Commerce

For the past five years, Denver has graced FORTUNE magazine’s list of “Best Cities for Business.”  Each year since 2001, it’s been one of Dun and Bradstreet’s “Top 10 Cities for Small Business,” and, this year, TIME magazine named Mayor John Hickenlooper one of the “Top Five Mayors in the Nation.”

Metro Denver is home to four of the top 20 most-tech-savvy counties in the United States. (USA Today, 2005)

As the only major U.S. city with one-bounce satellite capability to six continents, Metro Denver is a national center for the telecommunications industry, including companies such as Qwest Communications, Avaya, MCI, Sprint, Adelphia, and Level 3.

University of Denver’s Daniels College of Business ranked eighth on the Wall Street Journal’s 2005 ranking of regional business schools.

Denver’s home state of Colorado exported $7.96 billion in goods in 2006.

For the seventh straight year, Colorado ranked first in concentration of tech workers. (AeA, formerly American Electronics Association, 2006)

Colorado has the largest space economy in terms of private employment. (Development Research Partners, 2006)

Colorado ranked third of the 50 states in the percentage of scientists and engineers as a percent of labor force. (Beacon Hill, 2006)

Colorado has the second-most-highly educated workforce in the nation. (U.S. Census Bureau, 2005)

Colorado’s entrepreneurial activity ranked second in the United States. (Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, 2006)

Colorado received an 'A' for Business Vitality based on business competitiveness and entrepreneurial energy - 2006 Development Report Card for the States

Colorado also received an 'A' for Development Capacity based on the positioning of the state for future economic growth - 2006 Development Report Card for the States

Fort Collins is the number one "Best Place to Live." Westminster also ranked 24, and Longmont ranked 61 on the same list - Money Magazine, 2006

Metro Denver is the second most competitive place in the nation to do business - San Diego Regional Economic Development Corp. Study, 2005

Colorado ranked fifth of the 50 states for long-term employment growth - Corporation for Enterprise Development, 2006

Colorado also ranked fifth of the 50 states for short-term development growth - Corporation for Enterprise Development, 2006

Colorado ranked second for Economic Freedom - Economic Freedom of North America, 2005 Annual Report

Metro Denver ranked in the top ten for business growth in the past five years - infoUSA, 2005

Seventeen Colorado companies made Fortune's 1000 list - 2006

Colorado ranked third in the nation for economic competitiveness based on ability to generate income and promote growth - Suffolk University's Beacon Hill Institute, 2005

Colorado has the largest space economy in terms of private employment - Development Research Partners, 2006

Colorado entrepreneurial activity ranked second in the U.S. - Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, 2006

Colorado ranked fifth in the first quarter 2006 for venture capital investment - PricewaterhouseCoopers, Thomson Venture and the National Venture Capital Association, 2006

Eighteen Colorado companies were awarded $107.2 million in the first quarter 2006 - Ernst & Young, 2006

Transportation  

Denver International Airport was voted the third-best airport in the Americas and the third-best airport in the world among airports with more than 25 million passengers annually. (AETRA passenger survey, 2006)

Denver International Airport was the sixth-busiest airport in the nation last year and eleventh busiest in the world. (Bureau of Transportation Statistics, 2006)

Denver International Airport was the sixth busiest airport in the nation last year, and eleventh busiest in the world - Bureau of Transportation Statistics, 2006

The nation's largest multi-modal transportation project--T-REX--completed in November 2006 under budget and nearly two years ahead of schedule - Colorado Department of Transportation

FasTracks is the largest one-time build out of any mass transit system in U.S. history - Regional Transportation District, 2006

Denver has the nation's fourth shortest commute time for executives at 35.3 minutes - TheLadders.com, 2005

Denver is the fourth easiest city in terms of getting out of town for the weekend - MapQuest Summer Survey, 2006

Workforce

For the seventh straight year, Colorado ranked first in concentration of tech workers - AeA (former American Electronics Association), 2006

Colorado ranked third of the 50 states in the percentage of scientists and engineers as a percent of labor force - Beacon Hill, 2006

Colorado has the second most highly educated workforce in the nation - U.S. Census Bureau, 2005

Colorado has the fourth highest concentration of scientists and engineers - National Science Board, 2006

University of Denver's Daniels College of Business ranked eighth on the Wall Street Journal's 2005 ranking of regional business schools.

The Leeds School of Business at the University of Colorado at Boulder in one of the top ten "hot spots" for entrepreneurial education - Fortune Small Business, 2006

Boulder ranked as the number one spot for brainpower in the nation - American City Business Journals, 2005

Quality of Life

Denver ranked third on the list of 'Best Cities for Relocating Families' - Worldwide ERC, Primary Relocation, Sperling's Best Places, 2006

Denver has the nation's largest park system, with more than 200 parks in the city limits, and 20,000 acres of parks in nearby mountains.

For the third consecutive year, Denver ranked as the best city in the nation for singles, thanks to the area's booming job market, relatively low cost of living, and large university population - Forbes Magazine, 2006

Denver ranked among the top-five cities for “Best Downtown.” (Men’s Journal’s “50 Best Places to Live,” April 2007)

Denver ranked as the fifth fittest city in the nation - Men's Fitness Magazine, 2005

Denver ranked sixth out of the 50 largest metro areas in the nation for being one of the "Cleanest Cities in America" - Reader's Digest, 2005

Boulder is the best place to retire for "outdoor addicts"- Fortune, 2006

Denver ranked as the ninth most sustainable city based on making its resources sustainable for future generations to enjoy without passing on a major cost burden - SustainLane.com, 2006

Colorado ranked fifth of the 50 states in the percent of households with computers - Corporation for Enterprise Development, 2006

Healthcare

Colorado currently has the lowest obesity rate in the nation and, as a result, annual health insurance rates in the Denver area are about $400 cheaper than the national average - Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, 2006

National Jewish Medical and Research Center in Denver was named the top respiratory hospital in the country for the ninth year in a row - U.S. News & World Report, 2006

The University of Colorado Hospital was cited for excellence in nine of 16 medical specialties - U.S. News & World Report, 2006

Children's Hospital in Denver ranked seventh among hospitals that specialize in children's diseases - U.S. News & World Report, 2006

Denver ranked No. 1 among the nation’s 100 largest cities for cleanest drinking water. (Men’s Health, March 2007)

Denver’s home state of Colorado was the first state in the Union to approve women’s suffrage in a popular election.

Arts and Entertainment

Denver has more than 200 parks within the city and 20,000 acres of parks in the nearby mountains, including spectacular Red Rocks Amphitheatre. There are 650 miles of off-street bike paths, 90 golf courses and one of the nation’s largest urban trail systems and Denver owns its own ski area – Winter Park Resort. Denver pets fare well too. Denver was named the No. 1 city for dogs and cats in May 2003 by the Purina Pet Institute. They rated Denver as the healthiest city for pets because the Denver metro area has the most veterinarians per capita and the fewest fleas.

Denver is one of only a few cities to offer eight professional sports teams: the NFL’s Denver Broncos; Major League Baseball’s Colorado Rockies; the NHL’s Colorado Avalanche; the NBA’s Denver Nuggets; Arena Football’s Colorado Crush; Major League Soccer’s Colorado Rapids; the National Lacrosse League’s Colorado Mammoth; and Major League Lacrosse’s Colorado Outlaws. In addition, Denver has horse racing, dog racing and one of the world’s largest rodeos, the National Western. Denver is the only city to build three new stadiums in the 1990s: 50,000-seat Coors Field; 75,000-seat INVESCO Field at Mile High, and 20,000-seat Pepsi Center.

Culture is big business in Metro Denver, with citizens providing more support for the arts per capita than in any other metropolitan area.

Denver brews more beer than any other city, with 80 different beers brewed here. The first building in Denver was a saloon, so it’s natural that Denver would become a great beer town. Coors Brewery is the world’s largest. Denver’s Great American Beer Festival is the largest in the nation, with 1,400 different beers. The Wynkoop Brewing Company is the largest brewpub in America. On an average day, Denver brews more than 80 different beers.

Environmentally-Focused

Denver ranked sixth out of the 50 largest metro areas in the nation for being one of the “Cleanest Cities in America.” (Reader’s Digest, 2005)

Denver ranked as the ninth-most-sustainable city based on making its resources sustainable for future generations to enjoy without passing on a major cost burden. (SustainLane.com, 2006)

In 2004, DIA became the first commercial airport in the country to attain ISO 14001 certification for its Environmental Management System, which encompasses all activities within the 34,000-acre site.

Denver was recognized in 2005 and 2006 by the national group SustainLane as one of the Top 10 Cities in the Nation for sustainable practices. The city received high marks for its land-use planning, environmental systems at Denver International Airport, water quality and other efforts.

Denver received a Certificate of Achievement on April 12, 2006, from the Wirth Chair in Environmental and Community Development Policy at the Graduate School of Public Affairs at the University of Colorado and Health Sciences Center for efforts to advance and integrate sustainability into city programs and policies.

On Sept. 21, 2005, Denver was honored with a Most Valuable Pollution Prevention (MVP2) award from the National Pollution Prevention Roundtable (NPPR). Denver was recognized for reducing the amount of hazardous waste generated from its operations by 83 percent during the past seven years – almost a 12-percent reduction each year.

Denver received a Champion Award from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment at the Annual Environmental Awards held on Oct. 4, 2005, for pollution prevention (P2) activities.

Denver ranked second for sustainable competitiveness in a study completed by The San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation.

Denver was honored as one of the Top Green Cities in the United States in 2006 by The Green Guide. The magazine scored cities on 11 criteria, including air quality, electricity use and production, environmental perspective, environmental policy, green design, green space, public health, recycling, socioeconomic factors, transportation and water quality.