Influx to GJ, Montrose among nation”s fastest
April 23rd, 2008 | by Manufacturing Business |Influx to GJ, Montrose among nation”s fastest.
Separated by an hour-long drive on U.S. Highway 50, the communities of Grand Junction and Montrose share some common traits. They feature mild weather, scenic areas that draw scores of tourists, strong retail and manufacturing sectors and burgeoning hospitals and schools.
Those characteristics likely helped them jointly gain another distinction they were the fastest-growing areas in Colorado and in the top 10 nationally last year in their respective population divisions, according to data the U.S. Census Bureau released Wednesday.
Thanks mostly to western Colorado’s oil and gas boom, Mesa County’s population grew 3.7 percent last year, from 134,061 to 139,082. The spurt placed it at the top of the state’s seven metropolitan areas and ninth among the 363 metro areas in the U.S.
