# Mesa County, Colorado

Mesa County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 155,703, making it the most populous county in western Colorado, and 11th most populous in the state. The county seat and most populous municipality is Grand Junction. 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. In 2020 it ranked as the 271st most populous metropolitan area in the United States. 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 km$^2$), of which 3,329 square miles (8,620 km$^2$) is land and 12 square miles (31 km$^2$) (0.4%) is water. 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

As of the census 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/km$^2$). 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.

## Education

Much of Mesa County, namely the communities of Grand Junction, Fruita, Palisade, and De Beque, is served by Mesa County Valley School District 51. This district serves nearly 21,000 students across 47 schools, making it by far the largest school district in western Colorado. The Plateau Valley School District serves the more remote eastern portion of the county, serving students in the communities of Collbran, Mesa, and Molina.
Colorado Mesa University, a public liberal arts university serving roughly 9,000 students annually, is located in Grand Junction. CMU is western Colorado's largest university, making Mesa County an epicenter of the region's higher education. Grand Junction is also home to IntelliTec College, which offers professional certificates.

## 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 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.
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.
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. 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.
On August 12, 2024, Peters was convicted on seven of the ten charges against her, including four felonies. A Mesa County jury found Peters guilty on three counts of attempting to influence a public servant, and one count each of conspiracy to commit criminal impersonation, official misconduct, violation of duty, and failure to comply with the Secretary of State. She was acquitted on the remaining three charges against her, which included identity theft and criminal impersonation.
On October 3, 2024, Peters was sentenced to a total of 9 years in prison, with the first 6 months of her sentence to be served in the Mesa County Detention Facility, and the remaining 8.5 years to be served in the Colorado Department of Corrections. Peters was also fined a total of $3,000.
United States presidential election results for Mesa County, Colorado :
| Year | Republican | Republican | Democratic | Democratic | Third party(ies) | Third party(ies) |
| Year | No. | % | No. | % | No. | % |
| 2024 | 55,839 | 60.95% | 33,573 | 36.64% | 2,208 | 2.41% |
| 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 (county seat)

### 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
* 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.