Grand Junction, Colorado, United States

🇺🇸 The City of Grand Junction is a home rule municipality that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Mesa County, Colorado, United States. The city is the 17th most populous Colorado municipality and the most populous city in western Colorado. Grand Junction is the principal city of the Grand Junction, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area. Grand Junction is 247 miles west-south-west of the Colorado State Capitol in Denver. The city has a council–manager form of government. It is a major commercial and transportation hub within the large area between the Green River and the Continental Divide, and the largest city in Colorado outside of the Front Range Corridor.

Description Grand Junction is 247 miles (398 km) west-southwest of the Colorado State Capitol in Denver. The city has a council–manager form of government. It is a major commercial and transportation hub within the large area between the Green River and the Continental Divide, and the largest city in Colorado outside of the Front Range Corridor.

The city is along the Colorado River, at its confluence with the Gunnison River, which comes in from the south. "Grand" refers to the historical Grand River, renamed the Upper Colorado River in 1921. "Junction" refers to the confluence of the Colorado and Gunnison rivers. Grand Junction has been nicknamed "River City". It is near the midpoint of a 30-mile (48 km) arcing valley, known as the Grand Valley; since the late 19th century it has been a major fruit-growing region. The valley was long occupied by the Ute people and earlier indigenous cultures. It was not settled by European-American farmers until the 1880s. Since the late 20th century, several wineries have been established in the area.

The Colorado National Monument, a unique series of canyons and mesas, overlooks the city on the west. Most of the area is surrounded by federal public lands managed by the US Bureau of Land Management. Interstate 70 connects the city eastward to Glenwood Springs and Denver and westward to Green River, Utah; Salt Lake City is reached to the west via Interstate 70 and U.S Route 6; and Las Vegas (via Interstate 70 and Interstate 15).

History In September 1881, the former Ute Indian Territory was abolished and the Utes were forced into a reservation so that the U.S. government could open the area to settlers. Clinton County, Pennsylvania-born George Addison Crawford (1827–91) soon purchased a plot of land. On July 22, 1882, he incorporated the town of Grand Junction and planted Colorado's first vineyard near Palisade, Colorado, causing the area to become known as the Colorado Wine Country. Grand Junction also has a storied past with gunfighters, miners, and early settlers of the American Southwest. Prior to its incorporation as the city of Grand Junction, the community was known as Ute, and was also briefly called West Denver.

The narrow gauge Denver and Rio Grande Railroad reached Grand Junction from the south-east, from Pueblo via Gunnison in 1882, followed in 1890 by the standard gauge Rio Grande Junction Railway from the north-east, from New Castle (jointly owned by the D&RG and the Colorado Midland). These greatly contributed to the expansion and settlement of the area.

Geography At the 2020 United States census, the city had a total area of 25,649 acres (103.799 km²) (40.077 sq mi) including 283 acres (1.147 km²) (.443 sq mi) of water.

Demographics Grand Junction is the principal city of the Grand Junction, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area.

As of the census of 2000, there were 41,986 people, 17,865 households, and 10,540 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,362.6 inhabitants per square mile (526.1/km²). There were 18,784 housing units at an average density of 609.6 per square mile (235.4/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 91.78% White, 0.60% African American, 0.94% Native American, 0.76% Asian, 0.12% Pacific Islander, 3.81% from other races, and 1.99% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race were 10.86% of the population.

There were 17,865 households, out of which 25.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.1% were married couples living together, 9.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.0% were non-families. Of all households 33.2% were made up of individuals, and 13.8% had one living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.23 and the average family size was 2.84.

In the city, 21.2% of the population was under the age of 18, 11.9% was from 18 to 24, 26.3% from 25 to 44, 22.8% from 45 to 64, and 17.9% was 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.6 males.

The population figures are for Grand Junction only; the city abuts smaller towns and unincorporated county areas which contribute to area commerce.

