Living in Parachute, Colorado: homes, schools and costs

The book's checklist

Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 2.5% below the U.S. average in the parts of Colorado outside metro areas.
More house for the moneyA typical home costs 4.6 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
A safer neighborhood6 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 4.4 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 11.8 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
Schools in town4 public schools: 2 elementary, 1 middle and 1 high school.
A hospital close byGrand River Hospital District in Rifle, about 16 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
Within reach of a big cityDenver is about 170 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means Parachute meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024: $271,400U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then: Up 23%Garfield County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities: $1,073 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income: $58,778U.S.: $80,734
Homes built before 1940: 5%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010: 4%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes: 0%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices: 97.5U.S. average = 100 (the parts of Colorado outside metro areas)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 23% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of Colorado outside metro areas, not Parachute alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2025 estimate: 1,3662020: 1,389
Median age: 26.1 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 11%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 32%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more: 11%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year: 5%U.S.: 6%
College students: 6%share of all residents

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work: Construction (15%); schools, health care and social services (13%); retail (12%)

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Grand River Hospital District, Rifle, CO, about 16 miles away. It's a critical access hospital (a small rural hospital with 25 or fewer beds). Medicare hasn't given it a star rating.

Nearest general hospital: Intermountain Health St. Mary's Regional Hospital, Grand Junction, CO, about 37 miles away. Medicare gives it 4 of 5 stars.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

4 public schools in Parachute, run by Grand Valley School District No. 16 in the county of Garfi.

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on Colorado's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Internet

Homes with any internet subscription: 96%U.S.: 91%

Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Weather

January average low: 13°F
July average high: 92°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 54 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 173 a year
Rain and melted snow: 12.8 inches a year
Snow: 27 inches a year
Elevation: 5,095 feet

Weather stations: Rifle Garfield Co Ap (18 miles away) and Rifle 3ENE (19 miles away, rain and snow). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

Grand River Hospital DistrictEmergency room16

Grand Junction, COCity of 72,00037

Denver, COMetro of 3.1 million170

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: Grand River Hospital District, Grand Junction, Denver.

Garfield County is outside any metro area, with 20,000 or more people in its towns, not next to a metro area (USDA rural-urban code 5, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

Colorado National Monument42 miles
Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park57 miles

Read about Parachute's history on Wikipedia.

Know Parachute?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

Battlement Mesa, CO5,800 people, 3 miles
Rifle, CO10,800 people, 16 miles
Silt, CO3,700 people, 23 miles
Palisade, CO2,600 people, 28 miles
New Castle, CO4,900 people, 30 miles
Fruitvale, CO8,000 people, 33 miles

Smaller places

De Beque, CO476 people, 12 miles

Sources

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.