Mesa County, Colorado

County in Colorado, United States

U.S. county in Colorado

Mesa County

U.S. county

Mesa County Courthouse

Mesa County Courthouse

Location within the U.S. state of Colorado

Location within the U.S. state of Colorado

Colorado's location within the U.S.

Colorado's location within the U.S.

Country|  United States
State| File:Flag of Colorado.svg Colorado
Founded| February 14, 1883
Named for| Mesas in the area
Seat| Grand Junction
Largest city| Grand Junction
Area

• Total| 3,341 sq mi (8,650 km2)
• Land| 3,329 sq mi (8,620 km2)
• Water| 12 sq mi (30 km2)  0.4%%
Population

• Estimate

(2020)

| 155,703
• Density| 47/sq mi (18/km2)
Time zone| UTC−7 (Mountain)
• Summer (DST)| UTC−6 (MDT)
Congressional district| 3rd
Website| www.mesacounty.us

File:Mesa State Park.jpg

Mesa County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 155,703.[1] The county seat is Grand Junction.[2] The county was named for the many large mesas in the area, including Grand Mesa.

Mesa County comprises the Grand Junction, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area.[3][4] In 2020 it ranked as the 271st most populous metropolitan area in the United States.[1] It is the only metropolitan area in Colorado not located on the Front Range of Colorado.

## Contents

* 1 Geography
* 1.1 Adjacent counties
* 1.2 Major highways
* 1.3 National protected areas
* 1.4 State protected areas
* 1.5 Trails and byways
* 2 Demographics
* 3 Politics
* 3.1 2020-2021 alleged county clerk election tampering
* 4 Communities
* 4.1 Cities
* 4.2 Towns
* 4.3 Census-designated places
* 4.4 Other unincorporated places
* 5 Transportation
* 5.1 Road
* 5.2 Air
* 5.3 Train
* 5.4 Bus
* 6 See also
* 7 References
* 8 External links

## Geography[edit | edit source]

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 3,341 square miles (8,650 km2), of which 3,329 square miles (8,620 km2) is land and 12 square miles (31 km2) (0.4%) is water.[5] It is the fourth-largest county by area in Colorado.

### Adjacent counties[edit | edit source]

* Garfield County – north
* Pitkin County – east
* Gunnison County – east
* Delta County – southeast
* Montrose County – south
* Grand County, Utah – west

### Major highways[edit | edit source]

* File:I-70 (CO).svg Interstate 70
* File:Business Loop 70.svg I-70 BL
* File:Business Loop 70.svg I-70 BL
* File:US 6.svg U.S. Highway 6
* File:US 50.svg U.S. Highway 50
* File:Colorado 65.svg State Highway 65
* File:Colorado 139.svg State Highway 139
* File:Colorado 141.svg State Highway 141
* File:Colorado 330.svg State Highway 330
* File:Colorado 340.svg State Highway 340
* 45 1/2 Rd

### National protected areas[edit | edit source]

* Black Ridge Canyons Wilderness
* Colorado National Monument
* Dominguez Canyon Wilderness
* Dominguez-Escalante National Conservation Area (part)
* Grand Mesa National Forest
* Manti-La Sal National Forest
* McInnis Canyons National Conservation Area (part)
* Uncompahgre National Forest
* White River National Forest

### State protected areas[edit | edit source]

* Highline Lake State Park
* James M. Robb – Colorado River State Park
* Vega State Park

### Trails and byways[edit | edit source]

* American Discovery Trail
* Dinosaur Diamond Prehistoric Highway National Scenic Byway
* Grand Mesa National Scenic and Historic Byway
* Kokopelli Trail
* Old Spanish National Historic Trail
* Unaweep/Tabeguache Scenic and Historic Byway
* Colorado Riverfront Trail

## Demographics[edit | edit source]

Historical population

Census | Pop. |  | %±
1890| 4,260| | —
1900| 9,267| | 117.5%
1910| 22,197| | 139.5%
1920| 22,281| | 0.4%
1930| 25,908| | 16.3%
1940| 33,791| | 30.4%
1950| 38,794| | 14.8%
1960| 50,715| | 30.7%
1970| 54,734| | 7.9%
1980| 81,530| | 49.0%
1990| 93,145| | 14.2%
2000| 116,255| | 24.8%
2010| 146,723| | 26.2%
2020| 155,703| | 6.1%
U.S. Decennial Census[6]
1790-1960[7] 1900-1990[8]
1990-2000[9] 2010-2020[1]

As of the census[10] of 2010, there were 146,723 people, 58,095 households, and 38,593 families living in the county. The population density was 44.1 people per square mile (17.23.1/km2). There were 62,644 housing units. Information that follows comes from the 2000 American Factfinder data: The racial makeup of the county was 92.34% White, 0.46% Black or African American, 0.91% Native American, 0.53% Asian, 0.10% Pacific Islander, 3.67% from other races, and 1.99% from two or more races. 10.02% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 45,823 households, out of which 31.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.30% were married couples living together, 9.80% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.10% were non-families. 25.10% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 2.94.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 25.00% under the age of 18, 9.40% from 18 to 24, 26.70% from 25 to 44, 23.70% from 45 to 64, and 15.20% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 96.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.20 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $35,864, and the median income for a family was $43,009. Males had a median income of $32,316 versus $22,374 for females. The per capita income for the county was $18,715. About 7.00% of families and 10.20% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.50% of those under age 18 and 8.10% of those age 65 or over.

