ZIP 81524

81524 is one of 17 ZIP codes that lie mostly in Mesa County, CO.

Shaded by typical home value, it ranks 1 of the 15 with a value.

Mapped in and around 81524: 87 places to go — 74 trails, 10 day trips, 2 parks & open space.

1 school location in 81524: 1 elementary.

In alphabetical order: Loma Elementary School. Locations only — no ratings are shown here.

In January 2000 the typical home in 81524 was worth $170,265.

Values peaked at $659,193 in August 2026. The latest reading is the peak.

As of August 2026: $659,193, +7.4% over twelve months.

Start with the typical home: $659,193. Put 20% down and borrow $527,354 at 7.40%, the 30-year fixed average as of October 8, 2026.

That is $3,651 a month in principal and interest.

The median household here earns $109,578 a year, $9,132 a month. So the payment takes 40.0% 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 10.3% 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 $1,019.

In December 2020, with rates at 2.68%, it was $1,486.

By August 2026, at 6.67%, it was $3,391 — +128% since December 2020, while the home's value moved +44%.

Reported values rose +287% 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 $336,036. So the real change is +96%, not +287%.

81524: +287% since January 2000.

Mesa County: +206% since January 2000.

Colorado: +199% since January 2000 — 81524 ran ahead of it by 89 points.

Owning the typical home costs about $4,310 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: 46.5. Lotvox reads under 15 as favoring buying and 20 or more as favoring renting.

Homes sold: about 4 a month in August 2026 (Redfin).

The 2015–2019 level for the same month was 1 — so sales ran at 400% of it, and below it in 10 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: 9 in June 2026.

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

County assessor records list 453 properties with a market value here. Their average assessed market value is $415,260; the typical home value is $659,193.

The assessor average sits −37.0% from the market figure — an average against a typical value, so treat it as a check, not a verdict.

Of 408 homes with a recorded purchase date, 22% have had the same owner for 20 years or more, and 28% changed hands in the last five.

22% are owned from a different mailing address, 1% from out of state.