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US State economic profile
Colorado - Economic Profile
Statistics, economic information and rankings for the Centennial State
In 2026, the state of Colorado has a population of 6,056,520, having grown an annualized 0.8% over the five years to 2026, which ranks it 17th out of all 50 US states by growth rate. Colorado's gross state product (GSP) in 2026 reached $463.5b, with growth of 2.7% over the 5 years to 2026. Businesses in Colorado employed a total of 3,471,359 people in 2026, with average annual employment growth over the past five years of 1.9%. The top three sectors by total employment are Real Estate & Rental & Leasing, Professional, Scientific & Technical Services, Information, while the unemployment rate across the state in 2026 was 4.5%.
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State economic profile
Colorado Economic Overview
$463.5b
Gross state product
6,056,520
Population
885,787
Businesses
What is Colorado's Gross Domestic Product (GDP)?
In 2026, Colorado's GDP reached $463.5b, representing an increase of 2.7% from 2025. Colorado's GDP has grown at an annualized rate of 2.1% over the five years to 2026. Moreover, Colorado's trailing five-year GDP growth ranks it 13th out of all 50 US states.
State GDP, or Gross State Product, is a measurement of a state's output, or the sum of value added from all industries in the state. It is a common indicator used to track the health of a state's economy.
You can track trends in Colorado's GDP, and compare them to the national average, using the chart below.
State economic profile
Colorado Industry Trends
Learn about current trends affecting the most significant industries for Colorado's state economy, down to the county level. IBISWorld offers state industry research reports on over 30,000 industries across all 50 states in the US, including 639 industries in Colorado.
What are Colorado's Largest Industries by Revenue?
The largest industries by revenue in Colorado are Automobile Wholesaling, Hospitals and Oil Drilling & Gas Extraction, which generated $32.7b, $25.2b and $22.6b in 2026.
| Industry | 2026 revenue | |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Automobile Wholesaling | $32.7b |
| 2. | Hospitals | $25.2b |
| 3. | Oil Drilling & Gas Extraction | $22.6b |
| 4. | New Car Dealers | $22.5b |
| 5. | Warehouse Clubs & Supercenters | $21.5b |
| 6. | IT Consulting | $20.8b |
| 7. | Life Insurance & Annuities | $19.9b |
| 8. | Property, Casualty and Direct Insurance | $19.1b |
| 9. | Supermarkets & Grocery Stores | $18.8b |
| 10. | Commercial Banking | $18.1b |
State economic profile
Top Companies in Colorado
Learn about current trends affecting the top companies in Colorado. IBISWorld offers benchmarking data and tools on over 5,000 companies in the US.
Top 10 Companies Headquartered in Colorado by Employment
The largest companies by employment in Colorado are Denver International Airport, Walmart and Kroger, which employed 40,000, 29,853 and 21,689 people in 2026.
| Company | 2026 employment | Share of employment | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Denver International Airport | 40,000 | 1.2% |
| 2. | Walmart | 29,853 | 0.9% |
| 3. | Kroger | 21,689 | 0.6% |
| 4. | Amazon.Com | 20,000 | 0.6% |
| 5. | Hca Healthcare | 11,050 | 0.3% |
| 6. | United States Postal Service | 10,479 | 0.3% |
| 7. | Lockheed Martin | 10,000 | 0.3% |
| 8. | Home Depot, inc. | 9,500 | 0.3% |
| 9. | Comcast | 8,000 | 0.2% |
| 10. | Lumen Technologies | 6,500 | 0.2% |
State economic profile
Colorado Sector Statistics
In Colorado, certain sectors drive a higher share of state GDP and employ more workers than others. However, simply looking at raw numbers doesn't always tell the whole story. Factoring in the current year growth percentage, in addition to the annualized growth percentage over the past five years, will give you a deeper understanding of the economic situation.
What is Colorado's GDP by Sector?
The Real Estate & Rental & Leasing, Professional, Scientific & Technical Services and Information sectors contributed the most to Colorado's GDP in 2026, representing a combined 44.7% of state GDP.
