Colorado ranked second in workforce education in the 2007 State New Economy Index released by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation and the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF). The ranking is based on a weighted measure of the educational attainment of the workforce.

According to CNBC, Colorado ranked 5th in America's Top States for Business of overall economic climate, access to capital, workforce, quality, and state support for technology and innovation.

Colorado has the 13th most business-friendly tax climate according to the Tax Foundation's 2008 State Business Tax Climate Index. Also, Colorado ranked 30th in state and local tax burden as a percentage of income in 2007 and 23rd lowest in total tax burden for state, local, and federal taxes as a percentage of income.

According to the Government rankings of states with the highest per-capita income in 2007, Colorado income ranks 10th at $41,042.

Colorado received an  "A" for both business vitality and development capacity in the "2007 Development Report Card for the States", Corporation for Enterprise Development.

According to the 2006 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data, Colorado was the eighth-fastest growing state with a 1.9 percent population increase.

Colorado ranked third in the nation in the Milken Institute's 2008 New Economy Index, a 12-measure ranking to determine states that are best poised for high tech growth. Colorado placed in the top ten for nearly all of the criteria. The study ranked states in areas such as exports, research funding, number of patents issued, new business starts, and venture capital investment.

Rankings for Denver International Airport (DIA) :

• The Business Traveler magazine named DIA the best airport in North America in 2006 and 2007.
• DIA was the first airport in the nation to be awarded membership in the Environmental Protection Agency's Performance Track, a voluntary program that recognizes facilities that consistently exceed regulatory requirements and excel in protecting human health and the environment.
• DIA is the 5th busiest airport in the nation carrying 49.9 million passengers in 2007.
• DIA boasts both the longest runway in North America and instrument-landing runway in the world.

The Milken Institute's 2008 National State Technology & Science Index ranks Colorado as the #3 state for comprehensive inventory of technology and science assets. The index uses 75 indicators in five categories to measure how well a state will perform in today’s knowledge-based economy. The five composite categories are:

• Research and development inputs
• Risk capital and entrepreneurial infrastructure
• Human capital investment
• Technology and science workforce
• Technology concentration and dynamism.

Colorado ranks #1 in IT jobs at non-tech firms, #2 in high-tech jobs and #8 for mangers, professionals, technicians, scientists and engineers, according to the Denver Newspaper Agency. The state serves as home to more than 100,000 aerospace employees and 2,800 software companies. Eleven Colorado companies are ranked among the 500 fastest-growing technology companies in the United States and Canada.

Metro Denver is the ONLY market in the country that ranks in the Top 20 for each of the five convergence industry clusters – telecommunications service, telecommunications equipment, computer software, computer storage and biomedical industries.

Colorado ranked seventh among the 50 largest metropolitan areas in the country for having an advanced, high-tech, highly adaptive economy necessary to thrive in the new millennium, according to the New Economy Index published by the Progressive Policy Institute. Denver ranked in the top 10 in nine of the study's 16 categories:

• second for broadband access
• fourth for overall internet infrastructure, managerial and professional jobs, and education of its workforce
• fifth for the number of high tech jobs
• sixth in the number of new, publicly traded companies and for the amount of venture capital in the region
• seventh for residents who use the Internet
• 14th for patents issued to local inventors

According to the Cyberstate 2008 study, Colorado has the nation's 3rd highest concentration of high tech workers employing 83 of every 1,000 sector workers in 2006.

In 2008, Toward a More Competitive Colorado recorded that Colorado is a center of innovation in the knowledge-based economy, ranking 3rd for new companies, 4th for per capita investments and SBIR grants, and 10th for patents granted.

A 2007 study by the Metro Denver Health and Wellness Commission reported that Metro Denver residents have the best average health ranking among 25 comparable cities.

According to a study by the Trust for America's Health, Colorado has the lowest obesity rate in the nation at 17.6%.

Forbes magazine ranked Metro Denver as the 10th best area for young professionals. Forbes reported that Metro Denver had the best salary to cost of living ration for recent college graduates.

The Denver Public Library was ranked 4th in the nation in Hennen's American Public Library Ratings, 2006.

The City of Westminster was selected as one of 10 "exceptional" places in the U.S. in the book entitled, "Making Places Special: Stories of Real Places Made Better by Planning," by Gene Bunnell. Bunnell praised Westminster for developing an identity through gateway signs and landmarks, creating beautiful developments through high design standards, and for implementing innovative community programs.

Metro Denver is on of the nation's top bargain travel destinations, according to the 2008 travel value index by discout-travel web site Hotwire.com. Denver placed fourth for its low-price accomodations and a wide variety of outdoor life and free activities.

Two metro Denver hospitals recieved the 2008 Distinguished Hospital Award for Clinical Excellence given by HealthGrades, a Lakewood-based company that assesses hospitals nationwide. The winners were judged on a performance in 27 clinical catagories including mortality and complication rates.

Denver ranked in the top-five cities in America for its "Urban Life" in a 2007 Men's Journal survey of the 50 "best places" to live.

A 2007 Health Club Industry Review says that more people are enrolled in health clubs in Denver than anywhere else in the U.S., 25.1% of residents have fitness memberships. 

According to the Corporation for Enterpise Development in 2007, Colorado ranks 5th in the U.S. in the number of science and engineering graduate students enrolled in doctorate-granting institutions.

in 2007, NCHeMS Information Center reported that Colorado was number one in the U.S. for the highest ACT and SAT scores per 1,000 high school graduates.

In 2007, the University of Colorado, Colorado State University, and the Colorado School of Mines alone received more than $637 million in research grants. World-class research is conducted in several universities located throughout the Metro Denver region.

Just over 34 percent of Colorado's residents have a bachelor's degree or higher which gives the state the country's third most educated workforce behind Massachusetts and Maryland. Metro Denver is a magnet for technical and scientific workers who are interested in career opportunities in our region's dynamic industries like aerospace, bioscience, energy, and information technology.