Montrose County, Colorado Housing Market

In Montrose County, Colorado, the median home value is $388,400, with a median monthly rent of $1,188. This places Montrose County at #321 nationally out of 3134 counties by median home value, and #33 within Colorado.

Median Home Value $388,400
Median Rent $1,188/mo
Owner Occupancy 75.4%
Price/Rent Ratio 27.2

📈 Price Trend (2017 → 2024)

📊 Recent Market Momentum (FHFA HPI)

FHFA House Price Index — All-Transactions, Annual (2000 = 100) · Latest: 2025

💡 Year-over-Year Trend: Home prices in Montrose County rose +4.9% year-over-year as of 2025. (Source: FHFA)

📍 Economic Snapshot

💼

Employment & Wages

13,881
jobs (private sector)
  • Avg weekly wage: $997
  • Establishments: 1,676
  • BLS QCEW, 2025
🏗️

Housing Supply

279
new units authorized (2025)
  • Single-family: 207
  • Multi-family: 72
  • U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey
🚚

Migration Patterns

+1737
net migration (filers, 2021-2022)
  • Inflow: 18,934 (avg $72,849)
  • Outflow: 17,197 (avg $71,513)
  • IRS Statistics of Income

📍 Sub-Market Activity

Top 4 active ZIP codes in Montrose County · Latest: 2025

# ZIP Code HPI YoY Change Latest Year
1 81425 280.3 -3.66% 2025
2 81403 312.1 +4.12% 2025
3 81401 314.4 +7.26% 2025
4 81423 211.0 +32.72% 2022

Source: FHFA HPI for Five-Digit ZIP Codes (All-Transactions Index, 2000 = 100).
This product uses FHFA Data but is neither endorsed nor certified by FHFA.

📝 Local Market Notes

The user wants a 280-320 word analysis of Montrose County, Colorado housing market based on provided data. I need to cover 8 specific points in 2-3 paragraphs, professional tone, third person, data-driven, no predictions. Let me structure this. Key data points: - Median home value: $388,400 (2024) - Median rent: $1,188 - Median income: $72,120 - Price-to-income: 5.39 (national 3.20) - Rent burden: 19.8% (national 17.2%) - Price-to-rent: 27.2 (national 18.7) - Home value vs national: +70.6%, vs state: -9.1% - FHFA HPI: +4.92% YoY (state -0.61%) - Migration: +1,737 net filers - Building permits: 279 units (207 SF, 72 MF) - Mortgage rate: 7.40% - Price growth: 2017 $202,500 to 2024 $388,400 (91.8% total, peak 18.6% in 2022, now 8.5%) Market classification: Price-to-rent 27.2 vs national 18.7 suggests buyer's market? Actually high price-to-rent means buying is expensive relative to renting, so renter's market. But need to check: price-to-rent ratio > 21 generally favors renting. 27.2 is high, so renter's market. Also rent burden 19.8% vs 17.2% national, but still under 30% threshold. Trend: Strong appreciation 2017-2024, peaking 2022 at 18.6%, moderating to 8.5% in 2024. FHFA shows continued 4.92% YoY, outperforming state (-0.61%). Affordability: Price-to-income 5.39 vs 3.20 national - severely unaffordable. Rent burden 19.8% vs 17.2% - moderately higher. Regional context: Home values 70.6% above national, but 9.1% below state average. Income 6.1% above national. Anomaly: Price-to-rent ratio 27.2 vs national 18.7 - significant divergence, prices rising faster than rents (as noted). Also price-to-income extremely high. Economic context: Net migration +1,737, inflow income $72,849 vs outflow $71,513. Employment 13,881 jobs, avg weekly wage $997 (~$51,844 annual). Building permits 279 units for population 43,807 - about 0.64% growth. Mortgage rate 7.40% high. Now write 280-320 words in 2-3 paragraphs. Paragraph 1: Market classification, trend, affordability. Paragraph 2: Regional context, anomaly, economic context. Paragraph 3: Recent momentum, practical implication. Let me draft.

Based on U.S. Census ACS 2024 5-Year Estimates.

How Montrose County Compares

MetricMontrose CountyColorado AverageU.S. Average
Median Home Value $388,400 $427,512 $227,706
Median Gross Rent $1,188 $1,302 $968
Owner Occupancy Rate 75.4% 71.9% 73.3%
Price/Rent Ratio 27.2 26.3 18.7

Market Analysis

The median home value in Montrose County is 9.1% below the Colorado state average and 70.6% above the U.S. national average. The median rent of $1,188/month is 8.8% below the state average.

With a price-to-rent ratio of 27.2, Montrose County is a strongly rent-favored market. Home prices are high relative to rents, meaning renting is typically far cheaper than owning in the near term.

Montrose County has an owner-occupancy rate of 75.4%, compared to 71.9% in Colorado and 73.3% nationally. This indicates a more homeowner-heavy market than the U.S. average.

Similar Counties by Home Value

CountyStateMedian Home ValueMedian Rent
Fresno County California $388,800 $1,392
Mariposa County California $387,900 $1,305
Carroll County New Hampshire $388,900 $1,195
Orange County New York $387,900 $1,680
New Hanover County North Carolina $387,800 $1,417

Other Counties in Colorado

CountyMedian Home ValueMedian RentOwner Occ.
Custer County $392,100 $1,069 85.3%
Mesa County $378,600 $1,182 72.5%
Mineral County $430,500 $928 69.7%
San Juan County $432,500 $992 52.9%
Delta County $343,200 $1,121 77.9%

Data Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS) 2024 5-Year Estimates (2017–2024). Variables: B25077 (Median Home Value), B25064 (Median Gross Rent), B25003 (Tenure). Data collected on 2026-10-14. The price-to-rent ratio is calculated as Median Home Value ÷ (Median Monthly Rent × 12).