	$63,129	509
Services to buildings and dwellings	133	8.3	1.23×About typical	752	$38,887	839
Offices of other health practitioners	129	8.1	1.33×More than typical	617	$46,784	402
Automotive repair and maintenance	123	7.7	1.53×More than typical	582	$48,354	179
Limited-service restaurants	113	7.1	0.88×About typical	2,526	$20,689	14

Rank places for an industry Open Mesa County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 159,794 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated $40.1M of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Grand Junction, Colorado: $588 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $40.1M; −14% vs FY2025
Per resident: $588; US $1,994
Sole-source: 8.0%; US 30%
Single offer: 20%; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Department of Veterans Affairs$31.5M79%
Department of Energy$5.3M13%
Public Buildings Service$1.1M2.8%
Defense Logistics Agency$822.5K2.1%
Bureau of Land Management$508K1.3%
Departmental Offices$434.1K1.1%
Forest Service$151.8K0.4%
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service$114.9K0.3%

Top recipients

Spending by fiscal year

108.3MFY2017
120.7MFY2018
132.1MFY2019
116.6MFY2020
61.4MFY2021
46MFY2022
29.5MFY2023
27.7M

Top industries (NAICS)

Nonresidential building construction · 2362$24M60%
Architectural, engineering, and related services · 5413$3.4M8.4%
Remediation and other waste management services · 5629$2.8M7.0%
Building equipment contractors · 2382$1.7M4.3%
Management, scientific, and technical consulting services · 5416$1.5M3.7%

Largest awards whose ZIP code lies mostly in Grand Junction, Colorado

LONG TERM SURVEILLANCE AND MAINTENANCE (LTS&M), INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND RECORDS MANAGEMENT, ASSET MANAGEMENT, BUSINESS, AND PROGRAM-WIDE SUPPORT SERVICES FOR THE OFFICE OF LEGACY MANAGEMENT.$427.6M
NAVARRO RESEARCH AND ENGINEERING, INC.· Mesa County, CO· Professional services· Nov 9, 2016 – Aug 28, 2026· DELM0000421
BOILER AND CONTROLS$20.3M
SGJV, LLC· Mesa County, CO· Construction & real property· Dec 15, 2021 – Aug 27, 2026· 36C25922C0013
EHRM INFRASTRUCTURE UPGRADES - GRAND JUNCTION CO$16.1M
HAWK CONTRACTING GROUP LLC· Mesa County, CO· Construction & real property· Jan 21, 2026 – Sep 9, 2026· 36C77626C0013

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Grand Junction, Colorado, so they do not add up across cities.

Grand Junction, Colorado's figures are part of those of Mesa County, CO ($54.7M in FY2026), never added to them: 73% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Grand Junction is mostly in Mesa County.

See federal money in Mesa County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Grand Junction, Colorado is represented in the 119th Congress by these members.

House

Jeff HurdR-CO-3 · 100% of residentsWith party 96%Missed 0.6%

Senate

Explore Congress The 2026 races

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Mesa County70100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Grand Junction, CO69

Other cities and towns in Mesa County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/0831660

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends