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Data: Brookings Institution and U.S. Census Bureau. Note: Metro areas with fewer than 1,000 tech workers in 2020 were excluded; Map: Kavya Beheraj/Axios

Led by Denver, Colorado's technology hubs are getting a boost in the era of flexible workplaces. 

What's happening: The rise of remote work has provided an opportunity for new cities to lure tech talent from coastal hubs, chipping away at established hubs' dominance, Axios' Margaret Harding McGill and Erica Pandey report.

Four Colorado metro areas saw growth from 2015 to 2020, according to a new Brookings Institution study.

Denver is one of the big winners in this migration, ranking high nationally for new workers and job listings.

Colorado Springs' and Boulder saw a greater increase from 2019 to 2020 than in the previous four years.

Why it matters: "The location of tech jobs matters," said Brookings' Mark Muro, a co-author of the report. "Tech jobs drive innovation, pay well, and have substantial multipliers, for local economies and the national one."

Zoom in: The Denver-Aurora-Lakewood metro is listed as a "rising star" for its growth, adding 14,477 tech workers from 2015 to 2020, a 6.6% increase. 

By the numbers: Boulder added 2,167 tech workers, 3.4% growth over five years. It grew 4.4% from 2019 to 2020.

Colorado Springs added 612 tech workers, a 1.2% increase, over those five years and 1.4% from 2019 to 2020.

Fort Collins added 855 tech workers in five years, a 3.9% growth rate. The single-year growth from 2019 to 2020 was 3.4%.

Reality check: The nation's big tech hubs — particularly the Bay Area, New York and Seattle — continue to hold the bulk of the jobs. And as tech companies invest in new offices and call workers back, the jobs that moved out of the superstar cities could come back.

"The question is: are we looking at a disruption of the tech map or is this a temporary trend due to a crisis," Muro says.

What's next: The leaking of jobs from the tech centers looks likely to continue, at least in the short term, the report notes.

Startups are popping up in new places. The superstar cities share of new tech companies ticked down from 54% in 2020 to 52% in 2021.

This story first appeared in the Axios Denver newsletter, designed to help readers get smarter, faster on the most consequential news unfolding in their own backyard. Subscribe here.

Colorado cities continue to draw more tech workers

The rise of remote work has provided an opportunity for new cities to lure tech talent from coastal hubs.

Emerging Tech

Led by Denver, Colorado&#x27;s technology hubs are getting a boost in the era of flexible workplaces. What&#x27;s happening: The rise of remote work has provided an opportunity for new cities to lure tech talent from coastal hubs, chipping away at established hubs&#x27; dominance, Axios&#x27; Margaret Harding McGill and Erica Pandey <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="report" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/tech-jobs-remote-work-miami-new-york-orlando-919ce9c4-d44c-46f4-b788-b5658c2bd237.html" data-vars-content-id="354de4ff-9ef2-4657-bba3-81e618c94a62" data-vars-headline="Colorado cities continue to draw more tech workers" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/tech-jobs-remote-work-miami-new-york-orlando-919ce9c4-d44c-46f4-b788-b5658c2bd237.html" target="_self">report</a>.

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Axios Denver, anchored by John Frank and Alayna Alvarez, is here to help readers get smarter, faster on the most consequential news and developments unfolding in their own backyard.

Food banks in Colorado and beyond are increasingly relying on donated services from companies like DoorDash to reach people who can't or won't make the trek to pick up groceries.

Why it matters: Since the beginning of the COVID outbreak, food insecurity in Denver has spiked above the pre-pandemic rate of 11% to about 33% of the city's population.

Driving the news: DoorDash last week announced a partnership with Denver Mayor Michael Hancock and 17 other mayors that will provide funding for delivery and logistical expertise to help get donated food to people in need.

Instacart announced a pilot program with the Partnership for a Healthier America that will provide needy families nationwide with a restricted stipend to buy nutritious food, along with a free Instacart membership and waived delivery fees.

The announcements were part of the White House's Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health — the first since 1969, during the Nixon administration.

How it works: DoorDash pays its dashers for the deliveries. Some food banks subsidize costs, but the company largely foots the bill.

Most of the deliveries are made to low-income and underserved communities deemed to be in food deserts, or areas that lack access to fresh and affordable food.  

Zoom in: Pikes Peak United Way in Colorado Springs partnered with DoorDash in April to launch Ride United Last Mile Delivery, which serves vulnerable populations, including seniors and people with medical issues. 

"We can better reach members of our community who need support and help alleviate the stress that many food pantries are currently experiencing at the same time," Cindy Aubrey, Pikes Peak United Way CEO, told the Colorado Springs Business Journal. 

The big picture: Lack of reliable transportation was a pre-pandemic problem for people experiencing food scarcity, and COVID increased that, Minerva Delgado of the Alliance to End Hunger told Axios.

Food banks find it difficult to reach homebound seniors, parents of young children and those who must isolate due to illness.

What they're saying: "They're tapping into a need that many times was going unmet or they weren't meeting the need in a way that provides the end user with the convenience and dignity that they have with home delivery," Delgado told Axios.

Colorado food banks partner with DoorDash to reach people in need

Since the beginning of the COVID outbreak, food insecurity in Denver has spiked to 33% of the city's population.

Illustration of a traffic light with place setting shaped lights. 

Food banks in Colorado and beyond are <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="increasingly relying on donated services" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2022/09/28/food-banks-doordash-amazon-white-house-hunger-summit" data-vars-content-id="7b3dd23a-d25e-4520-9c6a-6e474756cb86" data-vars-headline="Colorado food banks partner with DoorDash to reach people in need" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2022/09/28/food-banks-doordash-amazon-white-house-hunger-summit" target="_self">increasingly relying on donated services</a> from companies like DoorDash to reach people who can&#x27;t or won&#x27;t make the trek to pick up groceries.Why it matters: Since the beginning of the COVID outbreak, food insecurity in Denver has spiked above the pre-pandemic rate of 11% <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="to about 33%" data-vars-click-url="https://www.denvergov.org/Government/Agencies-Departments-Offices/Agencies-Departments-Offices-Directory/Public-Health-Environment/Community-Behavioral-Health/Food-System-Policies/Denver-Food-Security-Grant" data-vars-content-id="7b3dd23a-d25e-4520-9c6a-6e474756cb86" data-vars-headline="Colorado food banks partner with DoorDash to reach people in need" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.denvergov.org/Government/Agencies-Departments-Offices/Agencies-Departments-Offices-Directory/Public-Health-Environment/Community-Behavioral-Health/Food-System-Policies/Denver-Food-Security-Grant" target="_blank">to about 33%</a> of the city&#x27;s population.

Margaret Harding McGill

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Colorado food banks partner with DoorDash to reach people in need

Colorado cities continue to draw more tech workers