Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 5,755.
Battlement Mesa gives you more for your money than most places: homes are within reach, about $313K for a typical one, or 3.3 years of the Rifle area’s $96K median household income. It grades C overall, 124th of 158 graded towns in Colorado. Battlement Mesa’s average trip to work is 44 minutes, against 25 minutes in Colorado’s towns and 25 minutes across U.S. towns. On walkability, just 9 of Colorado’s 217 towns do worse. Havemeyer-Willcox Canal Pumphouse and Forebay and Battlement Mesa Schoolhouse is on the National Register of Historic Places.
4,471 counted in 2010 and 5,438 in 2020.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Colorado), ordered by how far Battlement Mesa is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 1,477 in 1990, 5,438 in 2020. The archive holds 4 old photos and papers going back to 2012 and 2 maps from 1929 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Explore the history →Battlement Mesa is unincorporated, so Garfield County and regional agencies provide most services.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Battlement Mesa.
Battlement Mesa trades lower home prices for longer drives to work and sends most of its workers to Glenwood Springs and beyond, but it is a long drive from an emergency room.
Battlement Mesa has 307 jobs for its 2,161 working residents: even if every job went to a resident, most would still commute out. Jobs based here fell from 566 in 2013 to 307.
Most working residents leave Battlement Mesa for work: only 5% work in town. Since 2013, Battlement Mesa has lost 259 jobs, to 307 in 2023. The top destinations are Glenwood Springs (12%), Rifle (12%) and Grand Junction (9%).
| Battlement Mesa | Colorado towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $76,000 | $95,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 4.6% | 7.8% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 11% | 8.4% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Its public schools are run by the Grand Valley School District No. 16. One of its 2 schools is below, with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bea Underwood Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades 2–5 | Grades 2–5 | 390 | C− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CO on state tests and graduation
Battlement Mesa has cold, snowy winters and warm summers, with very little rain. The July high in Battlement Mesa is 91°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 66% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The nearest emergency room, Grand River Hospital District, is 21.4 miles away in a straight line. Within Colorado it is less healthy than 79% of the 159 graded towns: Colorado sets a high bar.
Battlement Mesa beats the Colorado average on 0 of 26 CDC measures and trails it on 11. 71% of Battlement Mesa adults had a checkup this year.
| Battlement Mesa | Colorado towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 71% | 71% | 79% |
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 10% | 8.1% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 30% | 36% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 12% | 14% |
| What stands out | Battlement Mesa | CO |
|---|---|---|
| More adults with COPD | 7.5% | 5.3% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 12.8% | 9.2% |
| More smokers | 14.9% | 10.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
5.1 miles of trail in 1 park or preserve. Battlement Mesa’s trail density is 0.5 miles per square mile.
| Battlement Mesa | Colorado towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.5 miles per square mile | 1.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 3.8% | 7% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Turkey Trail Park | — | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Homes are within reach (B+ for cost of living), but half of working residents commute more than 38 miles. The median property tax bill is $1,175, against $2,602 across Colorado, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
None within 15 miles of Battlement Mesa; the nearest are
About 5 of every 100 Battlement Mesa residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Colorado.
Where Battlement Mesa’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Census-designated place in Garfield County, Colorado, United States
Battlement Mesa is an unincorporated community, a census-designated place (CDP), and post office in and governed by Garfield County, Colorado, United States. The CDP is a part of the Glenwood Springs, CO Micropolitan Statistical Area. The Battlement Mesa post office has the ZIP Codes 81635 and 81636 (for post office boxes). At the United States Census 2020, the population of the Battlement Mesa CDP was 5,438. The Battlement Mesa Metropolitan District provides services.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with Battlement Mesa.
| Town | CO rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Battlement Mesa | #124 | C | B+ | — | C | B |
| Parachute | — | — | A− | — | C | B+ |
Parachute has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Battlement Mesa and Parachute report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Battlement Mesa with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Battlement Mesa grades C overall, better than 31% of U.S. towns and #124 of 158 in Colorado. It grades B for health and C for schools. Walkability is its weak spot, with a D.
Not for the area. The typical home is worth about $313,000, 41% below the Colorado typical home. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B+.