63,167 people (2024 Census estimate, +2.2% since 2020)
2,947 square miles of land · 21 people per square mile
“Highest” and “lowest” are just order, not grades: a high rank for poverty or hazard losses means more of it. Each figure's source is in its section below.
55 active community water systems list Garfield County in the area they serve, reporting 50,260 people served in all (a system that crosses county lines counts its whole population).
| RIFLE CITY OF surface water · local government · CO0123676 | 9,489 served |
| GLENWOOD SPRINGS CITY OF surface water · local government · CO0123314 | 9,428 served |
| CARBONDALE TOWN OF surface water · local government · CO0123167 | 6,700 served |
| NEW CASTLE TOWN OF surface water · local government · CO0123538 | 5,024 served |
| BATTLEMENT MESA MD surface water · local government · CO0123133 | 4,100 served |
| SILT TOWN OF surface water · local government · CO0123710 | 3,536 served |
| ROARING FORK WSD groundwater · local government · CO0123125 | 1,912 served |
| PARACHUTE TOWN OF surface water · local government · CO0123602 | 1,320 served |
Source: U.S. EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS), active community systems, . Look up any system's violations and test results with EPA's search using its ID.
About 72 people were held in Garfield County's jail, in Vera's latest figure (2025). In 2020 it was about 61.
Source: Vera Institute of Justice, Incarceration Trends (built from federal Bureau of Justice Statistics jail surveys). Counties without their own jail, or that share one, may show no figure.
3 school districts have their office in Garfield County. School taxes are usually the largest part of a property tax bill.
Spent $107.6 million — $96.5 million to run schools, about $16,720 per student, plus $5.3 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $74.5 million local (mostly property tax), $35.1 million state, $9.2 million federal. Long-term debt: $162.2 million.
Spent $77.8 million — $64.7 million to run schools, about $13,887 per student, plus $9 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $31.2 million local (mostly property tax), $41.5 million state, $6.1 million federal. Long-term debt: $53.9 million.
Spent $21.7 million — $16.8 million to run schools, about $14,045 per student, plus $3.1 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $14.7 million local (mostly property tax), $10.3 million state, $2.2 million federal. Long-term debt: $28.4 million.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2023 Annual Survey of School System Finances. Districts are listed by the county of their main office; some serve neighboring counties too.
Source: County Health Rankings & Roadmaps 2025 (University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute), which gathers federal data (CDC, Census, and others); measures cover different recent years. Blank lines aren't reported for small counties.
Overall risk: Relatively Low compared with other U.S. counties. FEMA estimates natural hazards cost Garfield County about $29.6 million a year on average in buildings, crops and lives. Ability to bounce back (community resilience): Very Low; social vulnerability: Very Low.
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025), expected annual loss. Ratings compare counties nationwide; they're estimates, not predictions.
167 bridges in Garfield County: 46 in good condition, 119 fair, and 2 poor (1.2%). “Poor” means a main part — the deck, the beams, or the supports — is rated 4 or lower on the federal 0–9 scale. It doesn't mean unsafe to drive; unsafe bridges are closed.
| US 6 ML over PARACHUTE CREEK SR · built 1934 | 3,100 vehicles a day |
| US 6 ML over ELK CREEK · built 1933 | 2,200 vehicles a day |
Source: Federal Highway Administration, National Bridge Inventory (2025 submission). Includes state, county and city bridges.
Federal grants paid for $24.6 million of work in Garfield County in fiscal 2025, about $398 per resident — to the county, cities, schools, hospitals, nonprofits and others.
Source: USAspending.gov, grants by place of performance, fiscal 2025 (Oct. 2024 to Sept. 2025). Search it by county to see each award.
From Grants.gov: posted grants listing county governments as eligible, soonest deadline first; research-only and overseas programs left out; list updated 2026-10-13, refreshed weekly. 62 are open in all. Cities, towns, school districts and nonprofits have their own lists there.
General election: Tuesday, November 3, 2026. Ballots mailed to voters: 2026-10-02 to 2026-10-09. Drop boxes open: 2026-10-12. In-person voting at voter centers: 2026-10-19 to 2026-11-03. Last day to register and still get a ballot by mail: 2026-10-26. Last suggested day to mail your ballot back: 2026-10-26. Election Day: 2026-11-03. Last day to fix a signature problem: 2026-11-12.
Source: Colorado Secretary of State, Oct. 2, 2026 · Colorado Secretary of State, Sept. 23, 2026 · Colorado Secretary of State — Election Day FAQs
The budget, property tax rates, audits, local officials and offices for Garfield County come from the county's own records, which we haven't gathered — not gathered, never hidden. See what a full county site looks like, or ask to have Garfield County built: brayden.ozark@gmail.com.
More of Colorado: the state government and every county in Colorado.
Nearby counties: Rio Blanco County (30 mi) · Mesa County (50 mi) · Delta County (51 mi) · Pitkin County (59 mi) · Eagle County (65 mi) · Moffat County (72 mi).