Montrose is a home rule municipality that is the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

and the most populous municipality of Montrose County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 20,291 at the 2020 census, within a total area of 18.5 square miles. The main road that leads in and out of Montrose is U.S. Highway 50. The city is located in

western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

Colorado, in the Uncompahgre Valley, and is an economic, labor, and transportation waypoint for the surrounding area. Montrose is the second-largest city in western Colorado, after Grand Junction.

History

Montrose was incorporated on May 2, 1882, and named after the Marquis of Montrose, immortalized in Sir Walter Scott's novel '' A Legend of Montrose'' by Oliver D. "Pappy" Loutzenhizer and Joseph Selig. The Denver & Rio Grande

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

was built west toward Grand Junction and reached Montrose later in 1882, and the town became an important regional shipping center. A branch railroad line served the mineral-rich

San Juan Mountains The San Juan Mountains is a high and rugged mountain range in the Rocky Mountains in southwestern Colorado and northwestern New Mexico. The area is highly mineralized (the Colorado Mineral Belt) and figured in the gold and silver mining industry ...

to the south. In 1909, the U.S. government completed construction of the Gunnison Tunnel, located east of Montrose. It provided irrigation water from the

Gunnison River The Gunnison River is located in western Colorado, United States and is one of the largest tributaries of the Colorado River. Description The river flows east to west and has a drainage area of according to the USGS. The drainage basin of the ...

in the Black Canyon to the Uncompahgre Valley, helping turn Montrose into an agricultural hub. The Uncompahgre Project is one of the oldest of those in the area by the U.S.

Bureau of Reclamation The Bureau of Reclamation, formerly the United States Reclamation Service, is a List of United States federal agencies, federal agency under the U.S. Department of the Interior, which oversees water resource management, specifically as it ...

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the city has a total area of ; all of it is land. Montrose is at the south end of the Uncompahgre valley and is built on the Uncompahgre River, which runs to the north, where 60 miles further its waters will join the

Colorado River The Colorado River () is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and in northern Mexico. The river, the List of longest rivers of the United States (by main stem), 5th longest in the United St ...

. It is surrounded by, to the north, the widening Uncompahgre Valley and the Grand Mesa, to the east, the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, to the south, the

, and to the west the Uncompahgre Plateau. The valley is arid, and is only arable due to the water from the Gunnison Tunnel and Ridgway Reservoir.

Climate

Montrose features a

semi-arid A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a aridity, dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below Evapotranspiration#Potential evapotranspiration, potential evapotranspiration, but not as l ...

Continental climate zone. The town sits on high grasslands in the Uncompahgre Valley of Western Colorado. Snowfall occurs during the winter but is usually short-lived due to the high elevation and abundant sunshine.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

, there were 20,291 people and 8,175 households residing in the city. The population density was . The average median age was 45.2 years and the average work commute time was 15.4 minutes, nearly 40% lower than the State of Colorado. In the city, the population was spread out, with 21.0% under the age of 18, 7.5% from 18 to 24, 21.3% from 25 to 44, 25.0% from 45 to 64, and 25.3% who were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females, there were 86.4 males. The racial makeup of the city was 78.44%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.57%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 1.36% American Indian or Alaskan Native, 1.15% Asian, 0.09%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 8.68% from other races, and 9.71% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 4,491 people or 22.13% of the population. There were 9,468 housing units at an average density of . There were a total of 8,175 households, with an average family size of 2.90. 57.8% are married, 21.4% never married, 12.6% divorced, 1.2% separated, and 7.0% widowed. The homeownership rate was 68.8%, slightly higher than the Colorado average. The median gross rent was $936 per month, or nearly 30% lower than the State of Colorado and nearly 36% lower than neighboring Telluride. The median income for a household in the city was $52,534, a 56% increase from the 2010 US Census. The median income for a family was $68,801. About 16.8% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 24.8% of those under age 18 and 9.9% of those age 65 or over. Approximately 27.5% of the population in the city has a

Bachelor's Degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

or higher, with 27.3% reporting a high school or equivalent degree, and 26.7% with some college but no degree. About 77.7% of those eligible for school enrollment between kindergarten and 12th grade are enrolled, much higher than the Colorado average of 66.5%.