GDP trends by sector are an important indicator of which sectors are contributing the most value-add to the state economy, in addition to how the state economy is evolving over time.
| Sector | GDP | Growth 2026 | Annualized growth 2021-26 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Real Estate & Rental & Leasing | 77,305,605,123 | 4.5% | 4.6% |
| Professional, Scientific & Technical Services | 75,758,634,888 | 9.8% | 10.0% |
| Information | 43,281,497,188 | 8.3% | 8.2% |
| Healthcare & Social Assistance | 31,756,882,717 | 4.8% | 5.1% |
| Retail Trade | 25,777,546,470 | 4.0% | 3.7% |
| Manufacturing | 21,843,063,031 | -1.9% | -2.6% |
| Finance & Insurance | 21,403,119,471 | -0.5% | -1.5% |
| Wholesale Trade | 21,161,883,983 | 0.2% | 0.0% |
| Construction | 19,542,172,725 | -2.7% | -3.3% |
| Accommodation & Food Services | 18,220,150,475 | 6.2% | 6.7% |
| Transportation & Warehousing | 15,942,264,262 | 4.5% | 4.7% |
| Administration, Business Support and Waste Management Services | 14,585,556,886 | 3.1% | 3.6% |
| Management of Companies and Enterprises | 12,600,076,940 | 4.8% | 4.8% |
| Mining | 10,835,297,767 | -4.5% | -3.3% |
| Other Services (except Public Administration) | 8,318,211,005 | -1.0% | -0.7% |
| Arts, Entertainment & Recreation | 7,763,804,939 | 8.2% | 9.6% |
| Utilities | 6,494,269,163 | 6.8% | 4.8% |
| Educational Services | 4,145,498,103 | 3.8% | 4.5% |
| Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting | 2,700,190,137 | 4.1% | 2.0% |
What is Colorado's Employment by Sector?
The Healthcare & Social Assistance, Retail Trade and Professional, Scientific & Technical Services sectors contributed the most to employment in Colorado in 2026, representing a combined 33.9% of state employment.
Employment trends by sector are an important indicator of which sectors are growing or contracting most rapidly relative to the state economy as a whole.
| Sector | Employment | Growth 2026 | Annualized growth 2021-26 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Healthcare & Social Assistance | 416,790 | 2.9% | 3.1% |
| Retail Trade | 399,743 | 1.8% | 2.7% |
| Professional, Scientific & Technical Services | 359,283 | 2.4% | 2.7% |
| Administration, Business Support and Waste Management Services | 322,265 | 1.7% | 1.5% |
| Accommodation & Food Services | 316,977 | 1.1% | 4.6% |
| Construction | 251,703 | 2.0% | 1.7% |
| Educational Services | 215,631 | 1.9% | 2.2% |
| Transportation & Warehousing | 200,114 | 4.5% | 4.6% |
| Other Services (except Public Administration) | 168,431 | 2.3% | 3.7% |
| Finance & Insurance | 159,645 | 1.3% | 2.1% |
| Information | 145,935 | 3.4% | 4.8% |
| Manufacturing | 143,367 | 1.3% | 2.1% |
| Real Estate & Rental & Leasing | 133,897 | 1.1% | 0.3% |
| Wholesale Trade | 104,311 | 0.8% | 1.2% |
| Arts, Entertainment & Recreation | 89,230 | 1.8% | 5.1% |
| Mining | 23,367 | -1.9% | 1.4% |
| Utilities | 15,454 | 1.2% | 1.1% |
| Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting | 5,216 | 2.0% | 0.5% |
State economic profile
Colorado Employment Trends
3.5m
Employment
4.5%
Unemployment
What Employment Trends are Impacting Colorado?
The state of Colorado employs 3,471,359 people in 2026, which ranks it 19th out of all 50 US states. Employment in Colorado has grown at an annualized rate of 2.7% over the five years to 2026, overperforming the national average of 1.7%. Major sectors by employment in Colorado include Healthcare & Social Assistance, Retail Trade and Professional, Scientific & Technical Services, which employed 416,790, 399,743 and 359,283 people in 2026, respectively. Colorado's unemployment rate is 4.5% in 2026, which ranks it 28th out of all 50 US states. Colorado's unemployment rate has trended downwards at a rate of -4.0% over the five years to 2026, overperforming the US economy as a whole.
Employment trends indicate the degree of tightness or slack in labor markets, in addition to the overall strength of an economy. Faster employment growth typically indicates a strong and growing economy, while lower unemployment tends to imply tightness in labor markets.
You can track unemployment trends in Colorado, and compare them to the US economy, using the chart below.
