States · Colorado · Mesa County

Orchard Mesa, Colorado.

A community in Mesa County, with no city government of its own. Zillow publishes no home prices for it: see Mesa County’s.

Living in Orchard Mesa, Mesa County, Colorado

Orchard Mesa, in Mesa County, had 6,688 people in the 2020 census. Half its households earn more than $80,359 a year and half less, against $73,658 across Mesa County; 4% of its people live below the poverty line. 88% of its homes are lived in by their owners and 12% are rented. Unemployment in Mesa County was 4.6% in August 2026, and the county had 0.1% more jobs in 2025 than the year before. The most residents work in schools and health care, then construction.

People 6,688 in the 2020 census
Household income $80,359 the median, give or take $11,763 · Mesa County: $73,658
Unemployment 4.6% Mesa County, August 2026; 3.8% a year before
Homes 88% lived in by their owners; 12% rented
  • 2,553households
  • 22%of adults have a degree
  • 4%below the poverty line
  • 18 mintypical commute
  • 17%work from home

What residents work in

  • Schools, hospitals and social care22%
  • Building trades16%
  • Shops (retail)15%
  • Professional and business services11%
  • Manufacturing9%
  • Banks, insurance and property9%

Employed residents by industry, from the Census survey. Mesa County had 66,902 jobs in 2025, 0.1% more than the year before (Bureau of Labor Statistics).

Weather through the year

Average daily high and low for each month: coldest in January, 39° and 19°; warmest in July, 93° and 65° 20° 40° 60° 80° 100° J 39° 19° F M A M J J 93° 65° A S O N D
Average daily high and low for each month: coldest in January, 39° and 19°; warmest in July, 93° and 65° 20° 40° 60° 80° 100° J 39° 19° F M A M J J 93° 65° A S O N D

Coldest in January, with highs near 39° and lows near 19°; warmest in July, with highs near 93° and lows near 65°. About 13 inches of snow and 9 inches of rain and melted snow a year.

Average daily high and low, 1991–2020, at the Grand Junction 6ESE weather station, 3 miles away (NOAA).

Largest workplaces in Mesa County

  1. Mesa County Valley School District No. 51School district2,785FTE
  2. St. Marys Hospital & Medical CenterGeneral hospital1,453FTE
  3. Colorado Mesa UniversityUniversity or college1,182
  4. Community HospitalGeneral hospital1,039FTE
  5. Veterans Health AdministrationFederal government · Department of Veterans Affairs936
  6. West Star Aviation - GJTAviation maintenance and repair services588
  7. FCI ConstructorsCommercial building construction476
  8. Willow Creek CompaniesConstruction management, oil and gas pipeline471

Staff on average in 2025, as each workplace reported it to OSHA with its injury records: 134 workplaces with 20 or more staff, 15,745 people in all across the county; Orchard Mesa has two of its own. School districts come from the Common Core of Data (NCES, 2023–24), hospitals from their Medicare cost reports (CMS, 2023), colleges from IPEDS (NCES, 2023–24) and federal offices from OPM's federal workforce data (2026); FTE marks full-time equivalent staff. Not listed: many offices and banks, which need not report to OSHA; military bases, whose staff OPM withholds; and, in about half the states, city and county governments.

Natural hazards

  1. LightningVery high
  2. Inland floodingRelatively moderate
  3. Winter weatherRelatively moderate

FEMA’s National Risk Index (December 2025) rates the risk each natural hazard poses to the people, buildings and farms in Orchard Mesa’s census tracts, against the rest of the country; all of them together, relatively low. It is meant for planning, not a substitute for a local risk assessment or a flood map: FEMA’s index.

From the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2020 census and its American Community Survey (2020–2024 five-year estimates), and the Bureau of Labor Statistics. A survey, so each figure has a margin of error, and figures it is not sure of are left out. More on Mesa County.