Mesa County, Colorado

Mesa County
County
Old Mesa County Courthouse in Grand Junction
Location within the U.S. state of Colorado
Colorado's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 39°01′N108°28′W / 39.02°N 108.47°W / 39.02; -108.47
Country	United States
State	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  (2020)
• Total	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

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 and most populous municipality is Grand Junction. ^[2] The county was named for the many large mesas in the area, including the Grand Mesa, which is the largest flat-topped mountain in the world.

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.

Geography

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

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

Major highways

• Interstate 70
• I-70 BL
• I-70 BL
• U.S. Highway 6
• U.S. Highway 50
• State Highway 65
• State Highway 139
• State Highway 141
• State Highway 330
• State Highway 340
• 45 1/2 Rd

National protected areas

• 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

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

Trails and byways

• 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

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
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%
2023 (est.)	159,681	[6]	2.6%
U.S. Decennial Census [7] 1790-1960 [8] 1900-1990 [9] 1990-2000 [10] 2010-2020 [1]

As of the census ^[11] 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 (17.0 people/km²). There were 62,644 housing units. According to 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, 25.00% of the population was under the age of 18, 9.40% was from 18 to 24, 26.70% from 25 to 44, 23.70% from 45 to 64, and 15.20% was 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

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

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. ^[12]

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. ^[13]

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. ^[14] 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. ^[15]

United States presidential election results for Mesa County, Colorado ^{[16] [17]}

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

Cities

• Fruita
• Grand Junction

Towns

• Collbran
• De Beque
• Palisade

Census-designated places

• Clifton
• Fruitvale
• Loma
• Orchard Mesa
• Redlands

Other unincorporated places

• Cameo
• Carpenter
• Gateway
• Glade Park
• Mack
• Mesa
• Molina
• Plateau City, Colorado
• Whitewater

Transportation

Road

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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

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

Train

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

Bus

A regional Bustang bus stop is in Grand Junction. Grand Valley Transit serves the area's eleven fixed routes.

See also

• Government portal
• History portal
• Mountains portal
• United States portal
• Colorado portal

• Bibliography of Colorado
• Geography of Colorado
• History of Colorado
  • National Register of Historic Places listings in Mesa County, Colorado
• Index of Colorado-related articles
• List of Colorado-related lists
  • List of counties in Colorado
  • List of statistical areas in Colorado
• Outline of Colorado
  • Grand Valley AVA
  • Mesa County Public Library District

References

1. "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. "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Counties: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2023". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 31, 2024.
7. "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved June 8, 2014.
8. "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved June 8, 2014.
9. "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved June 8, 2014.
10. "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 27, 2010. Retrieved June 8, 2014.
11. "U.S. Census website" . Retrieved March 23, 2016.
12. Birkeland, Bente After Data Is Posted On Conspiracy Website, Colo. County's Voting Machines Are Banned National Public Radio, August 12, 2021.
13. Verlee, Megan 'We Got Lucky' That Missing Mesa Ballot Situation Wasn't Worse, Elections Chief Says Colorado Public Radio, February 27, 2020.
14. Birkeland, Bente (March 8, 2022). "Colorado clerk indicted on 13 counts of election tampering and misconduct". National Public Radio.
15. Hindi, Saja (May 10, 2022). "Election-denying clerk Tina Peters, deputy Belinda Knisley barred from overseeing 2022 elections in Mesa County". The Denver Post.
16. Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved May 26, 2017.
17. https://web.archive.org/web/20051118120032/http://geoelections.free.fr/. Archived from the original on November 18, 2005. Retrieved January 13, 2021.{{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)

External links

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

39°01′N108°28′W / 39.02°N 108.47°W / 39.02; -108.47