Skip to content
Beacon CRE

Which counties in Colorado are adding jobs fastest?

Custer County (+42.0%), Ouray County (+34.6%) and Elbert County (+24.7%) added private-sector jobs fastest in Colorado between 2018 and 2023.

Data as of 2023 · updated

See the rankingAll Colorado counties

Want Pro for Colorado? Get notified

All 61 ranked Colorado counties

Colorado counties ranked by private-sector job growth
RankCountyChange 2018–23Private jobs 2023Residents
1Custer County+42.0%7175,590
2Ouray County+34.6%1,6265,265
3Elbert County+24.7%3,47430,534
4Lake County+24.0%1,7027,552
5Dolores County+19.8%3272,466
6Park County+17.6%1,86618,314
7Teller County+17.1%7,00724,756
8Adams County+16.5%207,227554,668
9Huerfano County+15.6%1,2357,011
10Rio Blanco County+15.4%2,2376,683
11Douglas County+15.2%132,499399,396
12Montrose County+15.1%14,61244,591
13San Miguel County+14.2%5,7257,753
14Weld County+13.7%101,420378,426
15Chaffee County+12.9%7,17120,831
16Baca County+11.9%5843,347
17Archuleta County+10.6%4,20414,306
18Costilla County+10.0%3853,679
19Rio Grande County+9.7%2,89411,087
20Bent County+8.8%6075,716
21Phillips County+8.7%1,1464,420
22El Paso County+8.5%267,012757,040
23Larimer County+8.3%139,517377,292
24Eagle County+7.5%36,28254,291
25Arapahoe County+7.1%321,810673,820
26Mesa County+6.8%56,737162,845
27Washington County+6.8%5374,732
28Denver County+6.3%489,563740,613
29Las Animas County+6.0%3,31814,391
30Otero County+5.7%4,50817,683
31Garfield County+5.2%21,22363,474
32Fremont County+4.9%8,60350,039
33Routt County+4.9%15,39025,329
34Kiowa County+4.7%2891,412
35Alamosa County+4.5%5,95616,688
36Jefferson County+4.4%210,701580,451
37Morgan County+3.8%10,32330,306
38Montezuma County+2.8%6,80826,678
39Gunnison County+2.7%7,19417,439
40Jackson County+2.6%3201,211
41Boulder County+2.1%159,619328,560
42Kit Carson County+2.0%1,9487,069
43Clear Creek County+1.9%3,0448,994
44Conejos County+1.8%8137,529
45Summit County+1.6%22,91531,517
46Sedgwick County+1.3%4612,247
47Pitkin County+0.9%17,62916,625
48Pueblo County−0.3%50,735169,277
49Delta County−3.4%6,51632,178
50Gilpin County−4.2%4,5136,073
51Broomfield County−5.2%45,13679,174
52Prowers County−5.6%2,66111,884
53Logan County−6.8%4,82720,654
54Crowley County−7.7%4815,677
55Grand County−7.7%8,29416,496
56Moffat County−8.0%3,18113,122
57Lincoln County−8.7%1,3515,645
58Yuma County−8.9%2,3149,896
59La Plata County−9.5%20,35156,898
60Saguache County−21.8%7916,732
61Cheyenne County−41.9%3581,713

3 of 64 Colorado counties are not ranked on this measure.

How this is ranked

The change in paid employees of private employers in mid-March between 2018 and 2023 (Census Bureau County Business Patterns). Government jobs and the self-employed are not counted. Counties with fewer than 1,000 residents, or without a figure for the same period as the others, are not ranked.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns. Figures come from public federal statistics and are informational only, not investment advice. Check the source before relying on a number. Methodology: how ranks and figures are built. More on every layer: data sources and licences.

Get the report for any Colorado county — $99

The County Growth and Demographics Report for any county as a PDF, from federal data: population and migration, housing and rents, permits, private employers and jobs, unemployment, ranks in the state and the country, and neighbouring counties, with a source next to every number. Pay once, no subscription.

Choose a county — $99

Every purchase also includes a CSV of every table in the report, ready for a spreadsheet.

Refund terms: Terms. · How we compute every number

Questions

Which county in Colorado has the fastest job growth?

Custer County: +42.0%, ahead of Ouray County (+34.6%) and Elbert County (+24.7%), of 61 Colorado counties ranked.

How is this ranking calculated?

The change in paid employees of private employers in mid-March between 2018 and 2023 (Census Bureau County Business Patterns). Government jobs and the self-employed are not counted. Counties with fewer than 1,000 residents, or without a figure for the same period as the others, are not ranked.

More county rankings for Colorado

Private-sector job growth in other states

Across the U.S.