Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Fruita grades A− overall, 47th among Colorado's 158 graded towns. It has 20 miles of trail. Residents are healthier than 84% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates and crime is low: it reports less per resident than 75% of U.S. towns. The catch is cost: homes are expensive, about $481K for a typical one and 6.5 times the Grand Junction metro’s $74K median household income. Fruita’s trail density is 2.4 miles per square mile, above both Colorado’s towns (1.3) and U.S. towns (0.4). Fruita has 3 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Colorado National Monument Visitor Center Complex and Coates Creek Schoolhouse. Among 93 Colorado towns, just 4 have a lower violent crime rate than Fruita.
Where Fruita beats most towns.
Where Fruita’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Colorado), ordered by how far Fruita is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 126 in 1900, 13,395 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1939 and 2 maps from 1962 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Fruita, 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 Fruita.
Fruita pairs an A− overall with homes cheaper than the Colorado norm, fares better on crime within Colorado than nationally and has hotter summers than nearly all U.S. towns.
The biggest park or preserve is Little Salt Wash Park, at 25 acres.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Little Salt Wash Park | 0.8 mi | 25 |
| 2. McInnis Canyons National Conservation Area | 0.1 mi | 17 |
| 3. Heritage Park | — | 3 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Mesa County Valley School District No. 51. The largest public high school is Fruita Monument High School, with 1,427 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fruita Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 690 | C+ |
| Fruita Monument High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,427 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CO on state tests and graduation
Within Colorado it is less healthy than 59% of the 159 graded towns: Colorado sets a high bar.
72% of Fruita adults had a checkup this year, near the Colorado town median (71%) and below the median of U.S. towns (79%). 30% of adults sleep under 7 hours in Fruita. Fruita beats the Colorado average on 0 of 26 CDC measures and trails it on 3.
| Fruita | Colorado towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 72% | 71% | 79% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 30% | 36% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 26% | 35% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 27% | 35% |
| What stands out | Fruita | CO |
|---|---|---|
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.5% | 7.8% |
| More adults with arthritis | 27% | 22.9% |
| More adults who have had a stroke | 3.1% | 2.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
At 9.8 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 92% of Colorado’s graded towns. Violent crime is rare: 2 reported in 2025, 0.1 per 1,000 residents.
The property crime rate in Fruita is 8.7 per 1,000 residents.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Jobs based here grew from 2,139 in 2013 to 2,953.
Most working residents leave Fruita for work: only 15% work in town. Fruita’s average trip to work is 21 minutes. Since 2013, Fruita has added 814 jobs, to 2,953 in 2023.
| Fruita | Colorado towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 21 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 4.1% | 8.5% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 15% | 7.5% | 8% |
| Work from home | 10% | 18% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 73% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
July afternoons average 96.2°, hotter than in 98% of U.S. towns; January nights average 16.4°.
No town among the 159 in Colorado we compare has a higher July high than Fruita. Fruita has chilly winters and hot summers, with very little rain. About 18 inches of snow falls in a winter.
| Fruita | Colorado towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 96°F | 89°F | 85°F |
| January low | 16°F | 17°F | 22°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Fruita grades A− overall with a typical home of about $481K, below the Colorado typical value; only 5 of the 31 Colorado towns graded A− or better can say that. Values rose 2.5% in the past year while the Colorado typical home fell 1.3%.
The typical Fruita home is worth about $481,000, 9% below the Colorado typical home. 80% of Fruita households own their home.
| Fruita | Colorado towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 80% | 71% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,472 a month | $1,812 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Fruita. Close and well known come first.
3 mi National MonumentColorado National Monument483K visitors a year32 mi Ski areaPowderhorn56 runs · 1,653 ft vertical
11 mi MuseumCAF Rocky Mountain Wing Museum
14 mi MuseumCross Orchards Historic Site
in town MuseumFruita MuseumColorado National Monument: Daniel Schwen, CC BY-SA 4.0 · CAF Rocky Mountain Wing Museum: Airbase1, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Cross Orchards Historic Site: Jeffrey Beall, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Fruita Museum: Jeffrey Beall, CC BY-SA 3.0
1 within 15 miles of the center of Fruita
About 5 of every 100 Fruita residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Colorado.
3 places in Fruita on the National Register of Historic Places.
3 notable people were born in Fruita.
City in Colorado, United States
Fruita () is a home rule municipality located in western Mesa County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 13,395 at the 2020 United States census. Fruita is a part of the Grand Junction, Colorado Metropolitan Statistical Area and lies within the Grand Valley. The geography is identified by the bordering Colorado River (historically known as the Grand River) on the southern edge of the town, the Uncompahgre Plateau known for its pinyon-juniper landscape, and the Book Cliffs range on the northern edge of the Grand Valley. Originally home to the Ute people, farmers settled the town after founder William Pabor in 1884. Ten years later, Fruita was incorporated.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with Fruita.
Loma has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Redlands and Loma report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Fruita with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Fruita grades A− overall, better than 78% of U.S. towns and #47 of 158 in Colorado. It grades A− for health, A− for safety and B for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a C−.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C−.
3 notable people were born here, including Maggie Baird and Quinton Hoover.
