81403 — Montrose, Colorado

Area Profile

Income, jobs, climate, physical risk and development data for ZIP code 81403. Its median home value runs 33% above Montrose as a whole, which is why this ZIP carries a profile of its own.

56out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 41% of 3,113 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 12 sources
OpportunityTop 29% of 3,116 ZIP areas measured64
Schools1,878th of 3,047 ZIP areas measured41
GrowthTop 11% of 3,124 ZIP areas measured72
Housing affordability2,652nd of 3,112 ZIP areas measured47
Climate2,853rd of 3,127 ZIP areas measured58
Physical resilience2,249th of 3,127 ZIP areas measured37
AccessTop 24% of 3,127 ZIP areas measured97
Economic stabilityTop 49% of 3,127 ZIP areas measured55
The quick read

Unemployment is 4.2% and median household income $80,893, putting employment conditions in the middle range of ZIP areas measured. The unemployment rate is published for Montrose, CO, which contains 81403, rather than for 81403 alone.

In the public schools here, 29% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 17.7 students for every teacher. Math proficiency and 1 other measure here are published for Montrose, CO, which contains 81403, rather than for 81403 alone.

Development activity is both elevated and accelerating — 173 housing units permitted over the past twelve months, up 18% on the prior year. The permit count and 1 other measure here are published for Montrose, CO, which contains 81403, rather than for 81403 alone.

These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.

At a glance

Population
12,138
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$80,893
Top 37% nationally
Density
24/sq mi
505.7 sq mi of land
Median age
50.6
2024 ACS 5-Year
City
Montrose
Colorado
Micro area
Nearest major airport
MTJ
14 mi · Montrose Rgnl
Median home value
$515,300
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment across Montrose, CO, which contains 81403, is 4.2%, lower than in 58% of the 3,127 measured US ZIP areas.

Employment across Montrose, CO, which contains 81403, fell 0.7% over the past year, to 19,557 employed residents.

35% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 74% of measured US ZIP areas.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsMontrose County, CO’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$70,26153rd percentileof 2,996filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftMontrose County, CO’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$60,55432nd percentileof 2,996filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$11,6712024 ACS 5-Year$80,893Top 37%of 31,0492024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$4,3462024 ACS 5-Year$41,675Top 35%of 32,8222024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±6%2024 ACS 5-Year10.2%Top 50%of 32,8462024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.9 min2024 ACS 5-Year22.3 minTop 21%of 32,8872024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year35.0%Top 26%of 33,1932024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year80.7%69th percentileof 32,7982024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentMontrose, CO’s figureJuly 202619,557Bottom 18%of 3,127July 2026
Employment change (3 years)Montrose, CO’s figureJuly 2026+3.5%Top 12%of 3,127July 2026
Employment change (year over year)Montrose, CO’s figureJuly 2026−0.7%Top 50%of 3,127July 2026
Labor forceMontrose, CO’s figureJuly 202620,40818th percentileof 3,127July 2026
Labor force participation ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year77.4%Bottom 47%of 32,8832024 ACS 5-Year
Public transit to work ±0.4%2024 ACS 5-Year0.1%61st percentileof 32,7982024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)Montrose, CO’s figureJuly 2026+0.3%Bottom 28%of 3,127July 2026
Unemployment rateMontrose, CO’s figureJuly 20264.2%Top 42%of 3,127July 2026
Worked from home ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year9.6%49th percentileof 32,7982024 ACS 5-Year

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202481k67k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $80,893 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish labor-force data for ZIP areas. This is the figure for Montrose, CO, the city containing this ZIP code.

29% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 44% in reading, across the schools here that reported results. Math proficiency and 1 other measure here are published for Montrose, CO, which contains 81403, rather than for 81403 alone.

There are 17.7 students for every full-time teacher across 1 public school, more than in most measured places. The student-teacher ratio is published for Montrose, CO, which contains 81403, rather than for 81403 alone.

Public schools
1
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
17.7
across all schools here
Math proficiency
28.7%
Bottom 44% in Colorado
Reading proficiency
44.3%
Bottom 46% in Colorado

The proficiency and staffing figures above are for Montrose, CO: too few schools in 81403 reported a usable figure on their own to weight one honestly. The schools listed below are this place’s own.

The one public school on record, largest first. None of them has a proficiency figure in the federal file.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacher
Outer RangeMontrose County School District Re-1J718.9

39.4% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with, not how the schools perform, so it is shown and not scored.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against Colorado’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the non-metropolitan parts of Colorado is up 46% over five years, and up 2.8% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $1,816 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.35% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,168, below the $1,369 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,168 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $46,700 a year, about 58% of the median household income here of $80,893.

The typical renter household here spends 29% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,369 a month.

A median home at $515,300 costs 5.9 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $86,881, well above the historic benchmark, at a level conventionally described as seriously unaffordable.

Rent as a share of income
29.2%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
5.9×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,168
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$1,369
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$515,300
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against 81403’s median household income of $80,893, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Home price change (1 year)the non-metropolitan parts of Colorado’s figure2026 Q2+2.8%44th percentileof 3,0712026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the non-metropolitan parts of Colorado’s figure2026 Q2+46.4%65th percentileof 3,0712026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the non-metropolitan parts of Colorado’s figure2026 Q2+114.4%79th percentileof 3,0712026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.72024 ACS 5-Year5.9Bottom 5%of 29,2752024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year82.8%61st percentileof 32,7502024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±3322024 ACS 5-Year5,46073rd percentileof 33,4602024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$890Top 17%of 3,031FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,624Top 32%of 3,031FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,168Top 24%of 3,031FY2026
Median gross rent ±$712024 ACS 5-Year$1,369Bottom 26%of 26,3962024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$42,5592024 ACS 5-Year$515,30088th percentileof 30,8122024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$2092024 ACS 5-Year$1,81646th percentileof 28,9352024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$6,9252024 ACS 5-Year$86,881Top 44%of 29,8022024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.05%2024 ACS 5-Year0.35%4th percentileof 24,0992024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±15%2024 ACS 5-Year29.2%Bottom 45%of 26,2472024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±872024 ACS 5-Year18184th percentileof 33,7722024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year3.3%66th percentileof 32,9612024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year3.5%25th percentileof 32,7882024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±1372024 ACS 5-Year37267th percentileof 33,7722024 ACS 5-Year

These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures.