## Politics[edit | edit source]

Unlike most urban counties, Mesa County is strongly Republican. It has voted Democratic only once since 1952, during Lyndon Johnson’s 1964 landslide, and Hubert Humphrey in the following 1968 election is the last Democrat to tally forty percent of the county’s vote.

### 2020-2021 alleged county clerk election tampering[edit | edit source]

It was reported in August 2021 that the Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters in May 2021 allowed an unauthorized person into a secure facility during an annual upgrade to the county's election equipment software, compromising the equipment. The security breach meant Mesa County would not be able to use the equipment for its fall 2021 election.[11]

This was not the first time Peters had been a source of election controversy. In February 2020, it was discovered that Peters' office neglected to count 574 ballots cast in a dropbox outside her office. These uncounted ballots were cast in the November 2019 election and remained uncounted in the dropbox for 3 months. They were found only because Peters' office checked the dropbox for ballots cast in the next election - the 2020 presidential primary. This prompted an attempt to recall Peters as county clerk. The effort was unsuccessful. [12]

In March 2022, Peters was indicted by a Mesa County grand jury on seven felony and three misdemeanor counts of election tampering and misconduct related to the alleged May 2021 security breach. Her deputy, Belinda Knisley, was charged on six counts. At the time of indictment, Peters was a candidate for Colorado Secretary of State, a position that would involve supervising the state's elections.[13] In May 2022, a Colorado district judge prohibited Peters and Knisley from overseeing November 2022 Mesa County elections, the second year of such a prohibition.[14]

United States presidential election results for Mesa County, Colorado[15][16] Year  | Republican | Democratic | Third party

|
|
|

No. | % | No. | % | No. | %
2020 | 56,894  | 62.78% | 31,536  | 34.80%  | 2,193  | 2.42%
2016 | 49,779  | 64.10% | 21,729  | 27.98%  | 6,146  | 7.91%
2012 | 47,472  | 65.08% | 23,846  | 32.69%  | 1,629  | 2.23%
2008 | 44,578  | 64.02% | 24,008  | 34.48%  | 1,045  | 1.50%
2004 | 41,539  | 67.12% | 19,564  | 31.61%  | 782  | 1.26%
2000 | 32,396  | 63.45% | 15,465  | 30.29%  | 3,193  | 6.25%
1996 | 24,761  | 53.12% | 17,114  | 36.72%  | 4,737  | 10.16%
1992 | 18,169  | 41.23% | 15,162  | 34.41%  | 10,736  | 24.36%
1988 | 22,150  | 59.62% | 14,372  | 38.68%  | 633  | 1.70%
1984 | 23,736  | 69.66% | 9,938  | 29.17%  | 400  | 1.17%
1980 | 22,686  | 68.92% | 7,549  | 22.93%  | 2,681  | 8.14%
1976 | 17,924  | 65.44% | 8,807  | 32.15%  | 659  | 2.41%
1972 | 15,527  | 68.66% | 6,358  | 28.12%  | 728  | 3.22%
1968 | 10,745  | 49.58% | 8,775  | 40.49%  | 2,151  | 9.93%
1964 | 8,317  | 39.45%  | 12,716  | 60.32% | 49  | 0.23%
1960 | 13,015  | 58.81% | 9,072  | 40.99%  | 45  | 0.20%
1956 | 12,869  | 62.79% | 7,567  | 36.92%  | 60  | 0.29%
1952 | 11,883  | 63.06% | 6,883  | 36.52%  | 79  | 0.42%
1948 | 6,586  | 43.37%  | 8,401  | 55.32% | 198  | 1.30%
1944 | 6,653  | 48.93%  | 6,870  | 50.52% | 75  | 0.55%
1940 | 7,049  | 47.27%  | 7,694  | 51.60% | 169  | 1.13%
1936 | 3,654  | 29.47%  | 7,824  | 63.10% | 921  | 7.43%
1932 | 4,388  | 37.16%  | 6,682  | 56.59% | 737  | 6.24%
1928 | 6,446  | 65.76% | 3,223  | 32.88%  | 133  | 1.36%
1924 | 4,053  | 45.53% | 2,388  | 26.83%  | 2,461  | 27.65%
1920 | 3,621  | 49.80% | 3,138  | 43.16%  | 512  | 7.04%
1916 | 2,223  | 30.06%  | 4,394  | 59.42% | 778  | 10.52%
1912 | 976  | 12.47%  | 2,733  | 34.93% | 4,115  | 52.59%
1908 | 3,049  | 44.87% | 2,824  | 41.56%  | 922  | 13.57%
1904 | 2,783  | 58.45% | 1,555  | 32.66%  | 423  | 8.88%
1900 | 1,317  | 37.27%  | 1,968  | 55.69% | 249  | 7.05%
1896 | 469  | 15.81%  | 2,374  | 80.04% | 123  | 4.15%
1892 | 529  | 42.76%  | 0  | 0.00%  | 708  | 57.24%
1888 | 440  | 49.49% | 388  | 43.64%  | 61  | 6.86%
1884 | 353  | 51.38% | 329  | 47.89%  | 5  | 0.73%

