Moving Up the Ladder

When asked to explain why they moved their firms to Colorado, most executives cite logistics, labor, costs and quality of life. They aren't as likely to cite statistics from The POLICOM Index, the Milken Institute or the American Electronics Association – but perhaps they should.
        By almost any objective standard of performance measurement, Colorado's ability to compete in the New Economy is moving up the ladder. According to Dr. William Fruth of Jupiter, Fla., who annually compiles The POLICOM Index on economic strength for all 318 metro areas in the U.S., Colorado places three communities in the top 20 and five in the top 100.
        Ranked according to overall performance in 18 different data categories, Denver is the second-strongest metro market in the country over the most recent 25-year period. Fort Collins is eighth, Boulder-Longmont 18th, Colorado Springs 54th and Grand Junction 86th on the list.
        More importantly, every one of these communities improved its ranking since 1996. The best performers have been Grand Junction, which moved up from 233rd to 86th (a 147-place jump), and Colorado Springs, which moved up from 132nd to 54th (a 78-place jump).
        The Milken Institute also supplies good news for Colorado. According to a comprehensive state-by-state comparison of investments in science and technology – ranging from higher education to industry research and development – Colorado ranks second only to Massachusetts in its ability to compete in the technology-driven information age.
        Commissioned by TechVentures Network and the California Technology Trade and Commerce Division of Science Technology and Innovation, the study ranked Colorado ahead of such high-tech states as California, Maryland, Virginia and Washington.
        The American Electronics Association ranks the state first in technology firm employment (as a percentage of the overall work force), fifth in venture capital investment and fifth in photonics manufacturing jobs. AeA also ranks Boulder, Colorado Springs and Denver among America's best "cybercities."
        Colorado also ranks fourth in the nation, behind only California, Florida and Texas, in dollars spent on space program-related projects. Drew Bolin, deputy director of the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade, says that every single piece of the new Hubble Space Telescope is being built in Colorado.
        Bolin added that the Corporation for Economic Development has rated Colorado as having the overall best business climate in the nation for nine consecutive years.