Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Fort Morgan earns a D, 147th among Colorado's 158 graded towns, mostly because of incomes and safety. The median household income is $64K, and 16% of residents live below the poverty line. Its police reported 30 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025, a higher rate per resident than 75% of U.S. towns. What it does well: it has 14 miles of trail. 46% of working residents work locally in Fort Morgan, above both Colorado’s towns (7.5%) and U.S. towns (8%). Fort Morgan is home to Morgan Community College. Fort Morgan's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) is stronger than in 88% of U.S. towns.
Where Fort Morgan beats most towns.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Colorado), ordered by how far Fort Morgan is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 488 in 1890, 11,597 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1885 and 3 maps from 1954 on.
9 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Fort Morgan, 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 Fort Morgan.
Fort Morgan is healthier than towns with similar incomes, has seen reported crime fall by a third or more and has commutes shorter than most of Colorado.
The trail density in Fort Morgan is 2.6 miles per square mile. The biggest place to walk is Riverside Park, 223 acres with 5.4 miles of trail.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Riverside Park | 5.4 mi | 223 |
| 2. Twamore Trails | 4 mi | 140 |
| 3. Legion Park | — | 25 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by School District No. Re-3 Fort Morgan. Two of its 11 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fort Morgan Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 749 | C− |
| Fort Morgan High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 945 | C− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CO on state tests and graduation
The typical Fort Morgan home is worth about $325,000, about the same as a year ago, 38% below the Colorado typical home. Fort Morgan’s median rent is $1,067 a month.
| Fort Morgan | Colorado towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 58% | 71% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,067 a month | $1,812 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Reported crimes fell from 328 to 194 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Fort Morgan reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 75% report less. Within Colorado, it does better than 48% of towns.
| Fort Morgan | Colorado towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2.5 per 1,000 residents | 2.3 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 13.8 per 1,000 residents | 15.5 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Fort Morgan has cold winters and warm summers, with very little rain. July afternoons reach 91°, January nights drop to 14° and about 23 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The average commute for its 5,969 working residents takes 16.8 minutes, against 25.2 across Colorado.
7.8% of Fort Morgan workers work from home. The top destinations are Denver (6%), Greeley (5%) and Brush (3%). Half commute less than 4 miles.
| Fort Morgan | Colorado towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 17 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 7.8% | 18% | 11% |
| Median household income | $64,000 | $95,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Against the 9,758 U.S. towns with household incomes like Fort Morgan’s, it is healthier than 74%, so its B− isn’t only a matter of income. Within Colorado it is less healthy than 88% of the 159 graded towns: Colorado sets a high bar.
Fort Morgan beats the Colorado average on 1 of 26 CDC measures and trails it on 12. 21% of adults 18 to 64 have no health insurance in Fort Morgan.
| Fort Morgan | Colorado towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 10% | 8.1% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 69% | 71% | 79% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 23% | 15% | 19% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 12% | 14% |
| What stands out | Fort Morgan | CO |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 6.9% | 7.8% |
| More uninsured adults | 20.7% | 11.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 51% of U.S. communities. Since 2013, 2 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Fort Morgan.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
1 within 15 miles of the center of Fort Morgan
About 4 of every 100 Fort Morgan residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Colorado.
9 places in Fort Morgan on the National Register of Historic Places.
6 notable people were born in Fort Morgan.
City in Colorado, United States
Fort Morgan is the home rule municipality city that is the county seat of and the most populous municipality in Morgan County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 11,597 at the 2020 United States census. Fort Morgan is the principal city of the Fort Morgan, CO Micropolitan Statistical Area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Fort Morgan grades D overall, better than 13% of U.S. towns and #147 of 158 in Colorado. It grades B− for health, C for safety and C for schools. Jobs & income is its weak spot, with a C−.
Within Colorado, it does better than 48% of towns.
That is 4.4 years of the area's median household income ($73,278 across the Fort Morgan, CO area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C+.
6 notable people were born here, including Dustin Jacoby and Robert G. Whitehead.
