Fort Morgan, CO

Micro Area Profile

29,520 residents. Jobs, income, development, climate and physical risk across the Fort Morgan, CO micropolitan area.

38out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 3% of 834 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 9 sources
Opportunity680th of 835 metro and micro areas measured35
Schools675th of 695 metro and micro areas measured7
Growth647th of 834 metro and micro areas measured34
Housing affordability713th of 835 metro and micro areas measured59
Climate732nd of 835 metro and micro areas measured55
Physical resilience704th of 835 metro and micro areas measured26
AccessTop 50% of 835 metro and micro areas measured77
Economic stabilityTop 42% of 835 metro and micro areas measured59
The quick read

Employment conditions sit below most comparable metro and micro areas measured: unemployment is 4.4% and the Opportunity signal places Fort Morgan in the bottom 19%.

In the public schools here, 22% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 15.9 students for every teacher.

Residential permitting has slowed: 39 units authorized over the past twelve months, 66% below the prior year.

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
29,520
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$73,278
Top 32% nationally
Density
23/sq mi
1,280.5 sq mi of land
Median age
37.5
2024 ACS 5-Year
Area type
Micropolitan area
Colorado
Nearest major airport
GXY
45 mi · Greeley-Weld County
Median home value
$338,600
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 4.4% — higher than in all but 42% of the 835 measured US metro and micro areas.

Employment fell 2.8% over the past year, to 13,261 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Median household income ±$2,6532024 ACS 5-Year$73,278Top 32%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$1,7222024 ACS 5-Year$32,280Bottom 28%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year14.1%Bottom 39%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.7 min2024 ACS 5-Year24.7 minBottom 43%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year17.8%Bottom 14%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year74.6%32nd percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 202613,261Bottom 9%of 835July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026−2.0%Bottom 28%of 835July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026−2.8%Bottom 12%of 835July 2026
Labor forceJuly 202613,8759th percentileof 835July 2026
Labor force participation ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year77.4%Top 41%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Public transit to work ±0.2%2024 ACS 5-Year0.0%1st percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 20260.0%Bottom 38%of 835July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20264.4%Bottom 42%of 835July 2026
Worked from home ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year8.6%48th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/076.53.0
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 4.4% in July 2026. It has been rising for the last 3 months, over a series running from 2020-01 to 2026-07. A break in the line is a month the Bureau of Labor Statistics did not publish for this area — it is left empty rather than estimated.

22% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 34% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 15.9 students for every full-time teacher across 19 public schools, more than in most measured places.

Public schools
19
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
15.9
across all schools here
Math proficiency
21.8%
Bottom 1% in Colorado
Reading proficiency
33.7%
Bottom 1% in Colorado
The 12 largest of 19 public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Fort Morgan High SchoolSchool District No. Re-3 Fort Morgan94516.921%36%
Fort Morgan Middle SchoolSchool District No. Re-3 Fort Morgan74915.323%35%
Thomson Primary SchoolSchool District No. Re-2 Brush45220.5——
Columbine Elementary SchoolSchool District No. Re-3 Fort Morgan42116.817%22%
Sherman Early Childhood CenterSchool District No. Re-3 Fort Morgan40915.7——
Brush High SchoolSchool District No. Re-2 Brush35014.627%47%
Brush Middle SchoolSchool District No. Re-2 Brush32815.617%27%
Wiggins Primary SchoolSchool District No. Re-50 Wiggins32218.9——
Baker Elementary SchoolSchool District No. Re-3 Fort Morgan32114.027%27%
Green Acres Elementary SchoolSchool District No. Re-3 Fort Morgan32016.028%34%
Beaver Valley Elementary SchoolSchool District No. Re-2 Brush29020.717%25%
Pioneer Elementary SchoolSchool District No. Re-3 Fort Morgan24311.617%27%

56.0% 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.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $1,751 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.52% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,160, some 13% above the $1,025 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,160 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $46,400 a year, about 63% of the median household income here of $73,278.

The typical renter household here spends 31% of its income on rent, above the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,025 a month.

A median home at $338,600 costs 4.1 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $83,160, above the historic benchmark of about 3 times income.

Rent as a share of income
30.9%
Above the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
4.1×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,160
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$1,025
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$338,600
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Fort Morgan’s median household income of $73,278, 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 to income ±0.32024 ACS 5-Year4.1Bottom 15%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year67.3%34th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±502024 ACS 5-Year11,8047th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$884Top 47%of 818FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,606Bottom 36%of 818FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,160Bottom 44%of 818FY2026
Median gross rent ±$1052024 ACS 5-Year$1,025Bottom 42%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$15,5542024 ACS 5-Year$338,60081st percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$1042024 ACS 5-Year$1,75143rd percentileof 9332024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$3,5412024 ACS 5-Year$83,160Top 47%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.04%2024 ACS 5-Year0.52%16th percentileof 9322024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year30.9%Bottom 25%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±1132024 ACS 5-Year23219th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year2.0%51st percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year4.3%9th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±2162024 ACS 5-Year7351st percentileof 9352024 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

34/ 100
Ranks 647 of 834 published metro profiles
The most recent move in permitting was downward, in a series running from 2024 to 2025.

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.

Population has grown 4% since 2020, reaching 30,300 in 2024.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 39 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes.

At 1.3 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US metro and micro areas.

Units permitted
39
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
1.3
Bottom 25% nationally
Year over year
−66%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202430k29k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population. It has been rising for the last 3 years, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

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 13°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 14.3 inches, including 22.7 inches of snow.

0°20°40°60°80°100°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station FT MORGAN, 3.1 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND2.4"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals14.3"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall1991-2020 Normals22.7"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals13°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals90°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals51991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals48°F1991-2020 Normals

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

Physical risk

26 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, cold wave and hail, with inland flooding alone responsible for 47% of it.

HailHigh
Cold waveElevated
TornadoHigh
Inland floodingElevated
Heat waveModerate

Low or minimal exposure: strong wind, wildfire, winter weather, ice storm, earthquake, lightning, drought, landslide, coastal flooding, avalanche, tsunami, volcanic activity, hurricane.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. This value is the population-weighted mean of all component counties; expected annual loss is their sum. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

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. City profiles inside this area carry their own figure where their 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.
Death-certificate rates
The CDC publishes these rates by county, so a metropolitan area carries none of its own. The county profiles inside it do.
Air quality
The EPA publishes an air-quality index by county, and only where a monitor sits, so a metropolitan area carries none of its own. The county profiles inside it show it where one exists.
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

7 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Greeley-Weld County at 45 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year92.6%Top 10%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle45 miBottom 44%of 835NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle7Top 6%of 835NASR current cycle
No internet access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year6.1%Top 23%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Greeley-Weld CountyGXY45 mi10,000 ft
Colorado Air and Space PortCFO51 mi8,002 ft
Denver IntlDEN53 mi16,000 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.

Customize your score

What matters to you?

Choose what you weight most heavily. Nothing is saved to an account — your preferences stay in this browser, and the Area Score never changes.

Area Score
38
Your Score
—

Select one or more priorities to see how this location scores against them.

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)
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
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
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
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
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.

Cities in this metro