A Research Series
You've heard plenty about what's hard for Colorado business right now. Yes. And…Colorado is a series of insight studies, built on data, intended to drive conversation and to add some new perspective to the story.
Get the Insight Study The Facts Behind Colorado Business. Download »Every conversation about doing business in Colorado seems to start in the same place these days. Costs are up. Regulation is a concern. Hiring is competitive. All of that is fair, and none of it should be waved away. But at some point, those concerns stopped being part of the conversation and became the whole thing.
The Front Range has real advantages, and they're the kind that are hard for other markets to build from scratch. People who move here tend to stay. The state's policy record is steadier than its reputation. Several industry clusters here compete at an international level. Workers of all ages keep choosing this place. We went looking for the evidence, and we found more of it than we expected.
"Yes. And…" isn't a way of dodging the hard parts. It's about bringing balance to the conversation. Costs have gone up, and so has personal income. The legislature gets a lot of attention, and Colorado's voting history has been more moderate than some people assume. Talent is expensive to win, and once you have it, this is one of the easiest places in the country to keep it. If you're deciding whether to expand here, hire here, or stay, you need the whole picture.
You may think the narrative is out of balance. What you may not have is a good answer ready when it comes up, in a board meeting or from a candidate weighing an offer in another state. That's what this is for. Every brief gives you the data and the language to go with it, short enough to remember and clearly sourced so you can say it out loud without wondering where it came from.
All of the research, the methodology, and the sourcing.
Download the full researchOne competitive advantage at a time, in about five minutes of reading, for seven consecutive weeks. Sent to your inbox.
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Click each section to view the full studies.
A quick look at the areas the research covers. Denver South commissioned a full look at what makes the Colorado Front Range competitive, and this series breaks it into eight parts you can read in order or on their own.
View the full study: Introduction2019 – 2025
143 businesses
chose to move to, expand, or invest in Colorado creating
42,145 new jobs
Companies do leave Colorado. Companies also arrive, and we counted both. This one covers where the investment is going, how broad the industry base is, and what remote and hybrid work actually changed about the way employers here invest in their people.
View the full study: Business Growth and Investment TrendsRecruiting is expensive…but replacing someone is worse. The pipeline here runs through the state’s schools, its universities and its community colleges, with state money behind workforce training on top of that. We looked at what employers say about their hiring plans, and at the companies that moved here specifically for the talent.
Executives reported mixed but generally stable workforce expectations for the next 12 months.
Colorado Workforce Plans over the next 12 months.
| Survey period | Expanding Workforce Presence Within Colorado | Expanding Workforce Presence Outside of Colorado | Reducing Workforce Presence Within Colorado | Considering Leaving Colorado | No Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fall '25 | 33% | 14% | 22% | 3% | 28% |
| Spring '26 | 32% | 13% | 12% | 2% | 42% |
59 Local Governments. 1 Regional Economy.
DRCOG already has a particularly useful example of pooled resources: its regional aerial-imagery program coordinates acquisition on behalf of 50+ public entities and local governments. data.drcog.org
Jurisdictions along the Front Range coordinate on transit and mobility more than most metros manage. We surveyed commuters about what that’s worth, and looked at what public transportation access and local transportation programs do for employers.
View the full study: Regional CollaborationOur metro area is one of the 20 largest major metropolitan areas in the U.S. The Front Range of Colorado is a leader in forward-looking transportation.
View the full study: Transportation and MobilityThis is where the concern gets loudest, so we went to the evidence. What recent legislation has actually done to wages and to employers, and what the state’s new competitiveness council is set up to do about the rest.
View the full study: Legislative ImpactsSofter cycles open up space in real estate, in talent, and in market position, usually for whoever moves first. Commercial brokers working this market walked us through what that looks like right now, and where they think it goes next.
View the full study: Advantages of the Current MarketCost is the first thing anyone raises, so we compared it against the markets companies actually consider instead. This one also covers where housing has settled, what’s still being built and funded along the corridor, and how the region has come through downturns before.
View the full study: Economic Resiliency and Long-Term StabilityA lot of people want to live in Colorado, and we have so many education systems here and universities that are well qualified and turning out good employees for companies.
We're not trying to sell you on Colorado. We're not interested in cheerleading, and we're not interested in gloom either. We care about getting it right, because leaders make better calls with better information, and the information out there has become pretty scattered.
Read the research, then follow the series week by week.
Get the Insight Study The Facts Behind Colorado Business. Download »