Fruita Data 2023

Visitation at Colorado National Monument is calculated using numbers obtained from traffic counters located at east and west entrance, DS Road and 16.5 Road.  A multiplier rate (average people per vehicle) is determined from Denver Service Center multiplied by the actual traffic counter numbers.

Recreational visitor count is an estimate of people recreating or visiting in the park whereas non-recreational is those coming to and from Glade Park who are just driving thru and not visiting the monument.

2015 were estimates due to traffic counters not working for majority of the year and we believe were higher than actual numbers.  In 2016 new traffic counters were installed which are more efficient than in previous years. 

*A new counting method was introduced in 2017 which reflects more accurate counts.

Traffic Counts

Colorado Department of Transportation keeps updated traffic counts available  on the CDOT wesbite. This link will take you to a table that lists various locations in Mesa County. There are nine different locations measured in Fruita scattered throughout the table.

The City of Fruita provides core services to support the three pillars of our community including Economic Health, Quality of Place, and Lifestyle. Business recruitment and retention is a specific action to Fruita’s economic health. Fruita recognizes business recruitment and retention is achieved by creating a strong community with diverse housing choices, accommodating businesses, attracting and retaining talent, and strengthening the labor force with education and training. Diversifying the economy not only in Fruita but throughout Mesa County is a key variable in creating a strong economy in the Grand Valley. Surrounded by public lands, outdoor recreation has been an economic driver for Fruita and continues to be. With Fruita’s rooted community and growth in popularity as a tourist destination, Fruita’s economy is strengthened with a diversity of economic drivers. Over the past ten years, Fruita’s downtown area has been filled with local restaurants and businesses and has seen success with the support of locals and tourists. The Grand Valley, including Fruita’s Business Park, has also seen an increase in manufacturers and is expected to grow with outdoor and precision manufacturers. When it comes to quality of place and lifestyle, Fruita strives to enhance safety, increase the connection to parks, schools, neighborhoods, public lands, and facilities, and strengthen education and healthcare. Fruita is a family-friendly community that fosters a fun and funky ambiance where arts, farming, leisure opportunities, and family-friendly events are celebrated. Fruita is a place where people love where they live and visitors feel like locals.

• Quality of Place (QP) - The City of Fruita is a community where residents and visitors love where they are. The City strives to be a bike and pedestrian friendly community by providing a system of sidewalks, trails, and bike lanes that connect our parks, schools, neighborhoods, civic facilities, and commercial areas. We value safe neighborhoods, our geographic natural resources and landscapes, top tier education and healthcare, and we collaborate to provide quality essential infrastructure and services. We are an inclusive community of doers who enjoy active and healthy lifestyles.
• Economic Health (EH) - The City of Fruita strives to be financially sustainable by enabling a stable economy and supporting a diversity of businesses that offer well-paying jobs that attract educated employees. The City works to be fiscally responsible and continuously seeks ways to allocate resources to services and projects that have the highest impact on the City’s priorities. We are the innovative leader for economic development in the Grand Valley.
• Lifestyle (L) - The City of Fruita fosters a fun and funky ambiance by celebrating the local arts, farm and ranching history, unique leisure opportunities, and family-friendly events and activities. As a city, we encourage a diversity of cultural opportunities, businesses, and recreational activities. We continue to improve and enhance recreational offerings from traditional to outdoor adventure sports and youth to adult activities. We are a family-friendly community with diverse cultural opportunities, businesses and recreational amenities where visitors feel like locals and locals play like visitors.

• Fruita relies primarily on sales tax revenue when it comes to providing core services to residents and local businesses.
• The City of Fruita has seen 5 straight years of record-breaking sales tax collections.  Even despite the pandemic, this growth has continued.  2021 City sales tax collections were 14% over 2020. 
• The region continues to see increased economic activity as well, and County sales tax collections continue to increase year after year.  County sales tax collections for 2021 were 21% higher than 2020. 
• The local economy has transitioned from seasonal to year-round strength.
• Recreational activities such as horseback riding, dinosaur bone digging, cable wakeboarding, and rafting or SUPing Ruby-Horsethief Canyon of the Colorado River continue to increase in popularity.
• New business growth is steady with 50 new businesses in 2021; 44 new businesses in 2020; and 39 new businesses in 2019.  
  • Fruita relies heavily on and appreciates its small businesses of all industries and realizes that the outdoor lifestyle is a major incentive to residents, visitors and businesses alike. To view more businesses in the area, visit the Fruita Area Chamber of Commerce.

Residents of Fruita love living in Fruita, enjoy its small-town feel, and preserving these special qualities are important. These values are the foundation of all plans, goals, and policies in Fruita. The Fruita community identified a set of community values which can be found by visiting the Fruita in Motion: Plan Like a Local webpage. Based on the community’s values, the following is the vision for Fruita.

“The City of Fruita values quality of place. It’s an inclusive city, with a small-town feel and vibrant downtown, surrounded by public lands. People love to live, work, and play in Fruita because the City facilitates community, safe neighborhoods, family-friendly events, and walking and biking. The City governs in a way that’s responsive to its citizens and prioritizes high-impact services and projects. Fruita fosters a fun and funky ambiance around the arts, agriculture, and recreation.”