ZIP 81520

81520 is one of 17 ZIP codes that lie mostly in Mesa County, CO.

Shaded by typical home value, it ranks 15 of the 15 with a value.

Mapped in and around 81520: 33 places to go — 12 dining, 9 day trips, 5 parks & open space.

3 school locations in 81520: 2 elementary, 1 middle.

In alphabetical order: Clifton Elementary School, Mount Garfield Middle School, Rocky Mountain Elementary School. Locations only — no ratings are shown here.

In January 2000 the typical home in 81520 was worth $96,342.

Values peaked at $333,166 in March 2026. The latest reading is −0.4% from that peak.

As of August 2026: $331,767, +1.1% over twelve months.

Start with the typical home: $331,767. Put 20% down and borrow $265,414 at 7.40%, the 30-year fixed average as of October 8, 2026.

That is $1,838 a month in principal and interest.

The median household here earns $50,769 a year, $4,231 a month. So the payment takes 43.4% of income — rated “severe” (Lotvox ZIP bands: under 28% affordable · 28–36% stretched · 36%+ severe).

The line holds today's rate fixed and moves only the price: at that rate, the same share was 12.6% in 2000.

Take the typical home's price each month, borrow 80% at that month's actual 30-year average rate: in January 2000 (8.21%) the payment was $577.

In December 2020, with rates at 2.68%, it was $720.

By August 2026, at 6.67%, it was $1,707 — +137% since December 2020, while the home's value moved +49%.

Reported values rose +244% since January 2000.

General prices (CPI-U) rose +97% over the same span.

Divide one by the other: in August 2026 dollars, the 2000 home was worth $190,141. So the real change is +74%, not +244%.

81520: +244% since January 2000.

Mesa County: +206% since January 2000.

Colorado: +199% since January 2000 — 81520 ran ahead of it by 46 points.

Owning the typical home costs about $2,169 a month once taxes and insurance (estimated at 1.2% of price a year) are added. Renting runs about $1,380 a month.

Price divided by a year's rent: 20.0. Lotvox reads under 15 as favoring buying and 20 or more as favoring renting.

Picture the Listings Flow Ladder as a basin: new listings pour in from the faucet, the homes for sale are the water, and closed sales run out the drain. Coming in — new listings: about 22 a month (Redfin, 3-month rolling data through August 2026). That is 84% of the 2015–2019 level for the same months.

On the shelf — homes for sale at the end of the period: 57.

Going out — closed sales: about 15 a month. That is 61% of the 2015–2019 level for the same months. The drain is drawn 20% narrower: the share of homes for sale that sell each month is 80% of its 2015–2019 level.

The ladder: homes for sale ÷ monthly sales = 3.7 months of supply — below the 4–6 month range Lotvox treats as balanced. In the basin, that is the water level against the shaded balanced band.

The net reading: about 7 more homes came on than sold each month, so inventory is growing. The basin is filling.

Homes sold: about 15 a month in August 2026 (Redfin).

The 2015–2019 level for the same month was 21 — so sales ran at 71% of it, and below it in 23 of the last 24 months.

Across Mesa County, builders pulled permits for 810 new homes in 2025.

Of those, 86% were in 1-unit buildings (the Census Bureau's category for detached and attached single homes).

This ZIP sits in Mesa County. IRS tax returns for 2022-2023: among the ten counties sending the most households, 1,295 moved in. Among the ten receiving the most, 976 moved out.

Net across those counties: +319 households. Beside it, homes for sale in this ZIP: 57 in June 2026.

Most arrivals came from Garfield, CO (237 households); most departures went to Delta, CO (151).

County assessor records list 3,176 properties with a market value here. Their average assessed market value is $281,515; the typical home value is $331,767.

The assessor average sits −15.1% from the market figure — an average against a typical value, so treat it as a check, not a verdict.

Of 4,452 homes with a recorded purchase date, 25% have had the same owner for 20 years or more, and 27% changed hands in the last five.

27% are owned from a different mailing address, 3% from out of state.