Colorado is losing companies to rival states, report finds
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Major companies are increasingly departing Colorado, shrinking their footprint or bypassing it altogether for expansion or relocation, a new report shows.
Why it matters: The findings — from a recent Colorado Chamber Foundation study — are sounding an alarm about the state's economic competitiveness and business environment.
- What's lost are well-paying jobs, community investments and talent.
What they're saying: "We need to do some things differently if we want our companies to stay and to grow and to locate in Colorado," Chamber Foundation executive director Rachel Beck told Axios Denver.
By the numbers: Since 2019, at least 98 companies have relocated or skipped Colorado, including 27 in 2025 alone — costing the state at least 13,600 jobs.
- A separate analysis of Securities and Exchange Commission filings found Colorado lost 70 public company headquarters since 2022 and gained 36 — a net loss of 34.
- Texas, California, Arizona and North Carolina are the top destinations poaching Colorado companies.
BFD: Colorado counted 140 public company headquarters last year — the fewest in at least seven years.
- The trend may continue this year. In February, Palantir, the state's largest public company, announced plans to move its headquarters from Denver to Miami amid a broader wave of companies flocking to Florida.
What they did: The study draws on publicly available data, including corporate announcements, layoff notices and federal filings.
If anything, says Cynthia Eveleth-Havens, the chamber's chief strategy officer, "it's just the tip of the iceberg."
- It echoes a chamber poll in 2025 that found 26% of businesses in Colorado were eyeing out-of-state investment opportunities, up from 17% the previous year.
The big picture: The chamber began tracking the trend in 2019, just as Democrats took control over lawmaking and regulatory drafting.
- The chamber argues that burdensome regulations — particularly environmental and labor force restrictions — are increasingly driving companies out of state.
The other side: The Polis administration took issue with the report, saying it doesn't provide a full picture.
- Since 2019, the administration says 160 companies picked Colorado over other locations because of a job growth tax incentive program that is projected to create 42,767 net new jobs.
- "Colorado offers assets few other states can match, including our top talent, collaborative and stable ecosystem, and foundational assets like world-class research institutions and robust access to capital," Eve Lieberman, the executive director of the state's economic development office said in a statrement.