44,806 people (2024 Census estimate, +4.6% since 2020)
2,241 square miles of land · 20 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.
22 active community water systems list Montrose County in the area they serve, reporting 56,033 people served in all (a system that crosses county lines counts its whole population).
| TRI COUNTY WCD buys surface water · local government · CO0143755 | 20,490 served |
| MONTROSE CITY OF buys surface water · local government · CO0143518 | 19,305 served |
| MENOKEN WD buys surface water · local government · CO0143506 | 4,500 served |
| CHIPETA WD buys surface water · local government · CO0143176 | 3,802 served |
| OLATHE TOWN OF buys surface water · local government · CO0143582 | 3,015 served |
| NORTHBROOK VILLAS MHC buys surface water · private · CO0143552 | 1,052 served |
| NUCLA TOWN OF buys surface water · local government · CO0143559 | 875 served |
| NATURITA TOWN OF buys surface water · local government · CO0143533 | 585 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 58 people were held in Montrose County's jail, in Vera's latest figure (2025). In 2020 it was about 67.
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.
2 school districts have their office in Montrose County. School taxes are usually the largest part of a property tax bill.
Spent $79.2 million — $71.5 million to run schools, about $11,857 per student, plus $6.2 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $24.4 million local (mostly property tax), $46.8 million state, $13.1 million federal. Long-term debt: $20.4 million.
Spent $27.1 million — $4.5 million to run schools, about $17,315 per student, plus $22.5 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $1.5 million local (mostly property tax), $24.7 million state, $541,000 federal. Long-term debt: $993,000.
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 Montrose County about $15.6 million a year on average in buildings, crops and lives. Ability to bounce back (community resilience): Relatively Low; social vulnerability: Relatively Low.
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025), expected annual loss. Ratings compare counties nationwide; they're estimates, not predictions.
117 bridges in Montrose County: 42 in good condition, 72 fair, and 3 poor (2.6%). “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.
| SH 348 ML over IRONSTONE CANAL · built 1963 | 590 vehicles a day |
| COUNTY ROAD 6500 over MONTROSE AND DELTA CANAL · built 1985 | 116 vehicles a day |
| UNCOMPAHGRE ROAD over SOUTH CANAL · built 1981 | 57 vehicles a day |
Source: Federal Highway Administration, National Bridge Inventory (2025 submission). Includes state, county and city bridges.
Federal grants paid for $23.7 million of work in Montrose County in fiscal 2025, about $556 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 Montrose 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 Montrose County built: brayden.ozark@gmail.com.
More of Colorado: the state government and every county in Colorado.
Nearby counties: San Miguel County (29 mi) · Ouray County (31 mi) · Delta County (38 mi) · Mesa County (44 mi) · Dolores County (48 mi) · San Juan County (54 mi).