Government labs have a big economic impact on Boulder County’s economy.
A University of Colorado Boulder Leeds School of Business study released in March 2017 estimated that government research facilities in Boulder generated $1.1 billion for the county, employed nearly 4,000 people and supported close to 8,000 other jobs.
The numbers were particularly crucial in 2017, when the labs – the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Center for Atmospheric Research – were in danger of losing
perhaps a sizeable amount of federal funding.
The loss would be more than just jobs and dollars, however, said Brian Lewandowski, Associate Director of the Business Research Division of CU’s Leeds School of Business.
“We talk about clusters … we have here of people and unique industries. (It’s made us) a place known for innovation, entrepreneurship, start-ups and venture capital,” he said.
Local history writer Carol Taylor said the labs also have been a key element in making Boulder County what it is today, helping to shape many of the demographics tallied in this 2017 TRENDS report.
Before the Central Radio Propagation Laboratory came to Boulder in 1954, the biggest companies in town were Western Cutlery and Crockett’s Bit and Spur, she said.
“Young people were leaving Boulder for better opportunities,” she said, a marked contrast to the county’s economy today.
In mid-2017, Boulder County had the lowest unemployment rate in the nation, according to Lewandowski.
A major factor in luring that first lab, a forerunner of NIST, was the commitment of Boulder citizens.
“The Chamber of Commerce got the effort going,” Taylor said, adding that numerous private citizens and small businesses stepped up to donate land.
by Cindy Sutter
