Hayden Hogoboom, Digital and Social Media Coordinator

This is the 5th blog in a 5-part series about regenerative economics in Colorado.

Colorado’s economy is supported by a variety of sectors that fly under the radar in terms of their economic impact. One of those sectors is Technology and Software. Colorado and the Front Range are national hubs for forward-thinking innovation, creative solutions, and thousands of businesses and startups.

The Information Technology and Software industry in Colorado contributes $14 billion of economic impacts to the state, providing 30% more jobs than the national average for the IT-Software industry. Metro Denver alone employs 58,190 workers at 5,550 companies in this sector. Tech related exports total $100 million, one of Colorado’s largest export sectors. This industry was the region’s fastest growing sector by employment, expanding by 32.2% between 2012 and 2017, compared to the national average growth of 26.1%.

The city of Boulder, Colorado has six times as many high-tech startups per capita as the national average, and twice as many per capita as the runner up, San Jose-Sunnyvale in California. Two other Colorado cities, Longmont and Lafayette, tied for the third most startups per capita in the nation. On top of the dense concentration of startups, Boulder has the most highly educated population in the nation, and Colorado as a whole is the second most highly educated state in the nation.

In addition, Boulder is home to the National Center for Atmospheric Research, the University of Colorado, and two of the world’s fastest supercomputers. It is clear that entrepreneurial spirit is alive in Colorado–some of the brightest minds in the world are inventing, innovating, and driving forward technological progress. Colorado is well-positioned to create new solutions to the social and economic problems of the near future, as well as lead the way in implementing regenerative practices.