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 Corn production in Colorado | |
| Statistics | |
|---|---|
| GDP | $382.5 billion (2020)[1] |
GDP per capita | $63776[2] |
Population belowpoverty line | 13.7%[3] |
| 0.453[4] | |
Labor force | 2,819,800[5] |
| Unemployment | 3.0%[6] |
| Public finances | |
| Revenues | $8,586 million (2010)[7] |
| Expenses | $7,722 million[8] |
In 2021, theeconomy of the State of Colorado was 16th largest in the United States with a gross state product of $421 billion.Colorado'sper capita personal income in 2019 was $61,157, putting Colorado 12th in the nation.[9]
Wheat, corn, sorghum, and proso millet were the largest agricultural products by acres farmed. Hay ($1 billion), corn ($850 million), and wheat ($460 million) were the largest farmed products by value sold.[10] Colorado is also a significant beef producer with 659,000 cows in 2021.[11] Colorado was the fourth largest marijuana producer in 2021 by sales at $460 million.[12]
The state's economy is diversified and is notable for its concentration of scientific research and high-technology industries.[13] Other industries includefood processing, transportation equipment, machinery, chemical products, minerals such as gold andmolybdenum, and tourism.[14][15][16]
As of August 2013, Colorado had 53,800 nonmilitary federal employees, which made of 2.3 percent of the state's total nonfarm employment, slightly above the national average of 2.0 percent. In addition, there were 37,285 active military in Colorado.[17]
Before Colorado was a state, it was a federal prison territory.[18] Today, the Federal Bureau of Prisons operates the Federal Correctional Complex, in Fremont County, which consists of several separate Federal prisons, includingADX Florence, the only supermax facility in the federal system, home to many convicted terrorists and other notorious criminals.
TheNorth American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) andUnited States Air Force Academy are based inColorado Springs;National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and theNational Institute of Standards and Technology inBoulder;United States Geological Survey and other government agencies at theDenver Federal Center inLakewood; theDenver Mint andUnited States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit in Denver.
There is also a significant amount offederal lands in the state, including 11National Forests and fourNational Parks. There are also numerous private companies that have operations in Colorado that deal with the governmental agencies in states.
Tax is collected by theColorado Department of Revenue.
The Coloradoincome tax rate is a flat 4.55 percent of federal taxable income regardless of income level. Colorado's statesales tax is 2.9 percent on retail sales.[19] Full-year Colorado residents can claim an excess sales tax refund on their individual state income tax return. Many counties and cities charge their own rates in addition to the base state rate. There are also certain county and special district taxes that may apply. The most common special district taxes are:
Real estate and personal business property are taxable in Colorado.[20] Real property is assessed by a professional assessor to determine its actual value. The state legislature sets the assessment rate of 29% for commercial property, 7.15% for residential. The actual value is multiplied by the assessment rate get the assessed value. Then counties set their mill rate which is multiplied by the assessed value to get the tax liability. A $430,000 residence in Denver with the Mill rate of 0.072116 yields the following example. " $430,000 x 0.0715 x 0.072116 = $2,217.21".
Colorado first instituted a state income tax in 1937, as aprogressive tax, with income below $2,000 taxed at 1% and over $10,000 at 6%. This would remain so for 50 years, until the state adopted a flat tax rate of 5% for 1987 tax year.[21] In 1992, the voters approvedTaxpayer Bill of Rights at a referendum, requiring increases in overall tax revenue to be tied to inflation and population increases, otherwise tax increases would have to be approved by voters by referendum.[22] For tax year 1999, the income tax was reduced further to 4.75% and for tax year 2000 to 4.63%, where it would remain for 20 years, until voters approved by referendum a further reduction to 4.55%.[21][23] In 2018, voters rejected in a referendum a return to progressive tax.[24]
Denver's economy (Denver is the Rocky Mountain region's most populous city) started because of its geographic position on thePlatte River andCherry Creek.[25] The Denver metropolitan area is the largest in the area (the nearest metro area of comparable size is theKansas City Metropolitan Area about 600 miles east). Denver is the location of federal, high-tech, educational, commercial, financial, cultural, tourist, storage, and distribution services to the RockyMountain States. The city is also home toseveral large corporations in the central United States.
Many federal agencies are based or have offices in the Denver area. In addition to federal agencies, there are many companies based on federal defense and space projects such asLockheed-Martin.[26] Denver is the capital ofColorado and hosts many state government jobs.
