Palisade

The community was named for the cliffs near the town site. Known for its peach orchards and wine vineyards. The climate, a 182-day growing season, and an average 78 percent of sunshine makes Palisade "The Peach Capital of Colorado".

• Name — Palisade, Colorado • Nickname — Peach Capital of Colorado • Settlement Type — Town • Image Skyline — Main Street Palisade Colorado USA.JPG • Image Caption — Main Street in Palisade • Image Map — File:Mesa County Colorado Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Palisade Highlighted 0856970.svg • Mapsize — 250px • Map Caption — Location in Mesa County, Colorado • Subdivision Type — Country • Subdivision Name — United States • Subdivision Type1 — State • Subdivision Name1 — Colorado • Subdivision Type2 — County • Subdivision Name2 — Mesa • Government Type — Statutory town • Leader Title — Mayor • Established Title2 — Incorporated (town) • Established Date2 — April 4, 1904 • Unit Pref — Imperial • Area Total Km2 — 3.09 • Area Land Km2 — 3.08 • Area Water Km2 — 0.01 • Area Total Sq Mi — 1.19 • Area Land Sq Mi — 1.19 • Area Water Sq Mi — 0.01 • Population As Of — 2020 • Population Total — 2565 • Population Density Sq Mi — 2155.5 • Timezone — Mountain (MST) • Utc Offset — -7 • Timezone Dst — MDT • Utc Offset Dst — -6 • Elevation Ft — 4718 • Postal Code Type — ZIP code • Postal Code — 81526 • Area Code — 970 • Blank Name — FIPS code • Blank Info — 08-56970 • Blank1 Name — GNIS feature ID • Blank1 Info — 2413101 • Website — www.townofpalisade.org Palisade is a statutory town in Mesa County, Colorado, United States. It is part of the Grand Junction Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 2,565 at the 2020 census, down from 2,692 in 2010. The community was named for the cliffs near the town site. Palisade is known for its peach orchards and wine vineyards. The climate, a 182-day growing season, and an average 78 percent of sunshine makes Palisade "The Peach Capital of Colorado".

Palisade lies on the north side of the Colorado River, 11 mi east of Grand Junction, the county seat. U.S. Route 6 passes through the town as 8th Street, while Interstate 70 runs along the northern border of the town at the foot of the cliffs to the north, with access to the town from Exit 42. According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 1.2 sqmi, of which 0.006 sqmi, or 0.50%, are water.

Palisade has a cool semi-arid climate (Köppen BSk), relatively mild by Colorado standards. On average each year the town sees 13 in of snow and 10 in of precipitation, with the wettest calendar year having been 1983 with 19.37 in, and the driest 1956 with 4.68 in. The most precipitation in one month has been 4.49 in in October 1941, and the most in 24 hours 1.93 in on October 4, 1914. The most snowfall in one season has been 55.4 in between July 1915 and June 1916, and the most during one month 28.3 in in January 1957; in contrast, only a trace fell between July 1933 and June 1934. Palisade falls within the USDA hardiness zone 7. The average window for freezing temperatures is October 22 to April 19, allowing a frost-free season of 187 days. On average 121 mornings each year fall to or below freezing, but 0 F is not reached in most winters and maxima top freezing on all but thirteen afternoons. During summer afternoons top 90 F on 66 afternoons; however, 100 F is reached only about half a dozen times each summer and only ten mornings stay above 68 F. The coldest temperature recorded has been −23 F on January 7, 1913 and the coldest maximum 3 F on January 12, 1963 and February 6, 1989, while the hottest recorded temperature is 111 F on July 5, 1937. The hottest month has been July 2003 with a mean of 84.0 F and a mean maximum of 100.5 F; the coldest has been January 1917 with a mean of 15.2 F.

As of the 2020 census, Palisade had a population of 2,565. The median age was 45.1 years. 18.0% of residents were under the age of 18 and 24.4% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 100.4 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 95.9 males age 18 and over. 100.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 0.0% lived in rural areas. There were 1,185 households in Palisade, of which 25.1% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 40.4% were married-couple households, 22.2% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 29.9% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 36.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 18.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. There were 1,254 housing units, of which 5.5% were vacant. The homeowner vacancy rate was 0.5% and the rental vacancy rate was 6.8%. Racial composition as of the 2020 census • Race — Number — Percent • White — 2,175 — 84.8% • Black or African American — 9 — 0.4% • American Indian and Alaska Native — 24 — 0.9% • Asian — 27 — 1.1% • Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander — 3 — 0.1% • Some other race — 120 — 4.7% • Two or more races — 207 — 8.1% • Hispanic or Latino (of any race) — 304 — 11.9%

As of the census of 2000, there were 2,579 people, 1,051 households, and 689 families residing in the town. The population density was 2,399.5 PD/sqmi. There were 1,117 housing units at an average density of 1,039.3 /mi2. The racial makeup of the town was 93.91% White, 0.19% African American, 1.05% Native American, 0.50% Asian, 0.27% Pacific Islander, 1.36% from other races, and 2.71% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6.24% of the population. There were 1,051 households, out of which 30.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.8% were married couples living together, 12.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.4% were non-families. 29.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 2.91. In the town, the population was spread out, with 24.3% under the age of 18, 7.6% from 18 to 24, 26.5% from 25 to 44, 21.5% from 45 to 64, and 20.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 87.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.3 males. The median income for a household in the town was $27,739, and the median income for a family was $31,797. Males had a median income of $28,231 versus $21,875 for females. The per capita income for the town was $15,539. About 11.0% of families and 14.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.2% of those under age 18 and 10.7% of those age 65 or over.

Palisade has one high school, Palisade High School. It also has one elementary school, Taylor Elementary. Mount Garfield Middle School is located on the border of Clifton and Palisade.

• Clair Finch, Wisconsin state legislator and lawyer • Gordon Swann, geologist for the Apollo 14 and Apollo 15 lunar landings – the asteroid 4082 Swann is named after him • Rena Mary Taylor, state legislator