The median income for a household in the city was $33,152, and the median income for a family was $43,851. Males had a median income of $31,685 versus $22,804 for females. The per capita income for the city was $19,692. About 7.5% of families and 11.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.8% of those under age 18 and 9.0% of those age 65 or over.

Economy Three of the main economic activities in the region were farming, fruit growing, and cattle raising. Fruit orchards, particularly between Grand Junction and Palisade to the east, remain important to the region's reputation and economy to the present day. Fruits most often grown are peaches, pears, apricots, plums, cherries, and, particularly since the 1980s, grapes for wine. In this semi-arid environment, these orchards thrive from a combination of abundant sunshine and irrigation from a system of canals that divert water from the Colorado River.

Attempts were made to establish sugar beet farming and beet sugar production with the Campion-Boettcher group establishing the Great Western Sugar Company.

Retail sales have been important to the economy for decades (e.g., gasoline, and hunting and fishing related sales), and uranium mining-related activities have also been significant.

Education and healthcare have been important to the economy of the area, especially since the 1950s, with the rise of Colorado Mesa University and St. Mary's Hospital as leading employers in these fields.

Vast oil shale reserves were known to exist near Parachute, Colorado in the Piceance Basin. The oil embargoes of the 1970s and high gas prices resulted in major financial interest in the region. Exxon purchased rights and used Grand Junction as its seat of operations. The city and the surrounding Grand Valley became prosperous in the 1970s and early 1980s largely because of the effects of oil shale development. The United States, western Colorado in particular, has the largest-known concentration of oil shale in the world (according to the Bureau of Land Management) and holds an estimated 800 gigabarrels of recoverable oil, enough to meet U.S. demand for oil at current levels for 110 years. Known as the "Rock That Burns", the shale can be mined and processed to produce oil. In the past it was significantly more expensive than conventional oil. Sustained prices above $95 per barrel, however, may make extraction economically attractive in the coming years. ExxonMobil pulled out of the region because of lower oil prices, which led to economic hardship in the region.

By 2008, the economy of Grand Junction appeared to be more diverse and stable than it had been in previous decades. Major contributors to the economy were health care, tourism, agriculture, livestock, and energy mining (gas and oil). Major energy companies had once again invested large amounts of money due to increases in oil and natural gas prices. However, a major drop of market natural gas prices led to reduced gas well drilling and related capital expenditures in the area, significantly slowing the Grand Junction economy in 2009.

By 2008, Grand Junction was being discovered by the "nation's elite business and leisure travelers" as a destination for private jet travel, with nearby Powderhorn Resort and other ski resorts a major attraction.

Economy: Top employers According to a recent Financial Report, the top employers are: 1 Mesa County Valley School District 51; 2 St. Mary's Hospital; 3 Mesa County; 4 State of Colorado; 5 Colorado Mesa University; 6 City Markets, Inc.; 7 Community Hospital; 8 Grand Junction VA Medical Center; 9 Star Tek USA; 10 City of Grand Junction.

Sport Grand Junction's Colorado National Monument was home to a stage in the Coors Classic bicycle race known as "The Tour of the Moon" due to the Monument's unique landscape.

Since 1958, the JUCO World Series has been played at Suplizio Field. The city also has a professional Minor League Baseball team, the Grand Junction Jackalopes, who play in the Pioneer Baseball League. The Jackalopes were formerly known as the Grand Junction Rockies and were a minor league affiliate of the Colorado Rockies, but became independent in 2020.

Both Suplizio Field and Stocker Stadium also host Colorado Mesa University as well as School District 51 sporting events.

Parks and recreation The Grand Junction area has developed as a mountain biking destination, with many bikers coming from the Front Range of Colorado, the Salt Lake City area, and as far away as California to enjoy the area's abundant single-track trails. Two prominent trails are the Tabeguache and Kokopelli trails, the latter running from near Loma to Moab, Utah. Fruita, Colorado, with its 18-Road trail system, is within 10 miles of the city and has become a major mountain biking destination.