Denver's position as the largest city in a mineral-rich and fossil fuel-rich area leads mining and energy companies to maintain offices in the metro area. In the early days of the city, gold and silver booms and busts played a large role in the economic success of the city. In the 1970s and early 1980s, the energy crisis in America created an energy boom in Denver captured in the soap operaDynasty. Downtown Denver was built up considerably during this time; many new downtown skyscrapers were built. Eventually the oil prices dropped from $34 a barrel in 1981 to $9 a barrel in 1986, and the Denver economy dropped with it, leaving almost 15,000 oil industry workers in the area unemployed (including former mayorJohn Hickenlooper, a former geologist), and the highest office vacancy rate in the nation (30%).[25] Energy and mining are still important in Denver's economy today, with companies such asNewmont Mining,Patina Oil and Gas, andAntero Resources.
Denver's west-central geographic location in the Mountain Time Zone (UTC −7) also benefits the telecommunications industry by allowing communication with both North American coasts, South America, Europe, and Asia in the same business day[citation needed] . Denver's location on the105th meridian west at over 1 mile in elevation also enables it to be the largest city in the U.S. to offer a 'one-bounce' real-time satellite uplink to six continents in the same business day[citation needed] .Lumen Technologies,Dish Network, andComcast are just a few of the telecommunications companies with operations in the Denver area[citation needed] .
Colorado's agriculture supports a $47 billion economy with more than 426,000 employees and $1.7 billion in exports.[27] Farming and ranching takes 32 million acres of Colorado land.[28] Colorado's agriculture consumes 88% of the state's water or 4.7 million acre feet.[29] The northeast of the state has the most agricultural business.
Drought has been one of the main risks to the agricultural industry. From 2012 to 2013, drought fueled a political push for the federal government to subsidize crop insurance. This led to $196 million in subsidy to Colorado farmers in 2014.[30] Colorado farmers paid over $71.3 million for crop insurance in 2020.[31]
Colorado's agricultural industry has been fueled by agricultural technology especially through research withColorado State University which began as an agricultural school in 1870.
Colorado'sagricultural sector "accounts for 9% of Colorado’s greenhouse gas emissions, or approximately 11.4 million metric tons of CO2."[32]
Implementingregenerative agricultural practices in the state has the potential to remove 23.15 billion tons of CO2 from the atmosphere by 2050. Use ofcover crops is increasing. A collaboration between Boulder County Parks and Open Space andColorado State University is working to develop techniques to improvesoil health andcarbon sequestration. State level support forsoil health is under discussion.[32]
Changes in Colorado's climate are likely to have both positive and negative effects on farms and ranches.
Depletion of theHigh Plains Aquifer will impact livestock and field crops in the eastern part of the state, which rely primarily on ground water pumped from the aquifer. "About 20 percent of crop land in eastern Colorado is irrigated. Higher evaporation rates will increase irrigation demands and reduce natural recharge of the aquifer, further lowering the water table. Reduced water availability will force some farms to switch from irrigation to dry land farming, which typically cuts yields in half.
Increasingly severe heat waves would harm livestock.
Even where ample water is available, higher temperatures would reduce yields of corn.
Shorter winters are likely to reduce yields ofwinter wheat. Colorado is currently the fourth largest grower of winter wheat, which is an important source of food for livestock. Increased concentrations of carbon dioxide, however, may increase yields of wheat enough to offset the impact of higher temperatures. Warmer and shorter winters may allow for a longer growing season, which could allow two crops per year instead of one in some instances".[33]Colorado is one of the top locations for theaerospace industry in the world. Colorado has offices for most of the major Aerospace companies such asBall,Lockheed-Martin,Raytheon Technologies,Boeing,L3Harris Technologies,ULA,Northrop Grumman,Sierra Space, andMaxar Technologies. This industry employs over 240,000 Coloradans in 280 companies.[34] The industry continued to experience strong growth of 7.2% in 2019 to contribute over $15 billion to the state economy.[35]
The aerospace industry thrives in Colorado owing to its geographical centrality, being away from possible foreign threats, support fromFort Carson, and a highly educated population. Research is also conducted at government-funded labs such asNIST,LASP,NOAA, andUCAR.[13] TheUniversity of Colorado Boulder also has one of the nation's top aerospace programs, receiving moreNASA research funds than any other school.
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