## Communities[edit | edit source]

### Cities[edit | edit source]

* Fruita
* Grand Junction

### Towns[edit | edit source]

* Collbran
* De Beque
* Palisade

### Census-designated places[edit | edit source]

* Clifton
* Fruitvale
* Loma
* Orchard Mesa
* Redlands

### Other unincorporated places[edit | edit source]

* Carpenter
* Gateway
* Mack
* Mesa
* Molina
* Plateau City
* Whitewater

## Transportation[edit | edit source]

### Road[edit | edit source]

* File:I-70.svg Interstate 70 runs from Interstate 15 in Cove Fort, Utah to Baltimore, Maryland, connecting Grand Junction to Denver, Kansas City, St. Louis, Indianapolis, and Columbus. Via Interstate 15, it connects Grand Junction with Las Vegas, Nevada, and southern California.
* File:US 6.svg U.S. Highway 6 serves 14 states, running east–west from Provincetown, Massachusetts, to Bishop, California. In Colorado, it generally runs parallel to Interstate 76 and Interstate 70.
* File:US 50.svg U.S. Highway 50 crosses 12 states, linking Ocean City, Maryland, with Sacramento, California. In Colorado, U.S. 50 connects Grand Junction with Montrose, Gunnison, and Pueblo, and to the west, it travels into the state of Utah.
* File:Colorado 340.svg SH 340 runs east–west, starting at First Street in downtown Grand Junction, traversing the Redlands and ending at U.S. Highway 6 and U.S. Highway 50 in Fruita.

### Air[edit | edit source]

Downtown Grand Junction is 4.8 mies from Grand Junction Regional Airport, 25 miles from Mack Mesa Airport and 12.6 miles from Pinyon Airport.

### Train[edit | edit source]

An Amtrak station is in downtown Grand Junction. The California Zephyr makes daily stops on its way between San Francisco and Chicago.

### Bus[edit | edit source]

A Greyhound bus station is in Grand Junction. Grand Valley Transit serves the area's eleven fixed routes.

## See also[edit | edit source]

* Outline of Colorado
* Index of Colorado-related articles
* Colorado census statistical areas
* Grand Valley AVA
* Grand Junction Metropolitan Statistical Area
* National Register of Historic Places listings in Mesa County, Colorado
* Mesa County Public Library District

## References[edit | edit source]

1. ^ a b c "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved September 5, 2021.
2. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
3. ^ "OMB Bulletin No. 10-02: Update of Statistical Area Definitions and Guidance on Their Uses" (PDF). Office of Management and Budget. December 1, 2009. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 21, 2017. Retrieved April 19, 2012 - via National Archives.
4. ^ See the Colorado census statistical areas.
5. ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. February 12, 2011. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
6. ^ "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved June 8, 2014.
7. ^ "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved June 8, 2014.
8. ^ "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved June 8, 2014.
9. ^ "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. Retrieved June 8, 2014.
10. ^ "U.S. Census website". Retrieved March 23, 2016.
11. ^ Birkeland, Bente After Data Is Posted On Conspiracy Website, Colo. County's Voting Machines Are Banned National Public Radio, August 12, 2021.
12. ^ Verlee, Megan ‘We Got Lucky’ That Missing Mesa Ballot Situation Wasn’t Worse, Elections Chief Says Colorado Public Radio, February 27, 2020.
13. ^ Birkeland, Bente (March 8, 2022). "Colorado clerk indicted on 13 counts of election tampering and misconduct". National Public Radio.
14. ^ Hindi, Saja (May 10, 2022). "Election-denying clerk Tina Peters, deputy Belinda Knisley barred from overseeing 2022 elections in Mesa County". The Denver Post.
15. ^ Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved May 26, 2017.
16. ^ http://geoelections.free.fr/. Retrieved January 13, 2021. `{{cite web}}`: Missing or empty `|title=` (help)

