Colorado’s robust economy has long established the state as one of the nation’s fastest growing. Originally built on tourism and outdoor recreation, the Centennial State has become a haven for high-tech industries like telecom, IT and aerospace — driving an extraordinary population boom and an enviable standard of living.

As new horizons of opportunity rose above the Rockies, the state seemed ripe for a new age of prosperity. That age is now imperiled by mounting headwinds that threaten to unravel the momentum.

The Gazette’s ongoing “Fiscal Rockies” series is documenting the trend, calling attention to Colorado’s rocky economic terrain.

The numbers tell the story: Colorado recently ranked #34 for employment growth, #29 for personal income growth and dead last (#50) for one-year home price changes. And with a cost of living 12% above the national average, Colorado is driving businesses away.

That, in turn, shrinks our population. Whereas Colorado drew an annual average of 76,000 new residents from 2010-2019, just 36,000 migrated here in 2023. Denver’s vacant housing units surged from 53,000 in 2018 to nearly 112,000 by the end of 2023.

So, why is Colorado seeing such a decline in these metrics?

CU economist Brian Lewandowski put it plainly to The Gazette: “We had that 15-year period where Colorado’s economy was really just on a tear, and now when we’re benchmarking to other states… it’s truly a slowdown.”

Business leaders aren’t optimistic about a turnaround. A Colorado Business Roundtable survey of more than 50 senior executives showed nearly two-thirds believe conditions will only get worse. They warn that “the very ecosystem that once attracted businesses is starting to drive them away.”

The Fiscal Rockies series explores various causes for the struggle, but a consistent pattern emerges that boils down to one root problem: too much government interference.

A “word cloud” from the business leaders’ survey shows the most glaring concern: regulations, followed by an “anti-business” climate. Nothing else comes close.

The Gazette’s reporting points to “a regulatory thicket that is driving up costs, stalling investment and pushing companies to look elsewhere in the country.”

The Colorado Chamber of Commerce ranked Colorado the sixth most regulated state for business in its 2024 report. Nearly 45% of those rules are duplicative or redundant, yet businesses must sift through them all to ensure compliance.

Proponents of increased regulation point to a “fast-evolving” world that requires policymakers to “keep up with the rapid changes through legislation.”

But when has government ever been nimble enough to make changes on the fly without squeezing businesses frantically trying to comply? Only the private sector can respond to changing circumstances quickly and effectively. Legislators are always behind.

Regulatory compliance costs jobs and raises consumer prices — disproportionately hitting low-income households and, as the Chamber notes, contributing to “greater income inequality.” For every 10% increase in regulations, an estimated 36,000 jobs and 9,000 firms are lost, alongside a 2% hit to annual economic growth.

No wonder their own survey finds two-thirds of business leaders think Colorado is “on the wrong track.”

Colorado Restaurant Association CEO Sonia Riggs calls it “death by a thousand cuts.” Layer upon layer of regulations and costs, each compounding the last.

It’s as if Colorado is attempting to repeat, even outdo, the failed regulatory disasters of a place like California.

From the state legislature to our city councils, policymakers created this pile-on. Now they must roll it back — before Colorado’s economic road gets any rockier.