Colorado

#15 Colorado

#27 in Taxation and Regulation

#24 in Workforce Quality

#2 in Living Environment

Right to Work? ✗

Regional Profile – West

STATE	OVERALL REGIONAL RANK	TAXATION & REGULATION REGIONAL RANK	WORKFORCE QUALITY REGIONAL RANK	LIVING ENVIRONMENT REGIONAL RANK
California	9	9	9	9
Colorado	3	6	7	2
Idaho	5	2	2	1
Montana	6	5	4	4
Nevada	1	3	6	8
Oregon	8	8	8	7
Utah	4	4	1	3
Washington	7	7	3	5
Wyoming	2	1	5	6

Key Industries

Advanced Manufacturing, Aerospace, Agriculture, Bioscience, Food & Beverage, Health and Wellness, Homeland Defense, Logistics

Key Companies

Ball Corp.

Boston Market

Celestial Seasonings

Chipotle

Coors

Crocs

Dish Network

Einstein Bros. Bagels

Janus Capital Group

Advantages

Colorado’s startup community may be revving up. More businesses were launched in Colorado in 1Q16 than in the previous two quarters (individually), and business confidence held steady for the second month in a row, according to the Colorado University Index.

Challenges

Although flat against last month, confidence is down severely from a year ago, and businesses are very concerned about a talent shortage. In addition, new car/truck registrations dropped 23% in March, and used vehicle registration is down 14.9%, according to the Colorado Auto Dealers Association.

Key Contacts

Office of Economic Development and International Trade

Fiona Arnold, Executive Director
303-892-3840
1625 Broadway,
Suite 2700
Denver, CO 80202
[email protected]
http://www.advancecolorado.com/

CEO Comments

“Colorado used to be one of the best states to do business in, but the regulatory environment has continually gotten worse for employers. Also the cost of living has risen much faster than the national average for the last 5-7 years.”

“The Colorado Recreational Cannabis Law making the sale of recreational marijuana legal in Colorado has cause this state to BOOM! As tax revenues soar, $72 Million in taxes collected for cannabis vs. $40 million in alcohol tax revenue.”