Separated by an hour-long drive on U.S. Highway 50, the communities of Grand Junction and Montrose share some common traits. They feature mild weather, scenic areas that draw scores of tourists, strong retail and manufacturing sectors and burgeoning hospitals and schools.

Those characteristics likely helped them jointly gain another distinction — they were the fastest-growing areas in Colorado and in the top 10 nationally last year in their respective population divisions, according to data the U.S. Census Bureau released Wednesday.

Thanks mostly to western Colorado’s oil and gas boom, Mesa County’s population grew 3.7 percent last year, from 134,061 to 139,082. The spurt placed it at the top of the state’s seven metropolitan areas and ninth among the 363 metro areas in the U.S.

The population of the Montrose area also jumped 3.7 percent last year, from 38,109 to 39,527. That made it the fastest-growing mini-metro, or micropolitan area, in the state and eighth among the nation’s 576 micropolitan areas.

Diane Schwenke, executive director of the Grand Junction Area Chamber of Commerce, said the data is catching up to what Mesa County residents have known for a few years.

“Obviously the energy activity and what we’re seeing with that probably helped us not only in terms of the ranking in the state, but, more importantly, in the national ranking,” she said. “It shows we’re countercyclical to what’s happening with the rest of the nation. Everyone else is seeing decline in terms of jobs and wages, and that makes our numbers all the more impressive.”

Schwenke said she believes Mesa County’s longtime standing as a regional destination for health care, education, entertainment and retail services also contributed to its high ranking.

“As the population continues to grow, those sectors continue to grow, and that’s why it’s important that we continue to make those investments, particularly when you’re talking about health care and education. St. Mary’s (Hospital) and Mesa State (College) are huge draws for this area,” she said.

Given the volatility of the energy industry, however, Schwenke said she expects the growth of the area to level off at some point.

“We are not that isolated” from an economic downturn, she said. “We are going to see some effects locally of a national recession.”

Montrose Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Marge Keehfuss said Montrose’s weather plays a significant factor in drawing residents to the area.

“I think people have been visiting Montrose, traveling to Montrose for vacations, and they’ve always liked Montrose, and now they’re thinking, ‘I’m a little bit older,’ or ‘I want to get out of this big city,’ and they move to Montrose,” she said.

Keehfuss also attributed the area’s population growth to a surge in retail and service-oriented jobs.

She said many of the new chamber members or people who come into the chamber’s office for information indicate they moved to Montrose from the Front Range or the Midwest.

“It’s almost like all the years before they forgot we were over here, and now they’ve discovered us,” Keehfuss said.

Mesa County’s 3.7 percent growth rate ranked ahead of Greeley (243,750 population in 2007, 3.6 percent growth), Denver-Aurora (2.46 million, 2.2), Fort Collins-Loveland (287,574, 2.1), Pueblo (154,538, 1.6), Boulder (290,262, 1.4) and Colorado Springs (609,096, 1.1).

Montrose’s 3.7 percent growth rate ranked ahead of Edwards (59,272 population in 2007, 3.2 percent), Silverthorne (26,547, 2.2), Durango (49,555, 1.5), Sterling (21,055, 0.4), Cañon City (47,389, 0.4) and Fort Morgan (27,961, 0.2).

Nationally, Montrose ranked behind sixth-place Vernal, Utah, the beneficiary of energy development in northeast Utah’s Uintah Basin. Vernal’s population jumped 4.2 percent last year, from 27,878 to 29,042.

E-mail Mike Wiggins at mwiggins@gjds.com.