ZIP 81523

81523 is one of 17 ZIP codes that lie mostly in Mesa County, CO.

Shaded by typical home value, it ranks 3 of the 15 with a value.

Mapped in and around 81523: 18 places to go — 11 day trips, 6 trails, 1 arts & venues.

In March 2002 the typical home in 81523 was worth $209,515.

Values peaked at $625,624 in August 2026. The latest reading is the peak.

As of August 2026: $625,624, +4.4% over twelve months.

Start with the typical home: $625,624. Put 20% down and borrow $500,499 at 7.40%, the 30-year fixed average as of October 8, 2026.

That is $3,465 a month in principal and interest.

The median household here earns $102,830 a year, $8,569 a month. So the payment takes 40.4% 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 13.5% in 2002.

Take the typical home's price each month, borrow 80% at that month's actual 30-year average rate: in March 2002 (7.01%) the payment was $1,117.

In December 2020, with rates at 2.68%, it was $1,480.

By August 2026, at 6.67%, it was $3,219 — +117% since December 2020, while the home's value moved +37%.

Reported values rose +199% since March 2002.

General prices (CPI-U) rose +87% over the same span.

Divide one by the other: in August 2026 dollars, the 2002 home was worth $392,187. So the real change is +60%, not +199%.

81523: +199% since March 2002.

Mesa County: +184% since March 2002.

Colorado: +145% since March 2002 — 81523 ran ahead of it by 54 points.

Owning the typical home costs about $4,091 a month once taxes and insurance (estimated at 1.2% of price a year) are added. Renting runs about $1,182 a month.

Price divided by a year's rent: 44.1. Lotvox reads under 15 as favoring buying and 20 or more as favoring renting.

Homes sold: about 1 a month in August 2026 (Redfin).

The 2015–2019 level for the same month was 1 — so sales ran at 100% of it, and below it in 4 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: 5 in June 2026.

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

County assessor records list 416 properties with a market value here. Their average assessed market value is $369,445; the typical home value is $625,624.

The assessor average sits −40.9% from the market figure — an average against a typical value, so treat it as a check, not a verdict.

Of 373 homes with a recorded purchase date, 34% have had the same owner for 20 years or more, and 20% changed hands in the last five.

71% are owned from a different mailing address, 6% from out of state.