According to Forbes magazine, Colorado Springs is the 10th-best
U.S. city in which to do business. Entrepreneur magazine has called
it one of the top 30 cities in America for small business. Electronic
Business Today featured the city as one of the top 20 places in the country to
locate a high-tech manufacturing plant, and Inc. magazine places Colorado
Springs among the 50 best places to start a business. All of these
accolades affirm what the local business community hasalways
known: Colorado Springs is a great place to make a
living.
In February 2004, Colorado Springs was named among the
hottest job markets in the nation. Business 2.0 recently released its
list of "Boom Villages," communities with populations of fewer than 1 million,
which are headed for big growth. Colorado Springs ranks 6th in the
report, and is expected to generate thousands of skilled, high-wage jobs over
the next four years. Reasons cited for Colorado Springs' inclusion include:
Sophistication that belies the size of the community; More than 30% of adults in
Colorado Springs have a college degree; Presence of globally significant
sectors, such as Homeland Defense, Aerospace, and other high tech occupations;
Confluence of natural and constructed amenities and
institutions.
HIGH-TECH EMPLOYERS: The largest high-tech
employers in Colorado Springs include Agilent Technologies, Allied Signal
Technical Services, Atmel Corporation, Federal Express Data Systems, Honewell,
ITT Industries-Systems Divisions, Intel, LSI Logic, L-3 Communications West,
Lockheed Martin Mission Systems, NXTrend Technology, Inc., Oracle Corporation,
SCI Systems, Inc., TRW Systems Information & Technology Group, just to name
a few.
LARGEST PUBLIC SECTOR EMPLOYERS
| ORGANIZATION |
NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES |
| Fort Carson |
18,484 |
| U.S. Air Force Academy |
9,964 |
| Peterson Air Force Base/Cheyenne Mountain Air Station |
9,942 |
| Colorado Springs School District #11 |
3,555 |
| Schriever Air Force Base |
3,514 |
| Memorial Hospital |
3,200 |
| El Paso County Government |
2,342 |
| Colorado Springs City Government |
2,200 |
LARGEST PRIVATE SECTOR EMPLOYERS
| COMPANY |
NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES |
| Worldcom |
3,300 |
| Penrose-St. Francis Health Services |
2,237 |
| Agilent Technologies, Inc. |
2,000 |
| Atmel Corporation |
1,900 |
| Compaq Computer Corporation |
1,400 |
| Current, Inc. - Checks Unit |
1,345 |
| Current, Inc.-Paper Direct |
1,341 |
| MCI Worldcom (Consumer Markets) |
1,300 |
| The Broadmoor Hotel |
1,200 |
| Focus on the Family |
1,200 |
| Futurecall Telemarketing West |
1,000 |
| Schlage Lock Company |
1,000 |
| Lockheed-Martin Mission Systems |
996 |
| United Services Automobile Association (USAA) |
856 |
| SCI Systems, Inc. (Plant #12) |
850 |
| LSI Logic |
800 |
| Progressive Insurance Company |
760 |
| ITT Industries, Systems Division |
750 |
| Quantum Corporation-DLT Division |
700 |
|
|
For contact
information on any of the above-listed employers, please see
Contacts/Links.
NONPROFITS
A growing force in the economy of the
Pikes Peak region, more than 500 charitable, educational, health, and social
welfare organizations are located here. Nonprofits employ more than
12,500 people in the area, generate an annual payroll of more than $90 million,
and account for approximately 8% of the total labor force.
UNEMPLOYMENT
RATE
The unemployment rate in the Colorado Springs area is currently at
5.4%.