What is the cost of living in Grand Junction?

Grand Junction has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) of 95.5, where 100 represents the national average. Housing costs index at 86.4, which is below the national average. The average 2-bedroom rent is $1,249/month.

What is the median salary in Grand Junction?

The median salary in Grand Junction is $64,324 annually (mean: $67,212). Top occupations include Fast Food and Counter Workers, Retail Salespersons, Registered Nurses.

How safe is Grand Junction?

The violent crime rate in the Grand Junction area is 481 per 100,000 population (state-level data). Property crime rate is 2641 per 100K.

What are the schools like in Grand Junction?

The state of CO has 1,923 schools (state-level data, no metro-level federal count exists) with an average student-teacher ratio of 16.6:1. Charter schools make up 14% of all schools.

How much does childcare cost in Grand Junction?

Infant center-based childcare in the Grand Junction area averages $12,821 per year. Preschool averages $11,013/year. These are state-level averages.

Is Grand Junction a good place to relocate?

Grand Junction has a Life Score of 44.6/100 (F), based on 7 of 7 available dimensions among cost of living, wages, rent, crime, schools, childcare, and environment (missing dims omitted, weights renormalized). This is a middle-of-the-pack score, where the composite lands for most US metros; look at individual dimensions to see the real trade-offs.

Where does Grand Junction sit among US metros on LiveAbility?

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite, Grand Junction ranks #359 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). That ordinal matches the /rankings/livability listing. See /methodology#corpus-placement for the exact sort basis.

Relocation profile · Federal data

Grand Junction, CO

LiveAbility 34.5/100 places Grand Junction #359 of 387 (bottom third of scored metros).

Compiled by PlainRelocate · June 15, 2026

95.5
Cost index (US=100): $1,249
2BR rent / mo: $64,324
Median salary: 34.5
LiveAbility Score

The verdict

As of June 2026, Grand Junction ranks #359 of 387 US metros on the LiveAbility Score (34.5/100), with its strongest marks in housing and job market.

#359
of 387 US metros · Below median: 5,957,493
metro-area population: 481
violent crimes per 100K (state-level): 1,923
schools in the state (NCES)

Weakest dimension: climate (3/100). Weigh every dimension against your own priorities, use the City Finder to re-rank by what matters to you.

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite (BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, EPA, NOAA, and FEMA inputs), Grand Junction ranks #359 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). Cost-of-living index 95.5 (100 = national average), median 2-bedroom rent $1,249/mo, median salary $64,324; LiveAbility Score 34.5/100, strongest in housing and job market.

Signature: LiveAbility 34.5/100 places Grand Junction #359 of 387 (bottom third of scored metros).

Purchasing power sits mid-band: BEA RPP 95.5 between corpus terciles 91.5 and 97.0. Median 2BR rent $1,249/mo.

LiveAbility 34.5/100 puts Grand Junction in the bottom third (#359 of 387).

BLS OEWS total employment in the Grand Junction area is 60,630.

Grand Junction vs all US metros by LiveAbility Score

Where this metro's LiveAbility Score falls among every scored US metro (composite placement, not a desirability verdict)

35 Top 93% higher than 7% of 387 US metros

Metros banded by LiveAbility Score (0–100)

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US metros. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source PlainRelocate LiveAbility Score · June 2026

Grand Junction housing and rent

HUD Fair Market Rents for the Grand Junction MSA; housing RPP 86.4 (100 = national average); 2BR $1,249/mo.

Studio

$881

/month

1 Bedroom

$986

/month

2 Bedroom

$1,249

/month

3 Bedroom

$1,737

/month

4 Bedroom

$2,095

/month

Grand Junction wages and employment

Grand Junction posts 60,630 total employment with median salary $64,324.

Median Salary

$64,324

Mean Salary

$67,212

Total Employment

60,630

Top Occupations by Employment

Occupation	Median Salary
Fast Food and Counter Workers	$31,510
Retail Salespersons	$35,630
Registered Nurses	$95,990
Cashiers	$34,390
Home Health and Personal Care Aides	$35,510

Schools & Education

State-level education data for the Grand Junction area from NCES.

Schools

1,923

Enrollment

871,440

Student:Teacher

16.6:1

Title I %

Childcare Costs

State-average childcare costs for the Grand Junction area (DOL data).

Infant (Center)

$12,821

per year

Toddler (Center)

$11,897

per year

Preschool (Center)

$11,013

per year

Life Score Breakdown

Grand Junction's composite Life Score is 44.6/100 (F), computed across 7 of 7 dimensions.

Cost

41/100

Below average

Wages

45/100

Average

Rent

58/100

Above average

Crime

6/100

Bottom decile

Schools

64/100

Above average

Childcare

22/100

Weak

Environment

93/100

Elite

LiveAbility Score

View full rankings →

Grand Junction ranks #359 out of 387 metros with a LiveAbility Score of 34.5/100 - a composite of 8 of 8 quality-of-life dimensions from federal data. Customize the weights to match your priorities →

Strongest dimension: Housing (58/100)

Housing

58
Job market

45
Cost of living

41
Schools

36
Low hazard

36
Air quality

28
Safety

6
Climate

3

What this shows Grand Junction's strongest dimensions are housing and job market; its weakest among scored dims is climate at 3/100. Default weights: cost 18%, jobs & housing 15% each, safety & schools 12%, air & hazard 10%, climate 8%.

Compare Grand Junction to

Winchester Winston-Salem Worcester Yakima York-Hanover Youngstown-Warren

Metros near Grand Junction on cost, LiveAbility, or wages

Nearest out-of-state neighbors to Grand Junction on BEA RPP, LiveAbility, or BLS median salary, a different lens than the size-ranked list.

Similar cost of living (BEA RPP)

Similar LiveAbility score

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, HUD Fair Market Rents, BLS OES, FBI UCR, NCES, DOL, EPA June 2026

Grand Junction cost figures follow BEA Regional Price Parities and HUD Fair Market Rents; Grand Junction wages and LiveAbility inputs follow BLS OEWS plus the federal sources listed in methodology. This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Scores are federal-data percentiles, not a move recommendation. How this data is sourced.

Verify with BEA → · Verify with BLS → · Verify with HUD → · Verify with NOAA → · Verify with FEMA → · Verify with Census →

Thinking about Grand Junction?

Grand Junction runs a $64,324 median salary at a 95.5 cost index, ranking #359 of 387 nationally on LiveAbility.

See exactly what Grand Junction's pay and cost figures mean for your own budget. Salary calculator
Put Grand Junction head-to-head against another city on the same dimensions. Compare Grand Junction
Abilene is the closest related metro in this corpus -- see how it stacks up. Abilene profile
A cheaper cost index and a higher LiveAbility score don't always point the same direction -- here's how to weigh the trade-off. Cost vs quality guide

Cost, salary and score figures are federal-data percentiles, not a move recommendation.