City · Otero County, Colorado

La Junta, Colorado

La Junta is a city in Otero County, Colorado. It has 7,140 residents. La Junta, Colorado has a quality-of-life score of 18 out of 100 (very low), ranking #12,806 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Colorado it ranks #218 of 220 cities and towns. It ranks best on fine particulate matter (PM2.5) (low), effective property tax rate (low) and public libraries (high). It ranks worst on mental health care shortage (high), property crime rate (high) and job growth (low).

18Very low

Quality-of-life score: #12,806 of 15,651 cities and towns
Colorado: #218 of 220 in CO
Population: 7,140 (2020-2024)
Land area: 3 mi²
Density: 2,234.0 /mi²
FIPS code: 0842110

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 69 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.

Safety7#14,584/15,637
Economy11#13,859/15,631
Housing33#10,069/14,977
Health14#13,481/15,609
Healthcare21#12,297/15,650
Environment74#4,024/15,453
Education40#9,344/15,649
Infrastructure21#12,320/15,650
Community47#8,326/15,651
Leisure & amenities46#8,487/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where La Junta, Colorado ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Otero 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

Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) · low5.0 µg/m³
96/100Colorado 5.8 µg/m³United States 8.0 µg/m³2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyOtero County value
Effective property tax rate · low0.41%
93/100Colorado 0.50%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090
Public libraries · high2.2 /10k
93/100Colorado 0.5 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesOtero County value
Preventable hospital stays · low1,997 /100k
85/100Colorado 1,686 /100kUnited States 2,769 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteOtero County value
Distance to an Amtrak station · low7 mi
83/100Colorado 30 miUnited States 43 mi2026Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauOtero County value
Grocery stores · high2.3 /10k
82/100Colorado 1.0 /10kUnited States 1.7 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsOtero County value

Weaknesses

Mental health care shortage · high21.0
0/100Colorado 12.2United States 9.9Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationOtero County value
Property crime rate · high3,750 /100k
1/100Colorado 2,144 /100kUnited States 1,535 /100k2024Federal Bureau of InvestigationOtero County value
Job growth · low-5.3%
1/100Colorado -0.7%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataOtero County value
Mammography screening · low31.0%
3/100Colorado 45.0%United States 46.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteOtero County value
Suicide rate · high28.0 /100k
5/100Colorado 22.4 /100kUnited States 14.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimateProvisional dataOtero County value
Primary care shortage · high18.0
5/100Colorado 4.0United States 6.2Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationOtero County value

Trends

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

New homes permittedWorsening
1.6 /1k (2021) → 0.0 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
−100%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Child poverty rateWorsening
22.5% (2015-2019) → 41.4% (2020-2024)
+19 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
71.3% (2015-2019) → 85.5% (2020-2024)
+14 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Average commute timeWorsening
13.3 min (2015-2019) → 22.3 min (2020-2024)
+67%5 yearsCensus table B08013US 26.9 min → 26.4 min
Home price to income ratioWorsening
2.3× (2015-2019) → 3.7× (2020-2024)
+61%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
Median household incomeImproving
$39,567 (2015-2019) → $52,315 (2020-2024)
+32%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604

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, La Junta, Colorado improved on 3 of 15 measures with a comparison and declined on 2. 10 moved within the margin of error and 0 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.

Improved3

Uninsured−5.5 points11.8% → 6.2%
Broadband+14 points71.3% → 85.5%
Household income+32%$39,567 → $52,315

Declined2

Child poverty+19 points22.5% → 41.4%
Price / income+1.4×2.3× → 3.7×

All 15 measures

Change of every measure of La Junta, Colorado between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	13.3 min2015-2019	22.3 min2020-2024	+9.0 min	Within the margin of error	3%
Bachelor's degree or higher	20.4%2015-2019	18.0%2020-2024	−2.3 points	Within the margin of error	15%
Broadband subscriptions	71.3%2015-2019	85.5%2020-2024	+14 points	Improved	77%
Child poverty rate	22.5%2015-2019	41.4%2020-2024	+19 points	Declined	5%
Effective property tax rate	0.56%2015-2019	0.41%2020-2024	−0.2 points	Within the margin of error	47%
High school diploma or higher	90.4%2015-2019	84.0%2020-2024	−6.4 points	Within the margin of error	4%
Home price to income ratio	2.3×2015-2019	3.7×2020-2024	+1.4×	Declined	11%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4612015-2019	0.4132020-2024	−0.048	Within the margin of error	83%
Median household income	$39,5672015-2019	$52,3152020-2024	+32%	Improved	60%
Poverty rate	22.1%2015-2019	27.4%2020-2024	+5.4 points	Within the margin of error	11%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	29.0%2015-2019	28.1%2020-2024	−0.9 points	Within the margin of error	62%
Rent-burdened households	46.6%2015-2019	45.1%2020-2024	−1.5 points	Within the margin of error	61%
Unemployment rate	5.1%2015-2019	7.9%2020-2024	+2.8 points	Within the margin of error	10%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	11.8%2015-2019	6.2%2020-2024	−5.5 points	Improved	88%

“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 La Junta, Colorado five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of La Junta, 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, La Junta, Colorado itself moved −5.1 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

7,140 residents (±26)

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

3,030 households (±231)

La Junta, Colorado
Colorado share

Under $25k22%†654
$25k–50k25%†761
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

3,030 households (±231)

La Junta, Colorado
Colorado share

Own67%2,030
Rent33%1,000

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Own (+10.4 points).

Table view

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

2,752 workers (±307)

La Junta, Colorado
Colorado share

Drive alone79%2,166
Carpool11%†307
Public transit0.0%0

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 Otero County, the county holding most of La Junta's residents.

Otero County has 403 employer establishments, 222 for every 10,000 residents (0.90× the US rate of 248; 0.72× Colorado's), with 4,508 paid employees at an average annual pay of $43,022. The Census Bureau also counts 1,184 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 403; 1,184 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 222; US 248 · Colorado 309
Paid employees: 4,508
Average annual pay: $43,022; US $68,342

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

Ambulatory health care services	35	19.3	0.93×About typical	636	$30,134	33
Restaurants and other eating places	31	17.1	0.93×About typical	525	$17,589	7
Specialty trade contractors	24	13.2	0.86×About typical	64	$37,109	118
Religious organizations	19	10.5	1.89×More than typical	47	$11,660	—
Building equipment contractors	15	8.3	1.38×More than typical	39	$40,462	38
Full-service restaurants	15	8.3	1.08×About typical	180	$15,406	—
Offices of other health practitioners	14	7.7	1.27×More than typical	57	$37,246	16
Limited-service restaurants	13	7.2	0.89×About typical	332	$19,036	—
Banks and credit unions	12	6.6	2.05×More than typical	109	$74,422	—
Automotive repair and maintenance	11	6.1	1.21×About typical	36	$43,694	35
Gasoline stations	11	6.1	1.87×More than typical	132	$28,545	—
Truck transportation	9	5	0.98×Too few to compare	31	$55,452	30

Rank places for an industry Open Otero County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 18,117 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

No federal contract obligations recorded here in FY2026.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: La Junta is mostly in Otero County.

See federal money in Otero 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.

La Junta, 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.

Otero County32100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Otero 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
Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
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/0842110

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends