File No.
GR-DOSSIER-08077
Active File
Confidence: Public
Resilience Dossier

Mesa CountyColorado · CO

43
/ 100poor
Composite scale0 ─ 100
43
CriticalExcellent
State rank
#51CO
National rank
#2,849/ 3,436
Population
155,64718.1/km²
FIPS 08077AREA 8,621 km²LAT 39.0195 · LON -108.4606
§01

Geospatial

39.02°N, 108.46°W
Map of Mesa County, CO
Target ▸ Mesa County
NMapbox dark-v11
§02

Analyst Brief

Voice ▸ Stratfor

Mesa County is a county in Colorado, with a population of 155,647, covering 8,621 square kilometers. Population density is 18.1 people per square kilometer. On the Scout composite resilience index, Mesa County scores 43 out of 100, ranked #51 in CO and #2,849 of 3,436 regions. The five-year average temperature anomaly versus the 20th-century baseline is 3.4 degrees Fahrenheit. Counties above 2.6 degrees fall inside the climate tipping-point band. The FEMA National Risk Index composite hazard score is 47 out of 100. Annual precipitation averages 16.7 inches. Net IRS migration in the most recent tax year was +3.3 per 1,000 residents. USDA classifies the county as Rural-Urban Continuum Code 3 (1 = metropolitan core, 9 = completely rural).

§03

Assessment Matrix

6 Dimensions
D-0132

Climate Stability

Natural hazard exposure, temperature anomaly vs. 20th-century baseline, drought, wildfire, and flood risk.

D-0222

Water & Food

Groundwater reliability, precipitation normals, growing season length, and cropland availability.

D-0355

Social Stability

Net migration, social vulnerability, and crime rates.

D-0475

Infrastructure

Solar energy potential, off-grid power viability, and proximity to nuclear facilities.

D-0540

Self-Sufficiency

Rural-urban classification, agricultural diversity, and land availability.

D-0654

Affordability

Median home value and rental costs relative to the national range. Lower cost counties score higher.

§04

Source Telemetry

14 Inputs
S-01Climate
FEMA NRI hazard score
47.34 /100
Temperature anomaly
3.42 °F
S-02Water
Annual precipitation
16.7 in
Soil saturation depth
2.0 ft
Growing season
142 days
S-03Social
Net migration
+3.3 /1k
Social vulnerability
0.646 /1
Crime index
10.3 /100
S-04Infrastructure
Solar irradiance
5.0 kWh/m²/d
Distance to nuclear facility
460 mi
S-05Self-Sufficiency
Cropland share
2.7 %
Rural-urban code
3 /9
S-06Affordability
Median home value
$312,600
Median rent
$1,089 /mo

Inputs marked “— —” are pending pipeline integration and currently use neutral defaults in the composite. They do not skew rankings.

§05

Cross-Reference

  • FEMA-NRIFEMA National Risk Index, county composite hazard score
  • NOAA-TMPNOAA nClimDiv county temperature anomaly, 2020-2024 vs. 1901-2000 baseline
  • NOAA-PCPNOAA county precipitation normals, 1991-2020
  • IRS-MIGIRS county-to-county migration, tax year 2021-2022
  • CDC-SVICDC Social Vulnerability Index, 2022 release (RPL_THEMES)
  • USDA-RUCCUSDA Economic Research Service Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
  • NASA-PWRNASA POWER climatology, annual global horizontal irradiance (kWh/m²/day)
  • USDA-NASSUSDA NASS Census of Agriculture 2022, county cropland and total land area
  • USDA-SDMUSDA NRCS Soil Data Mart, average seasonal soil saturation depth (cm)
  • ACS-2022U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates 2022, median home value and gross rent