Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Delta earns a D, 149th among Colorado's 158 graded towns, mostly because of incomes and safety. The median household income is $45K, and 20% of residents live below the poverty line. Its crime rate is higher than 83% of U.S. towns, with 14 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025. In its favor, it is more walkable than 90% of U.S. towns. 28% of working residents work locally in Delta, above both Colorado’s towns (7.5%) and U.S. towns (8%). Only 19 of Colorado’s 218 towns score lower on health. Delta has 6 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Egyptian Theater and First Methodist Episcopal Church of Delta.
Where Delta beats most towns.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Colorado), ordered by how far Delta is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 470 in 1890, 9,035 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1892 and a map from 1962 on.
6 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Delta, and how to reach them.
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 Delta.
Delta fares better on crime within Colorado than nationally, is healthier than towns with similar incomes and trades workers with Montrose and other neighbors.
At 38.7 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 65% of Colorado’s graded towns. Reported crimes fell from 380 to 260 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
The property crime rate in Delta is 25 per 1,000 residents. Delta reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 83% report less.
| Delta | Colorado towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 25 per 1,000 residents | 15.2 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.4 per 1,000 residents | 2.3 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Its public schools are run by the Delta County Joint District No. 50. The largest public high school is Delta High School, with 626 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Delta Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 498 | C+ |
| Delta High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 626 | B |
| Delta Academy of Applied LearningTop results in townGrades 5–8 | Grades 5–8 | 25 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CO on state tests and graduation
Values rose 3.1% in the past year while the Colorado typical home fell 1.3%. The median property tax bill is $885, against $2,602 across Colorado, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
The typical Delta home is worth about $368,000, 31% below the Colorado typical home. Delta’s median rent is $990 a month.
| Delta | Colorado towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $990 a month | $1,812 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 66% | 71% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
The Montrose #2 weather station, 22 miles away, records that the frost-free season runs about 167 days: shorter than most of the country, but longer than 85% of Colorado places with climate records.
Delta has chilly winters and hot summers, with very little rain. July afternoons reach 93°, January nights drop to 17° and about 22 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Delta has about as many jobs (3,791) as working residents, but only 904 people both live and work here.
21% of residents live below the poverty line in Delta. Among 159 Colorado towns, just 2 have a lower median household income than Delta. Since 2013, Delta has added 550 jobs, to 3,791 in 2023.
| Delta | Colorado towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 21% | 8.4% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $45,000 | $95,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 21 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 10% | 18% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 64% of U.S. communities. Since 1984, 2 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Delta.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
11 miles of trail in 8 parks and preserves. The biggest place to walk is Confluence Park, 200 acres with 3.1 miles of trail.
| Delta | Colorado towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.8 miles per square mile | 1.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 5.5% | 7% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Confluence Park | 3.1 mi | 200 |
| 2. Cottonwood Park | — | 58 |
| 3. Riverbend Park | — | 51 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Against the 4,096 U.S. towns with household incomes like Delta’s, it is healthier than 87%, so its C+ isn’t only a matter of income.
12% of Delta adults have diabetes. Only 4 of the 159 Colorado towns we compare have a higher share of adults who have high blood pressure than Delta. 24% of Delta adults have been diagnosed with depression.
| Delta | Colorado towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 12% | 14% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 23% | 15% | 19% |
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 10% | 8.1% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 18% | 16% |
| What stands out | Delta | CO |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer binge drinkers | 15.3% | 19% |
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 74.5% | 69.5% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 17.8% | 9.2% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
None within 15 miles of Delta; the nearest are
About 4 of every 100 Delta residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Colorado.
6 places in Delta on the National Register of Historic Places.
7 notable people were born in Delta.
City in Colorado, US
Delta is a home rule city that is the county seat of and the most populous municipality in Delta County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 9,035 at the 2020 United States census. The United States Forest Service headquarters of the Grand Mesa, Gunnison, and Uncompahgre National Forests are located in Delta.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Delta grades D overall, better than 13% of U.S. towns and #149 of 158 in Colorado. It grades C+ for health, C− for safety and B for schools. Jobs & income is its weak spot, with a D.
That is 6.4 years of the area's median household income ($57,774 across the county). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C.
7 notable people were born here, including Frank H. Ono and Dale Ishimoto.
