Colorado Ranks as Second-Best State for Entrepreneurs

We knew there was a reason Colorado had been so good to us.

According to the US Chamber of Commerce’s annual “Enterprising States” report, which ranks all 50 US states on their policies to encourage new business and economic growth, Colorado ranks #2 in the “Innovation and Entrepreneurship” category and #1 in the “Small Business Lending” category.

As supporters of Colorado’s small business and startup scene, we’re not surprised. If anything, we’re a little surprised Colorado didn’t rank first for “best state for entrepreneurs”! The state’s support for entrepreneurs has made Colorado an incubator for new businesses and the growth is continuing at a rapid pace, promising future opportunities for startups and new businesses.

Colorado also ranks highly in the “Talent Pipeline” category, indicating that our homegrown talent is performing well academically and is well-prepared to enter the workforce. However, we expect that there will likely be a continued need for highly-talented, technologically-savvy employees for startups from other states considering Colorado ranks highest among all states in “High-Tech Share of All Businesses”, which indicates the share of businesses in Colorado in high-tech industries like telecommunications. Businesses like these need a broad pool of talent to draw from and BWBacon stands ready to fill the gaps!

Here are some of the other notable rankings Colorado achieved in the report:

• 5^th in Performance – (an aggregate rank combining Long-Term Job Growth, Short-Term Job Growth, Gross State Product Growth, Economic Output per Job, and the Adjusted Median Family Income)

•  5^th in STEM Job Concentration – the share of state STEM jobs divided by the share of national STEM jobs

•  5^th in Growth in Self-Employed – the share of people that started a business since the last survey

Check out the results of the Enterprising States report here.