11,132 people (2024 Census estimate, −3.6% since 2020)
912 square miles of land · 12 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.
9 active community water systems list Rio Grande County in the area they serve, reporting 7,327 people served in all (a system that crosses county lines counts its whole population).
| MONTE VISTA CITY OF groundwater · local government · CO0153600 | 4,600 served |
| DEL NORTE TOWN OF groundwater · local government · CO0153200 | 1,429 served |
| SOUTH FORK WEST MUNICIPAL TOWN OF groundwater · local government · CO0253718 | 566 served |
| RIO GRANDE WATER COMPANY groundwater (surface-influenced) · private · CO0253860 | 265 served |
| RIVIERE ESTATES groundwater · private · CO0253690 | 211 served |
| INDIAN TRAILS WATER LLC groundwater · private · CO0153450 | 110 served |
| SOUTH FORK HEIGHTS APARTMENTS groundwater (surface-influenced) · private · CO0153718 | 80 served |
| PACHECO TRAILER PARK groundwater · private · CO0153400 | 36 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 35 people were held in Rio Grande County's jail, in Vera's latest figure (2025). In 2020 it was about 32.
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 Rio Grande County. School taxes are usually the largest part of a property tax bill.
Spent $15.6 million — $12.9 million to run schools, about $12,496 per student, plus $2.2 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $4.1 million local (mostly property tax), $9.9 million state, $2.4 million federal. Long-term debt: $5.6 million.
Spent $7.7 million — $6.6 million to run schools, about $17,135 per student, plus $286,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $5 million local (mostly property tax), $3.3 million state, $1.2 million federal. Long-term debt: $15.2 million.
Spent $5.6 million — $5.3 million to run schools, about $16,571 per student, plus $144,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $2.3 million local (mostly property tax), $3.4 million state, $254,000 federal. Long-term debt: $2.5 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 Rio Grande County about $8.9 million a year on average in buildings, crops and lives. Ability to bounce back (community resilience): Very Low; social vulnerability: Very High.
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025), expected annual loss. Ratings compare counties nationwide; they're estimates, not predictions.
73 bridges in Rio Grande County: 18 in good condition, 55 fair, and 0 poor (0.0%). “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.
Source: Federal Highway Administration, National Bridge Inventory (2025 submission). Includes state, county and city bridges.
Federal grants paid for $23.8 million of work in Rio Grande County in fiscal 2025, about $2,063 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 Rio Grande 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 Rio Grande County built: brayden.ozark@gmail.com.
More of Colorado: the state government and every county in Colorado.
Nearby counties: Conejos County (24 mi) · Mineral County (30 mi) · Alamosa County (37 mi) · Archuleta County (38 mi) · Saguache County (40 mi) · Hinsdale County (56 mi).