Grand Junction and Mesa County are launching a Housing Needs Assessment to map local housing gaps and shape future Housing Action Plans. Share your input through the community survey, open house, and focus groups to help guide priorities for the Grand Valley.
Beginning in February, the City of Grand Junction and Mesa County will begin a new Housing Needs Assessment (HNA) process designed to create a shared, data-driven picture of local housing conditions and priorities across the Grand Valley. The work is intended to inform two separate Housing Action Plans, one tailored to the City of Grand Junction and one tailored to Mesa County, reflecting the different housing challenges and policy tools available in each jurisdiction.
A housing needs assessment is essentially the “baseline” phase of local housing planning. It combines data (rents, prices, availability, income levels, and housing stock) with community input to clarify what kinds of housing are most needed, where gaps are most acute, and which strategies are most likely to move the needle over the next several years.
In Colorado, this type of planning is increasingly tied to state-level expectations for regular housing needs assessments, strong community engagement, and the adoption of coordinated, evidence-based housing action plans.
Local officials are emphasizing that this assessment will be shaped by public engagement, not just technical analysis. Planned opportunities include a community open house, a county-wide survey, targeted focus groups, and stakeholder conversations with service providers, employers, developers, and housing partners.
Community Open House
According to the City, the open house will start with an overview of the Housing Needs Assessment and the process ahead, followed by opportunities for attendees to share input on the community’s greatest housing needs and the types of housing they would support.
Community-wide housing survey
The City also noted that updates and additional opportunities to participate will be shared through the Engage GJ platform as the project moves forward.
Housing planning can feel abstract until it is connected to everyday realities: whether a working household can find a rental they can afford, whether a senior can downsize without leaving their neighborhood, whether employers can retain staff who need stable housing, or whether young adults can build a life locally.
Grand Junction has used prior assessment work to shape housing strategy and related policy discussions. The City’s Engage GJ housing materials describe earlier housing needs assessment work completed in 2021, which helped inform the City’s housing strategy and subsequent updates.
This new 2026 assessment and action planning effort is also being supported by grants awarded to both the City of Grand Junction and Mesa County through the Colorado Department of Local Affairs (DOLA), and is framed as part of broader statewide momentum to standardize and regularly update local housing needs assessments and action plans.
The goal is straightforward: understand the Grand Valley’s most pressing housing needs and what kinds of housing options residents would support.
Community input typically helps clarify:
Grand Junction and Mesa County are gathering this input through a mix of a public survey, an open house, and smaller focus groups and stakeholder conversations.
For residents who want to track the project as it develops, the City says ongoing information, updates, and participation opportunities will be shared through Engage GJ.
For questions, the City’s announcement lists the Housing Division’s contact information:
If you are a Mesa County resident, housing provider, employer, developer, or service organization, this is a timely moment to participate. A well-designed housing needs assessment can help align local decision-making around a shared set of facts and community priorities, and it often becomes the foundation for future funding requests, program design, and policy updates.
