Sustaining Boulder’s Economic Vitality
A Diverse, Unique Economy
Home to a world-class research university, a diverse mix of key industry clusters, major government research facilities, visionary entrepreneurs and the nation’s most highly educated population, Boulder’s economy is truly unique in size and diversity. Key Boulder highlights include:
- 7,000 employers (5 or more employees)
- Approx. 99,000 jobs
- Nearly 700 primary employers
- Approx. 106,000 population
- Top research university
- 17 federally-funded research labs
- Nationally-recognized center of entrepreneurship and innovation
- Leading industry clusters, including aerospace, bioscience, cleantech, IT, natural products, and outdoor recreation
Boulder’s economic development leaders strive to advance a strong local economy and sustain this rare ecosystem, supporting new businesses to start up and succeed and established businesses in key industries to innovate and expand.
From Start-ups to Fortune 500
While small businesses and start-ups continue to represent the majority of the 7,000 employers in Boulder, several Fortune 500 corporations diversify employment opportunities and fuel our economy, including:
- Agilent Technologies
- Ball Aerospace
- Cisco
- Emerson Electric / Micro Motion
- General Electric
- IBM
- Lockheed Martin
- Microsoft / Bing
- Northrop Grumman
- Oracle
- Qualcomm
While approximately 96% of the 7,000 employers in Boulder have fewer than 50 employees, employers with 100 or more employees (1.6% of total) employ 48.4% of the workers.