| Clifton, Colorado | |
| Settlement Type: | Census-designated place |
| Pushpin Map: | USA |
| Pushpin Label: | Clifton |
| Pushpin Label Position: | right |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location in the |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: |  United States |
| Subdivision Type1: | State |
| Subdivision Type2: | County |
| Subdivision Name2: | Mesa County |
| Government Type: | unincorporated town |
| Unit Pref: | US |
| Area Footnotes: | [1] |
| Area Total Sq Mi: | 6.061 |
| Area Land Sq Mi: | 5.988 |
| Area Water Sq Mi: | 0.073 |
| Population As Of: | 2020 |
| Population Footnotes: | [2] |
| Population Total: | 20413 |
| Population Density Sq Mi: | 3409.0 |
| Timezone: | MST |
| Utc Offset: | -7 |
| Timezone Dst: | MDT |
| Utc Offset Dst: | -6 |
| Coordinates: | 39.0764°N -108.4606°W |
| Elevation Footnotes: | / |
| Elevation Ft: | 4724 |
| Postal Code Type: | ZIP Codes[3] |
| Postal Code: | 81520 (Clifton) 81504 (Grand Junction) |
| Area Code: | 970 |
| Blank Name: | GNIS feature |
| Blank Info: | 2407634 |
Clifton is a census-designated place (CDP) and post office in and governed by Mesa County, Colorado, United States. It is part of the Grand Junction, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area.[4] The Clifton post office has the ZIP Code 81520.[3] As of the 2020 census, the population of the Clifton CDP was 20,413.[2]
The Clifton Post Office has been in operation since 1900.[5] The community was named for cliffs near the town site.[6]
Clifton is in central Mesa County, bordered to the west by the city of Grand Junction and to the northwest by unincorporated Fruitvale. The Colorado River forms the southern edge of the community. U.S. Route 6 passes through the center of Clifton, leading west 6miles to the center of Grand Junction and east the same distance to Palisade. Interstate 70 passes along the northern edge of Clifton, with access from Exit 37 (I-70 Business). Colorado State Highway 141 leads south from US 6, 5miles to U.S. Route 50. The Clifton CDP has an area of, of which 0.07sqmi, or 1.20%, are water.[1]
The United States Census Bureau initially defined the for the