$367.0k
Per capita disposable income
What is Colorado's Per Capita Disposable Income?
Per capita disposable income, also known as disposable personal income (DPI), is the amount of money that the average person in an economy has available for spending and saving after accounting for income taxes. Colorado's DPI in 2026 was $367.0k, compared to the US average of $156.5k, which places it 5th out of all 50 US states.
Disposable income is regarded as a key economic indicator as trends in disposable income are indicative of the level of aggregate demand, the state of labor markets and the financial strength of households.
You can track trends in Colorado's per capita disposable income, and compare it to the US average, using the chart below.
State economic profile
Colorado Construction & Building Trends
$8,650.6tn
Nonresidential construction
$10.7tn
Residential construction
29,818
Building permits
What can construction trends tell you about a state’s economy?
In Colorado, non-residential construction was $8,650.6tn in 2026, which ranks it 15th out of all 50 US states. Residential construction was $10.7tn in 2026, which places Colorado 4th out of all 50 US states. The number of building permits issued in Colorado in 2026 was 29,818, representing a -12.9% annualized growth rate between 2021 and 2026.
Trends in the construction sector are important because it creates jobs, income and tax revenue for a state. In addition, construction sector activity impacts other sectors in its supply chain, including manufacturing, wholesaling, warehousing, transportation, and real estate, rental and leasing services. Therefore, construction trends are important indicators of the health of an economy.
You can track trends in the number of building permits issued in Colorado, and compare it to trends in the number issued in the United States as a whole, using the chart below.
State economic profile
Colorado Population Statistics
Which Counties in Colorado have the Largest Populations?
The counties with the highest populations in Colorado are El Paso County, Denver County and Arapahoe County, which had populations of 756,787, 723,106 and 656,697 people in 2026.
| Region | 2026 population | Annual growth 2021-26 | Share of population |
|---|---|---|---|
| El Paso | 756.8k | 0.5% | 12.5% |
| Denver | 723.1k | 0.3% | 11.9% |
| Arapahoe | 656.7k | N/A | 10.8% |
| Jefferson | 573.2k | -0.2% | 9.5% |
| Adams | 548.0k | 0.9% | 9.1% |
| Douglas | 408.1k | 2.0% | 6.7% |
| Weld | 389.2k | 2.7% | 6.4% |
| Larimer | 381.9k | 1.0% | 6.3% |
| Boulder | 325.3k | -0.2% | 5.4% |
| Pueblo | 170.2k | 0.1% | 2.8% |
| Mesa | 163.2k | 0.7% | 2.7% |
| Broomfield | 79.4k | 1.1% | 1.3% |
| Garfield | 63.8k | 0.6% | 1.1% |
| La Plata | 56.7k | 0.2% | 0.9% |
| Eagle | 52.8k | -1.0% | 0.9% |
| Fremont | 51.8k | 1.0% | 0.9% |
| Montrose | 45.4k | 1.0% | 0.8% |
| Delta | 32.3k | 0.6% | 0.5% |
| Elbert | 31.5k | 3.0% | 0.5% |
| Morgan | 30.1k | 0.7% | 0.5% |
| Summit | 29.9k | -0.6% | 0.5% |
| Montezuma | 26.9k | 0.5% | 0.4% |
| Routt | 25.1k | 0.1% | 0.4% |
| Teller | 24.3k | -0.4% | 0.4% |
| Chaffee | 21.8k | 1.8% | 0.4% |
State economic profile
Colorado Demographics
In Colorado, 50.1% of the population has a Bachelors or higher. The largest ethnic group in Colorado is White, accounting for 63.9% of the state's population.
Education level in Colorado
| Education level | Share (%) |
|---|---|
| Bachelors or higher | 50.1 |
| Other | 49.9 |
Race in Colorado
| Race | Share (%) |
|---|---|
| White | 63.9 |
| Hispanic | 23.9 |
| Black | 4.5 |
| Asian | 4.2 |
| Other | 3.5 |
Colorado State industry reports
IBISWorld State Industry Reports help you quickly understand how an industry performs at the state level compared with the national level, with accurate and unbiased industry information with a local focus. Use this collection to:
- Discover key local industry trends
- Identify threats and opportunities at the subnational level
- Inform your business strategies and planning
See our list of 639 Colorado industry reports.
Other states to explore
Compare Colorado’s economy with other states in the United States.
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