Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 2,599, settled in 1910.
Palisade is a solid, middle-of-the-road choice. It grades B overall, ranked 67th of 158 in Colorado, with no subject far below average. Its best mark is health: CDC estimates put its residents' health ahead of 75% of the country. Expect to pay for it: the typical home is worth about $564K, 7.7 years of the Grand Junction metro’s $74K median household income. Palisade’s trail density is 2.3 miles per square mile, above both Colorado’s towns (1.3) and U.S. towns (0.4). Palisade is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 90% of U.S. towns. Grand Valley Diversion Dam and Land's End Observatory is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Where Palisade beats most towns.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Colorado), ordered by how far Palisade is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 900 in 1910, 2,565 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1908 and a map from 1962 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Palisade, 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 Palisade.
Palisade has a longer frost-free season than almost anywhere else in Colorado and fares better on crime within Colorado than nationally, but it has homes that cost more against local pay than most of Colorado.
2.8 miles of trail in 4 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is River Bend Park, at 35 acres.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. River Bend Park | 0.9 mi | 35 |
| 2. Tillman Bishop State Wildlife Area | — | 12 |
| 3. Peach Bowl Park | — | 7 |
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 Palisade High School, with 1,073 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Taylor Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 310 | B |
| Palisade High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,073 | B+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CO on state tests and graduation
Within Colorado it is less healthy than 65% of the 159 graded towns: Colorado sets a high bar.
30% of adults sleep under 7 hours in Palisade, near the Colorado town median (30%) and below the median of U.S. towns (36%). 73% of Palisade adults had a checkup this year. Palisade beats the Colorado average on 2 of 26 CDC measures and trails it on 8.
| Palisade | Colorado towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 30% | 36% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 73% | 71% | 79% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 12% | 14% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 26% | 35% |
| What stands out | Palisade | CO |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer binge drinkers | 15.8% | 19% |
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 73.2% | 69.5% |
| More adults with heart disease | 7.2% | 5.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 68% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The Palisade weather station records that the frost-free season runs about 190 days, the highest of 470 Colorado places with climate records.
Palisade has chilly winters and hot summers, with very little rain. The July high in Palisade is 93°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
At 13.4 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 77% of Colorado’s graded towns. Violent crime is rare: 1 reported in 2025, 0.4 per 1,000 residents.
Palisade’s violent crime rate is 0.4 per 1,000 residents.
| Palisade | Colorado towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.4 per 1,000 residents | 2.3 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 8.4 per 1,000 residents | 15.5 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
The average commute for its 914 working residents takes 32.3 minutes, against 25.2 across Colorado. Jobs based here grew from 575 in 2013 to 823.
Most working residents leave Palisade for work: only 10% work in town. Since 2013, Palisade has added 248 jobs, to 823 in 2023. The top destinations are Grand Junction (51%), Denver (4%) and Clifton (3%).
| Palisade | Colorado towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 32 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $81,000 | $95,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 9.7% | 7.5% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
At 7.7 years of the Grand Junction metro’s $74K median household income, the typical home (about $564K) costs more against local pay than in 76% of Colorado towns; that ratio is one input to its C for cost of living. Home values rose 26% in five years, to about $564K, against 6% across Colorado.
The typical Palisade home is worth about $564,000, up 1.4% in a year, 7% above the Colorado typical home.
| Palisade | Colorado towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,203 a month | $1,812 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 67% | 71% | 73% |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Palisade. Close and well known come first.
23 mi MountainGrand Mesa
15 mi National MonumentColorado National Monument483K visitors a year12 mi Ski areaPowderhorn56 runs · 1,653 ft vertical
9 mi MuseumCAF Rocky Mountain Wing Museum
7 mi MuseumCross Orchards Historic Site
20 mi MuseumFruita MuseumGrand Mesa: DrunkDriver, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Colorado 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 Palisade
About 3 of every 100 Palisade residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Colorado.
Town in Mesa County, Colorado, United States
Palisade is a statutory town in Mesa County, Colorado, United States. It is part of the Grand Junction Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 2,565 at the 2020 census, down from 2,692 in 2010. The community was named for the cliffs near the town site. Palisade is known for its peach orchards and wine vineyards. The climate, a 182-day growing season, and an average 78 percent of sunshine makes Palisade "The Peach Capital of Colorado".
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Palisade grades B overall, better than 64% of U.S. towns and #67 of 158 in Colorado. It grades B+ for health, B for safety and B for schools.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C.
2 notable people were born here, including Fletcher Martin and Clair Finch.
