26,841 people (2024 Census estimate, +3.7% since 2020)
2,029 square miles of land · 13 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.
10 active community water systems list Montezuma County in the area they serve, reporting 28,039 people served in all (a system that crosses county lines counts its whole population).
| MONTEZUMA WC surface water · local government · CO0142900 | 13,797 served |
| CORTEZ CITY OF surface water · local government · CO0142200 | 8,770 served |
| DOLORES TOWN OF surface water · local government · CO0142400 | 1,626 served |
| MANCOS TOWN OF surface water · local government · CO0142700 | 1,390 served |
| MANCOS RURAL WATER COMPANY surface water · private · CO0142600 | 1,300 served |
| MONTEZUMA CNTY WD NO 1 buys surface water · local government · CO0142800 | 490 served |
| OAK MEADOWS MHP buys surface water · private · CO0142567 | 200 served |
| VISTA VERDE VILLAGE buys surface water · private · CO0142804 | 200 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 70 people were held in Montezuma County's jail, in Vera's latest figure (2025). In 2020 it was about 76.
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 Montezuma County. School taxes are usually the largest part of a property tax bill.
Spent $36.6 million — $33.5 million to run schools, about $13,684 per student, plus $2.3 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $17 million local (mostly property tax), $14.8 million state, $7.6 million federal. Long-term debt: $13.2 million.
Spent $9.8 million — $9 million to run schools, about $13,201 per student, plus $509,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $3.2 million local (mostly property tax), $6.1 million state, $748,000 federal. Long-term debt: $2.7 million.
Spent $7.2 million — $6.9 million to run schools, about $13,593 per student, plus $14,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $2.1 million local (mostly property tax), $4.9 million state, $678,000 federal. Long-term debt: $4.2 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 Montezuma County about $12.4 million a year on average in buildings, crops and lives. Ability to bounce back (community resilience): Very Low; social vulnerability: Relatively High.
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025), expected annual loss. Ratings compare counties nationwide; they're estimates, not predictions.
60 bridges in Montezuma County: 14 in good condition, 41 fair, and 5 poor (8.3%). “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 160 BUSINESS RT over MANCOS RIVER · built 1936 | 530 vehicles a day |
| COUNTY ROAD 44 over EAST MANCOS RIVER · built 1940 | 439 vehicles a day |
| COUNTY ROAD H over MANCOS RIVER · built 1965 | 188 vehicles a day |
| COUNTY ROAD 39 over MANCOS RIVER · built 1991 | 139 vehicles a day |
| COUNTY ROAD 43 over MANCOS RIVER · built 1973 | 95 vehicles a day |
Source: Federal Highway Administration, National Bridge Inventory (2025 submission). Includes state, county and city bridges.
Federal grants paid for $21.4 million of work in Montezuma County in fiscal 2025, about $828 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 Montezuma 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 Montezuma County built: brayden.ozark@gmail.com.
More of Colorado: the state government and every county in Colorado.
Nearby counties: Dolores County (28 mi) · La Plata County (42 mi) · San Miguel County (47 mi) · San Juan County, NM (59 mi) · San Juan County (59 mi) · San Juan County, UT (68 mi).