Education The Mesa Valley School District No. 51 provides comprehensive K–12 public education to the Grand Junction area. School District 51 operates five high schools: • Fruita Monument High School • Grand Junction High School • Central High School • Palisade High School • R-5 High School; In addition, the district operates numerous middle, elementary, and other types of schools, including East Middle School, Redlands Middle School, and West Middle School. District 51 partners with CMU Tech to operate a vocational school, owned and operated by Colorado Mesa University. CMU Tech was formerly named Western Colorado Community College.

Education: University Colorado Mesa University, a public university, serves as the primary provider of higher education on the Western Slope from its campus in central Grand Junction. This campus has an average enrollment of just under 10,000 students and offers a variety of degrees, including a Masters in Business Administration, Educational Leadership, and ESOL. The university also operates CMU Tech, a community college offering associates degrees and professional certificates. Also located in Grand Junction is IntelliTec College, a private for-profit technical college offering professional certificates.

Media: Radio The Grand Junction radio market includes all of Mesa County, Colorado. Six AM radio stations and more than 25 FM stations are licensed to broadcast from the city.

Media: Print Grand Junction is serviced by one local newspaper, the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel. The Grand Junction area also receives newspaper influence from sources in the greater Denver front range area.

Media: Television Grand Junction has ABC, NBC, and CBS television station affiliates under the call signs of KJCT-TV (Channel 8), KKCO-TV (Channel 11), and KREX-TV (Channel 5), respectively. Also, Grand Junction has a Fox (Channel 4) affiliate station under the call sign of KFQX that receives news from the Denver FOX affiliate, KDVR (Channel 31) at 9 pm. KLML (Channel 20) broadcasts Cozi TV programming. KRMJ (Channel 18) is the local PBS affiliate, part of the statewide Rocky Mountain PBS network.

Transport Grand Junction Regional Airport (formerly Walker Field Airport) serves as the major airport in the area. It is the largest airport in western Colorado, and the third-largest in the state, behind Denver International Airport and the Colorado Springs Airport. As of 2025, the Grand Junction Regional Airport offers direct flights to Denver, Dallas–Fort Worth, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Salt Lake City, Phoenix, San Francisco, and Santa Ana, as well as one-stop flights to Provo, Utah. In January 2025, the airport began offering one-stop direct flights to Hartford, Connecticut, with a stop in Las Vegas.

Railroad freight service is provided by Union Pacific, with BNSF trackage rights. Amtrak, the national passenger rail system, provides service to Grand Junction Station, operating its California Zephyr daily on the UP trackage in both directions between Chicago and Emeryville, California, across the bay from San Francisco.

Bustang, Colorado's state-run bus system, provides intercity bus service to the city. There are two bus lines that include Grand Junction. The West line connects to Denver, while the Outrider line connects to Durango. Both of these have multiple stops between the final destinations, and the West line has options to transfer to alternative lines.

Grand Valley Transit (GVT) is a regional transit system serving the Grand Valley. It operates 11 bus routes in the area as well as a "dial-a-ride" service.

The city also offers a shared micromobility program that was launched in May 2023. The city has allowed the companies Bird and Lime to rent out the e-scooters via their respective mobile apps.

Grand Junction has a growing network of mixed-use pedestrian and bicycle trails. The riverfront trail system, which runs next to Colorado River, extends from Loma to Palisade, with missing sections between Las Colonias Park and 29 Rd, and 33 1/2 Rd to 36 1/4 Rd. The monument trail provides a connection from the riverfront trail and the downtown core to the Lunch Loops. In 2023, the city council passed the pedestrian and bicycle plan, a visionary document to promote better connectivity. In the same year, the city passed a revised Transportation and Engineering Design Standards (TEDS) to provide clearer guidelines for the development of new bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure. In 2024, the city was awarded a silver designation by the League of American Bicyclists.

Transport: 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.