During most of the Pueblo III period, the population of the Mesa Verde region grew. In A.D. 1250, there were more people living in the region than had ever lived there before.

But after A.D. 1250, the population of the region quickly declined, as people once again migrated south.

By A.D. 1285, Pueblo people no longer lived in the Mesa Verde region. They had moved to villages in New Mexico and Arizona, joining other Pueblo Indians who were already living in those places.