Montezuma County is a county in Colorado, United States, in the state’s southwest corner
at the Four Corners, about 45 miles west of Durango. It had a population of 25,849 at the 2020
census, an estimated 26,678 by 2025, and covers 2,040 square miles (5,284 km2) centred near
37°20′N 108°36′W.
Cortez is the county seat and the county’s only city; its postal code is 81321. The
county holds 1 city, 2 incorporated towns, 2 census-designated places and 11 smaller
unincorporated communities, and it runs on Mountain Time. Its FIPS code is 08083.
Towns & Villages in Montezuma County
Montezuma County has 16 named places on record: 5 incorporated cities, towns and
census-designated places, and 11 unincorporated communities with no local government of their
own. CDP stands for census designated place; Unincorp. covers post offices, crossroads and rural
communities with no formal boundary.
| Place | Type | Pop. | ZIP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cortez | City · seat | 8,766 | 81321 |
| Mancos | Town | 1,196 | 81328 |
| Towaoc | CDP | 1,120 | 81334 |
| Dolores | Town | 885 | 81323 |
| Lewis | CDP | 257 | 81327 |
| Pleasant View | Unincorp. | — | 81331 |
| Yellow Jacket | Unincorp. | — | 81335 |
| Arriola | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Stoner | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Golconda | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Lebanon | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Mariano | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Millwood | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Roundup Junction | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Stapleton | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Weber | Unincorp. | — | — |
ZIP Codes
- 81321 — Cortez
- 81328 — Mancos
- 81334 — Towaoc
- 81323 — Dolores
- 81327 — Lewis
- 81331 — Pleasant View
- 81335 — Yellow Jacket
Arriola, Stoner, Golconda, Lebanon, Mariano, Millwood, Roundup Junction, Stapleton and Weber
have no ZIP code of their own; mail to those communities is delivered under the nearest post
office town’s code. Several — Golconda, Lebanon, Mariano, Millwood, Roundup
Junction, Stapleton and Weber — are small rural place names on record with no current
population figure and no active post office.
Geography
Montezuma County sits on the Colorado Plateau in the state’s far southwest corner, a
landscape of high desert mesas, canyons and forested mountains. Of its 2,040 square miles, about
2,030 are land and 11 are water, roughly 0.5 percent — most of that surface water is
McPhee Reservoir, Colorado’s second-largest by capacity, formed by a dam on the Dolores
River. Sleeping Ute Mountain, a landmark ridge sacred to the Ute people, rises southwest of
Cortez, and the county’s southeastern edge climbs into the foothills of the La Plata
Mountains near Mancos. Much of the county’s southern half lies within the Ute Mountain
Ute Reservation.
Dolores County borders Montezuma to the north, San Juan County to the northeast, La Plata
County to the east, San Juan County, New Mexico to the south, Apache County, Arizona touches
its southwest corner at the Four Corners, and San Juan County, Utah lies to the west. Dolores County, San Juan County, La Plata County, San Juan County, New Mexico and San Juan County, Utah all border Montezuma directly.
Demographics
Montezuma County had a population of 25,849 at the 2020 census, and the latest estimate puts
the county near 26,678 residents. Cortez and Mancos are the two largest communities, together
holding roughly two-fifths of the county’s population. Median household income runs
$65,244, well below Colorado’s statewide figure of $92,911 (2023 ACS). Population density
works out to about 12.7 people per square mile of land, low even by rural Colorado standards.
Native Americans make up about 12.9 percent of the county’s population, reflecting the Ute
Mountain Ute Reservation in the county’s south, and Hispanic or Latino residents make up
about 12 percent.
Economy & Local Life
Health care and social assistance employs the most workers in the county, about 1,788 people,
followed by retail trade at 1,480 and public administration at 1,043 — the last of those
unusually large for the county’s size because county government, the Ute Mountain Ute
tribal administration and federal land agencies (the National Park Service and Bureau of Land
Management) all maintain a substantial local workforce here. Tourism built around Mesa Verde
National Park, Canyons of the Ancients National Monument and Hovenweep National Monument drives
much of the retail and hospitality trade in and around Cortez. Osprey Packs, an outdoor gear
maker, is headquartered in Cortez and employs more than 100 people. The Montezuma-Cortez School
District RE-1 runs eleven schools, including three charter schools, for about 2,929 students
countywide.
History
The Colorado Legislature created Montezuma County out of the western portion of La Plata
County in April 1889, naming it for Moctezuma II, the Aztec emperor who ruled during the Spanish
conquest of Mexico — though no direct historical link between the Aztec Empire and this
part of Colorado has ever been established. The area had been home to Ancestral Puebloan
communities from roughly AD 600 until they abandoned the region around 1300, leaving behind the
cliff dwellings now protected inside Mesa Verde National Park. Anglo resettlement began in the
1870s.
McPhee, once a company lumber town on the Dolores River, produced more than half of
Colorado’s milled lumber at its 1927 peak and housed up to 1,500 workers before its
sawmill closed in 1946. The site now lies beneath McPhee Reservoir, created when the dam serving
the federal Dolores Project was completed in 1985 to supply irrigation and municipal water to
Montezuma and Dolores counties and to the Ute Mountain Ute Reservation.
Getting There
No interstate crosses Montezuma County. U.S. Route 160 runs east–west through Cortez and
Mancos, U.S. Route 491 runs north–south through Cortez, and Colorado Highways 145 and 184
serve Dolores and the county’s northern reaches.
- Durango — about 45 miles east
- Farmington, New Mexico — about 40 miles south
- Telluride — about 65 miles north
- Moab, Utah — about 110 miles west
Cortez Municipal Airport, on the city’s west side, is the county’s own commercial
airport. Durango–La Plata County Airport, about 55 miles east, offers more frequent
service to major hubs. No Amtrak line reaches Montezuma County; the nearest station is in
Grand Junction, over 130 miles north.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Montezuma County located?
It sits in Colorado’s southwest corner at the Four Corners, about 45 miles west of
Durango, bordered by Dolores, San Juan, La Plata, San Juan (New Mexico) and San Juan (Utah)
counties.
What is the population of Montezuma County?
25,849 at the 2020 census, with an estimate near 26,678 by 2025.
How big is Montezuma County?
2,040 square miles (5,284 km2), of which about 2,030 square miles are land.
What is the county seat of Montezuma County?
Cortez, the county’s only incorporated city, is the county seat.
How many towns and villages are in Montezuma County?
Three incorporated places — Cortez, Mancos and Dolores — plus the census-designated
places Towaoc and Lewis, and 11 smaller unincorporated communities including Pleasant View,
Yellow Jacket, Arriola and Stoner.
What ZIP codes does Montezuma County use?
81321 for Cortez, 81328 for Mancos, 81334 for Towaoc, 81323 for Dolores, 81327 for Lewis, 81331
for Pleasant View and 81335 for Yellow Jacket.
What is Montezuma County known for?
Mesa Verde National Park’s cliff dwellings, Canyons of the Ancients and Hovenweep national
monuments, and the Ute Mountain Ute Reservation headquartered in Towaoc.
More counties in this state: Towns and villages in Colorado.