Forbes magazine recently ranked the Metro Denver area, which includes Boulder, as the 8th most wired city in the country.
Industries & Companies
Boulder has a diverse economy representing a variety of industries. Most employment is in government (including the University of Colorado and federal labs) and the professional services, manufacturing, accommodations and food services, retail, health care, and information industries. A list of Employement by Industry and Boulder’s Largest Employers can be found below.
| Industry | Firms | Employees | Average Wages |
|---|---|---|---|
| Government (Federal, State, Local)* | 47 | 18,722 | $52,707 |
| Professional, scientific, technical services | 1,834 | 13,116 | $87,709 |
| Manufacturing | 255 | 8,266 | $78,142 |
| Accommodation and food services | 656 | 7,720 | $17,820 |
| Retail trade | 590 | 7,586 | $28,760 |
| Health care and social assistance | 656 | 7,720 | $43,590 |
| Information | 221 | 6,461 | $94,865 |
| Finance and insurance | 383 | 3,160 | $91,980 |
| Administrative and Support services | 284 | 2,825 | $36,206 |
| Wholesale trade | 435 | 2,499 | $74,981 |
| Other services | 501 | 2,736 | $37,333 |
| Construction | 331 | 1,448 | $46,669 |
| Arts, entertainment, and recreation | 135 | 1,768 | $18,935 |
| Real estate and rental and leasing | 372 | 1,298 | $41,706 |
| Educational services (private) | 149 | 1,305 | $28,198 |
| Management of companies & enterprises | 55 | 371 | $98347 |
| Transportation and warehousing |
43 |
751 | $40,248 |
| Total | 6,792 | 88,640 | $57,533 |
| Employer | |
|---|---|
| University of Colorado Boulder | |
| IBM Corporation | |
| Boulder Valley School District | |
| Ball Aerospace | |
| Boulder Community Hospital | |
| Covidien | |
| Boulder County | |
| University Corporation for Atmospheric Research | |
| City of Boulder | |
| MicroMotion | |
| Whole Foods | |
| Ricoh Production Print Solutions | |
| InfoPrint Solutions | |
| Lockheed Martin | |
| Markit On Demand | |
| Crispin Porter + Bogusky | |
| Spectra Logic | |
| Amgen | |
| National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) | |
| Array BioPharma | |
| National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) | |
| YMCA of Boulder Valley | |
| The Hain Celestial Group | |
| Research Electro Optics | |
| Corden Pharma Colorado | |
The city has a high concentration of employment in several key industry clusters including:
- Aerospace
- Biosciences
- Data Storage
- Natural & Organic Products
- Outdoor Recreation
- Renewable Energy
- Software
- Tourism
*Includes the University of Colorado and federal labs
Source: Colorado Department of Labor and Employment, QCEW Q1-Q4 2010 (unrevised); University of Colorado, Business Research Division
Top employers include the University of Colorado, Boulder Valley School District, IBM, Ball Aerospace, and Boulder Community Hospital.