CO Tech Industry Report

The 2024 Colorado Tech Industry Report quantifies the Colorado tech industry’s economic and workforce impact, as well as that of the state’s innovation infrastructure. CTA contracted with Economic Leadership LLC, a national consulting firm with a long history of evaluating state technology performance, to build this report that evaluates the current state of the tech sector in Colorado. This report is an update to an earlier report produced by CTA in 2022. The research was reviewed by the Colorado Chamber Foundation, Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade, Denver Metro Economic Development Corporation, Downtown Denver Partnership, Elevate Quantum, Moss Adams, Slalom, and Wells Fargo.

To develop a full picture of the industry and its trends, Economic Leadership LLC collected a wide variety of data, surveyed CTA members, and conducted interviews with tech leaders in the state. This report shows statistics for tech in 2023, the most recent year with final data. This report serves as a resource of data and trends for the economic development community, policy makers, and the tech industry.

The Colorado tech industry continues to grow year after year, and the report predicts continued growth across the next five, making Colorado a leader for tech in the nation. The report shines a spotlight on the industry’s growth and provides a comparison with other states, identifying strengths and areas for opportunity.

Report Summary

The tech sector has a robust presence in the state and this summary underlines its vitality and importance to the greater Colorado economy. One job created in the tech industry supports another 2.67 jobs in the state economy. Colorado ranked in the top 15 states for 29 out of the 61 metrics evaluated for this study.

• The tech industry directly accounts for 10 percent of Colorado’s employment and 20 percent of the state’s gross domestic product (GDP).
• Colorado is the third most concentrated tech industry economy in the nation, behind only Massachusetts and New Mexico.
• Over the last five years, the tech industry added 47,440 net new jobs, the most jobs added by any major industry in the state.
• The total tech industry is predicted to grow at a rate of 11.5 percent in the next five years. This is the 5th highest projected rate in the nation.
• Colorado ranked 5th in the US in venture capital funding rates from 2018 to 2023.
• There are growing pains. Key challenges for the growing tech industry and Colorado economy include high cost of living and education and lack of diversity of the tech workforce. These are areas of opportunity for CTA, the state and our partners to support our industry.