Development Momentum

72/ 100
Top 11% of 3,124 published ZIP profiles

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

At 8.2 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US ZIP areas. The permit rate is published for Montrose, CO, which contains 81403, rather than for 81403 alone.

Units permitted
173
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
8.2
Top 18% nationally
Year over year
+18%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
38.2%
units in 5+ unit buildings

People moving in and out

Net migration
+1.3%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
47%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$70,261
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$60,554
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Delta County, CO 299 people · 12% of arrivals
  2. Mesa County, CO 202 people · 8.1% of arrivals
  3. Maricopa County, AZ 102 people · 4.1% of arrivals
  4. Ouray County, CO 95 people · 3.8% of arrivals
  5. Jefferson County, CO 78 people · 3.1% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Delta County, CO 303 people · 15% of departures
  2. Mesa County, CO 253 people · 13% of departures
  3. Ouray County, CO 76 people · 3.8% of departures
  4. El Paso County, CO 55 people · 2.8% of departures
  5. Maricopa County, AZ 53 people · 2.7% of departures

Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. This is the figure for Montrose County, CO. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

The Building Permits Survey is not published for ZIP areas. This is the figure for Montrose, CO, the city containing this ZIP code.

Weather & climate

5 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 90°F and January a low of 16°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 8.3 inches.

0°20°40°60°80°100°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station MONTROSE RGNL AP, 13.3 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND1.2"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals8.3"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals16°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals90°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals51991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals47°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

37 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, earthquake and lightning, with inland flooding alone responsible for 75% of it. Lightning is independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large that hazard is.

AvalancheModerate
WildfireModerate
EarthquakeElevated
Inland floodingElevated
DroughtModerate
Cold waveModerate

Low or minimal exposure: landslide, lightning, winter weather, ice storm, heat wave, strong wind, tornado, hail, hurricane, tsunami, volcanic activity, coastal flooding.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. ZIP values are the land-area-weighted mean of the counties the ZIP Code Tabulation Area intersects. Expected annual loss is not allocated below county level. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

These are deaths, not offenses — they say nothing about burglary, theft or assault.

Homicide
3.8
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Firearm deaths, all intents
21.2
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Drug overdose
24.9
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
24.9
per 100,000 residents

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.

Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe the county around 81403 (Montrose County) rather than 81403 itself. They are shown and not scored. How to read death rates.

What this profile does not cover

Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.

Reported crime
Offenses reported to police are published by department rather than by town, so AreaProfile shows a rate only on city profiles, and only where that city’s department submitted every month of a year. A ZIP area is not a jurisdiction, so no department reports for one. Montrose carries the figure where its department reported a full year. A partial year is never scaled up to look complete, and arrest counts or news volume are never substituted for it.
Cost of living
Price parities are published for metropolitan areas, and this place lies outside one.
Air quality
The EPA publishes an air-quality index only where a monitor sits. There is none in this county, and a modeled value would be a different kind of number from the measured ones everywhere else on this page.
Taxes
Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. Cost of living is published where the Bureau of Economic Analysis measures it, though not for this place. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

6 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Montrose Rgnl at 14 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year90.1%Top 46%of 32,6632024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle14 miTop 39%of 3,127NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle6Top 26%of 3,127NASR current cycle
No internet access ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year8.2%Bottom 48%of 32,6632024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Montrose RgnlMTJ14 mi10,000 ft
Gunnison-Crested Butte RgnlGUC56 mi9,400 ft
Grand Junction RgnlGJT64 mi9,339 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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Area Score
56
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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
Demographics, IncomeInternal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division
U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county)
filing years 2022–2023
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
SafetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
HousingU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
Fair Market Rents
FY2026
HousingU.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency
House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions)
2026 Q2
Current conditionsNOAA National Weather Service
National Weather Service current conditions
Live observation, read when the page opens

Profile recalculated October 8, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology, or every source with how often each updates.

81403 vs Montrose

How this ZIP area compares with Montrose as a whole. Both figures come from the same ACS release, so the comparison is like for like — a gap here is a real difference between the two places, not two surveys disagreeing.

81403
Montrose
Median household income: 81403 is the more favorable of the two.
Median household income
$80,893
vs
$70,386
Per capita income: 81403 is the more favorable of the two.
Per capita income
$41,675
vs
$39,045
Population density
24/sq mi
vs
1,114/sq mi
Median home value
$515,300
vs
$387,900
Median gross rent: Montrose is the more favorable of the two.
Median gross rent
$1,369
vs
$1,197
Homeownership rate
82.8%
vs
70.7%
Bachelor's degree or higher: 81403 is the more favorable of the two.
Bachelor's degree or higher
35.0%
vs
33.5%
Poverty rate: 81403 is the more favorable of the two.
Poverty rate
10.2%
vs
10.3%
Median age
50.6
vs
47.0

Some demographic statistics use Census ZIP Code Tabulation Areas, which approximate but do not exactly match USPS ZIP delivery geography. See the methodology for how AreaProfile maps between them.