Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 1,366, settled in 1885.
Parachute’s best subject grades are an A− for cost of living and an A for the outdoors; its weakest is a D− for incomes. 28% of residents live below the poverty line in Parachute, above both the Colorado town median (8.4%) and the median of U.S. towns (9.6%). On cost of living, just 7 of Colorado’s 217 towns do better. Parachute is more walkable than 71% of U.S. towns. Wasson-McKay Place is on the National Register of Historic Places. Parachute has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Parachute beats most towns.
1,085 counted in 2010 and 1,390 in 2020; an estimated 1,366 in 2025.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Colorado), ordered by how far Parachute is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1902.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Parachute, 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 Parachute.
Its public schools are run by the Grand Valley School District No. 16. Its two schools are below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Valley Center for Family LearningLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–1 | Grades PK–1 | 265 | – |
| Grand Valley High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 293 | C+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CO on state tests and graduation
Parachute beats the Colorado average on 1 of 26 CDC measures and trails it on 8. 67% of adults had a checkup this year in Parachute, against 71% in Colorado’s towns and 79% across U.S. towns. 20% of adults report frequent mental distress in Parachute.
| Parachute | Colorado towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 67% | 71% | 79% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 16% | 17% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 18% | 16% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 27% | 35% |
| What stands out | Parachute | CO |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 6% | 7.8% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 13.3% | 9.2% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Parachute has cold, snowy winters and hot summers, with very little rain. Parachute’s July high is 92°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The typical Parachute home is worth about $422,000, up 3.2% in a year, 20% below the Colorado typical home. 51% of Parachute households own their home.
| Parachute | Colorado towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 51% | 71% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,073 a month | $1,808 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 66% of U.S. communities. One flood insurance claim has been paid in Parachute since 2023.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Most working residents leave Parachute for work: only 8% work in town. The average trip to work in Parachute is 37 minutes. Since 2013, Parachute has added 84 jobs, to 633 in 2023.
| Parachute | Colorado towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 37 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $59,000 | $95,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Parachute's reported crime rate is below Colorado's. Most reported incidents are property crimes, mainly thefts. 6 violent crimes were reported in 2025.
| Parachute | Colorado towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 4.4 per 1,000 residents | 2.3 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 11.8 per 1,000 residents | 15.2 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
| Parachute | Colorado towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 1.4 miles per square mile | 1.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 2.6% | 6.9% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Cottonwood Park | — | 5 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
None within 15 miles of Parachute; the nearest are
About 6 of every 100 Parachute residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Colorado.
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
Town in Colorado, United States
Parachute is a home rule municipality in Garfield County, Colorado, United States. The population was 1,390 at the 2020 census. The town is the birthplace of Willard Libby, recipient of the 1960 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Not for the area. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades A−.