Economy

Due to its relative affordability and proximity to many outdoor recreation activities, Montrose is known as a manufacturing hub for outdoor products. Fly-fishing companies Ross Reels, Abel, and Airflo are headquartered in the city. Additionally, Scott Fly Rods relocated to Montrose from Telluride in 1993. Gordon Composites, maker of nearly 90 percent of the high-performance laminate material used in the bow-hunting industry, is located in Montrose. Secret Creek, formerly known as Colorado Yurt Company, maker of handcrafted yurts, tipis, and rugged canvas wall tents, is also located in Montrose. In November 2017, the City approved a $10 million fund for public infrastructure improvements within the Colorado Outdoors development, and was the recipient of a $2 million grant for a new trail system. The GOCO grant was the largest single grant awarded to the City of Montrose in its history, and connects the newly built, $30 million Montrose Recreation Center to the project, safely under-passing both major highways within the city. Russell Stover Candies closed its Montrose plant in the spring of 2021, eliminating 400 jobs and offering employees to relocate to plants in Kansas and Texas. The plant was listed as a "primary employer" for the city on its Economic Development Corporation website. The former plant building was sold in 2024, but is still vacant as of March 2025. In October 2020, the City of Montrose announced a multi-year, multi-million dollar river restoration project along the Uncompahgre River, including a $785,000 grant from the Colorado Water Conservation Board. In 2024, both Shelter Distilling and restaurant Toasty opened after receiving economic incentives from the city.

Parks and recreation

Recreational facilities include th
Montrose Water Sports Park
a large (80,000 square foot) community recreation center with and indoor walking/jogging track, and over 38 public parks. The city is bicycle friendly, with League of American Bicyclists designating the city as a Bicycle Friendly Community. There are also three 18-hole golf courses within the city, Bridges Golf & Country Club, Black Canyon Golf Course, and Cobble Creek Golf Club. The long running Montrose Summer Music Series also provides live music entertainment in the summer months at the Montrose Rotary Amphitheater

Education

K-12 Education

Montrose is served by Montrose County School District RE-1J, which operates eight schools in the city: *Cottonwood Elementary School *Johnson Elementary School *Northside Elementary School *Oak Grove Elementary School *Pomona Elementary School *Centennial Middle School *Columbine Middle School *Montrose High School Also located in Montrose are Vista Charter School and Black Canyon Alternative High School.

Higher Education

The city's higher education needs are served by a regional campus of Colorado Mesa University, located on South Cascade Avenue. CMU Montrose offers 14 academic programs, as well as general education courses. In the fall 2024 semester, the campus served 315 students. Montrose is also home to a branch campus of Technical College of the Rockies, offering technical and vocational certificates.

Infrastructure

Transportation

Montrose Regional Airport serves the Montrose area with regional service to

Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

. As the nearest major airport to the Telluride Ski Area, Montrose sees heavy seasonal service. Montrose has a local non-profit bus service called All Points Transit. Its three lines run only during weekdays. Montrose is part of Colorado's Bustang intercity bus network; three bus lines serve the town. It is along the Durango-Telluride-Grand Junction Outrider line.

Major highways

* US 50 connects Montrose to Grand Junction, Gunnison and

Pueblo Pueblo refers to the settlements of the Pueblo peoples, Native American tribes in the Southwestern United States, currently in New Mexico, Arizona, and Texas. The permanent communities, including some of the oldest continually occupied settlement ...

. * US 550 ends in Montrose, and connects the city to Silverton, Ouray, and

Durango Durango, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Durango, is one of the 31 states which make up the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 Federal Entities of Mexico, situated in the northwest portion of the country. With a population of 1,832,650 ...

Notable people

Hall of Fame horse jockey Anna Lee Alred, the first American women to receive a jockey license, was born Montrose.

Kentucky Derby The Kentucky Derby () is an American Graded stakes race, Grade I stakes Thoroughbred racing, race run at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. The race is run by three-year-old Thoroughbreds at a distance of . Colt (horse), Colts and geldin ...

and Preakness winner Pat Valenzuela was also born in Montrose. Montrose is home to several businesspeople, including the former CEO of J.C. Penny stores and chairman of

Starbucks Starbucks Corporation is an American multinational List of coffeehouse chains, chain of coffeehouses and Starbucks Reserve, roastery reserves headquartered in Seattle, Washington. It was founded in 1971 by Jerry Baldwin, Zev Siegl, and Gor ...

, Myron "Mike" Ullman. Local businessman David Dragoo also currently lives in Montrose. Montrose is the birthplace of American

screenwriter A screenwriter (also called scriptwriter, scribe, or scenarist) is a person who practices the craft of writing for visual mass media, known as screenwriting. These can include short films, feature-length films, television programs, television ...

and

novel A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ...

ist Dalton Trumbo, who scripted films including '' Roman Holiday'', '' Exodus'', ''

Spartacus Spartacus (; ) was a Thracians, Thracian gladiator (Thraex) who was one of the Slavery in ancient Rome, escaped slave leaders in the Third Servile War, a major Slave rebellion, slave uprising against the Roman Republic. Historical accounts o ...

'', and '' Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo''.

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

charting guitarist, songwriter & producer A.J. Fullerton grew up in Montrose, CO. graduating from Montrose High School in 2013. He currently resides in Nashville, TN.

References

External links

City of Montrose official websiteVisitMontrose official visitor website
{{Authority control Cities in Montrose County, Colorado County seats in Colorado Colorado Western Slope Populated places established in 1882 1882 establishments in Colorado Cities in Colorado