The numbers paint a sobering picture. Colorado has slid to 25th in CNBC’s Top States for Business ranking. It sits at 17th in the U.S. News & World Report’s Best States list. These are not abstract grades. They are a direct signal to corporate site selectors and investors, the people who decide where jobs and capital flow. The decline is a tangible problem for the state’s economic future.
I recently listened to a revealing conversation on the Colorado Chamber’s podcast. Two local economic development leaders, David Worley of Denver South and Kami Welch of Jefferson County, are not accepting this narrative passively. They are mounting a counteroffensive. Their tactics differ, but their mission is the same. They must salvage Colorado’s competitive edge.
Worley’s approach is one of nuanced realism. His organization commissioned a research paper titled “Yes. And … Colorado.” The title is telling. It acknowledges the state’s significant headwinds, the “yes” part. High housing costs and regulatory complexity are real burdens. But the “and” is critical. The report forcefully highlights enduring advantages that the rankings might miss.
He points to Colorado’s sustained venture capital investment, a lifeblood for its innovation economy. He made a surprising point about cost. While Denver is expensive, it still undercuts coastal tech hubs like San Francisco and Boston. For a certain type of growth company, this is a meaningful comparative advantage. The report is a tool. Worley aims to place it in the hands of CEOs and CFOs considering a move. It is a deliberate effort to reframe the conversation with hard data.
Kami Welch’s battle is fought on two fronts. Externally, she contests the broad brush of national rankings. Internally, she faces local challenges within her own community. Her organization in Jefferson County conducted a strategic “soul-searching” exercise. They identified sectors where they hold undeniable strength and are now leaning into them. This is pragmatic economic development. You stop trying to be everything to everyone. You double down on what you do best.
Her second point is perhaps more crucial. Welch highlighted pushback against some local community policies that inadvertently stifle business growth. This is a common but underreported tension. A state can have a pro-business governor and legislature, but local zoning, permitting, and ordinances can create a labyrinth for companies. Solving this requires not just state level policy changes, but patient, block by block advocacy.
The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, in its quarterly economic reviews, often notes the divergence between metro and rural economic performance. This granular reality is lost in state level rankings. A report from the Brookings Institution emphasizes that modern economic competitiveness is increasingly driven by regional clusters and innovation ecosystems, not just tax rates. Colorado’s strength in aerospace, for instance, centered on Jefferson County, is a prime example of such a cluster.
What does this mean for you? If you are an investor, look beyond the headline ranking. Drill into sector specific performance. Colorado’s concentration in advanced industries remains robust. If you run a business, understand that relocation or expansion decisions hinge on micro factors. The local regulatory environment in a specific suburb can outweigh a state’s overall tax burden.
- High housing costs
- Regulatory complexity
- Sustained venture capital investment
- Comparative advantages over coastal hubs
- Local community policies stifling growth
- Regional clusters and innovation ecosystems
| Ranking | Source | Position |
|---|---|---|
| Top States for Business | CNBC | 25th |
| Best States | U.S. News & World Report | 17th |
The work of Worley, Welch, and others like them is essential. They are providing the qualitative context to quantitative scores. They are fighting for their region’s economic future not with complaints, but with better stories backed by evidence. Colorado’s reputation is not yet fixed. But its response, focused on honest appraisal and targeted action, is the first step toward recovery. The next chapter of this story will be written by whether state and local policymakers listen to these on the ground experts and align to remove the barriers they identify.