## External links[edit | edit source]

* Mesa County official website
* Colorado County Evolution by Don Stanwyck
* Colorado Historical Society

Places adjacent to Mesa County, Colorado

|  | Garfield County |

|
|

|  |
Grand County, Utah |

WestMesa County, ColoradoEast

| Pitkin County and Gunnison County
| South |
| Montrose County | Delta County

* v
* t
* e

Municipalities and communities of Mesa County, Colorado, United States

County seat: Grand Junction

Cities|

* Fruita
* Grand Junction

Map of Colorado highlighting Mesa County

Towns|

* Collbran
* De Beque
* Palisade

CDPs|

* Clifton
* Fruitvale
* Loma
* Orchard Mesa
* Redlands

Unincorporated
communities|

* Gateway
* Glade Park
* Mack
* Mesa
* Molina
* Whitewater

Ghost towns|

* Cameo
* Carpenter

* United States portal

* v
* t
* e

State of Colorado

Denver (capital)

Topics|

* Bibliography
* Index
* Outline
* Colleges
* Coloradans
* Elections
* Federal lands
* Geography
* Government
* Highways
* Historic places
* History
* Images
* Indian reservations
* Law
* Military
* Mountains
* Municipalities
* Museums
* National Forests
* National Parks
* Paleontology
* Prehistoric sites
* Prehistory
* Protected areas
* Railroads
* Rivers
* Scenic & Historic Byways
* Slavery
* Statistical areas
* Symbols
* Timeline
* Tourist attractions
* Trails
* Transportation
* Wildernesses

Society|

* Crime
* Culture
* Demographics
* Economy
* Education
* Politics
* Religion
* Sports

Cities|

* Alamosa
* Arvada
* Aspen
* Aurora
* Black Hawk
* Boulder
* Brighton
* Broomfield
* Brush
* Burlington
* Cañon City
* Castle Pines
* Centennial
* Central City
* Cherry Hills Village
* Colorado Springs
* Commerce City
* Cortez
* Craig
* Cripple Creek
* Dacono
* Delta
* Denver
* Durango
* Edgewater
* Englewood
* Evans
* Federal Heights
* Florence
* Fort Collins
* Fort Lupton
* Fort Morgan
* Fountain
* Fruita
* Glendale
* Glenwood Springs
* Golden
* Grand Junction
* Greeley
* Greenwood Village
* Gunnison
* Holyoke
* Idaho Springs
* La Junta
* Lafayette
* Lakewood
* Lamar
* Las Animas
* Leadville
* Littleton
* Lone Tree
* Longmont
* Louisville
* Loveland
* Manitou Springs
* Monte Vista
* Montrose
* Northglenn
* Ouray
* Pueblo
* Rifle
* Rocky Ford
* Salida
* Sheridan
* Steamboat Springs
* Sterling
* Thornton
* Trinidad
* Victor
* Walsenburg
* Westminster
* Wheat Ridge
* Woodland Park
* Wray
* Yuma

Counties|

* Adams
* Alamosa
* Arapahoe
* Archuleta
* Baca
* Bent
* Boulder
* Broomfield
* Chaffee
* Cheyenne
* Clear Creek
* Conejos
* Costilla
* Crowley
* Custer
* Delta
* Denver
* Dolores
* Douglas
* Eagle
* El Paso
* Elbert
* Fremont
* Garfield
* Gilpin
* Grand
* Gunnison
* Hinsdale
* Huerfano
* Jackson
* Jefferson
* Kiowa
* Kit Carson
* La Plata
* Lake
* Larimer
* Las Animas
* Lincoln
* Logan
* Mesa
* Mineral
* Moffat
* Montezuma
* Montrose
* Morgan
* Otero
* Ouray
* Park
* Phillips
* Pitkin
* Prowers
* Pueblo
* Rio Blanco
* Rio Grande
* Routt
* Saguache
* San Juan
* San Miguel
* Sedgwick
* Summit
* Teller
* Washington
* Weld
* Yuma

Regions|

* Central Colorado
* Colorado Eastern Plains
* Colorado Mineral Belt
* Colorado Piedmont
* Colorado Plateau
* Colorado Western Slope
* Denver Metropolitan Area
* Four Corners Region
* Front Range Urban Corridor
* High Plains
* North Central Colorado Urban Area
* Northwestern Colorado
* San Luis Valley
* South-Central Colorado
* South Central Colorado Urban Area
* Southern Rocky Mountains
* Southwestern Colorado

Coordinates: 39°01′N 108°28′W﻿ / ﻿39.02°N 108.47°W﻿ / 39.02; -108.47
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