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Newsletter — Issue 28 — Wednesday, July 15, 2026
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This newsletter has been published by Engage Colorado.
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The Diagnostic · A National Data Point
Colorado Just Dropped 14 Spots. CNBC Says So.
This Engage Colorado Newsletter reflects the personal opinions of Dan Caruso, written with the support of the Caruso Ventures team. The Ensuring Colorado's Innovation Future Coalition did not review and has not endorsed this Engage Colorado Newsletter.
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Denial Is a Natural First Stage
Every framework for recovery starts in the same place: acknowledging the problem exists. In Elisabeth Kübler-Ross's classic five stages, this first step is called denial — a natural, protective reflex when the facts are unwelcome. In twelve-step recovery, it is expressed as “we admitted we had a problem.”
For those still in denial about Colorado's trajectory — here is another data point in the long list explaining why I, along with many of Colorado's business leaders, are sounding such a strong alarm.
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The National Verdict
Last Thursday, CNBC published its 20th-annual America's Top States for Business ranking. Colorado dropped fourteen positions in a single year — from #11 in 2025 to #25 in 2026. This is the largest single-year drop in Colorado's ranking history.
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CNBC America's Top States for Business · 2025 → 2026
#11 → #25
▼ 14 positions in a single year — the largest drop in Colorado's ranking history.
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For context: Colorado was in the top 10 for 15 straight years — often in the top 5. Colorado fell out of the top 10 in 2023 (dropping to #11), fell further to #16 in 2024, recovered to #11 in 2025 — and now stands at #25, below the middle of the pack.
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CNBC Overall Rank by Year · Lower Is Better
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2023
#11
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2024
#16
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2025
#11
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2026
#25
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Colorado Still Scores Well on What Naturally Makes Colorado Compelling
In The Honest Assessment, Colorado scored high on its natural and historical strengths — Category 1 of the twelve-factor framework. Not surprisingly, the CNBC report scores Colorado high in these same categories. In the 2025 rankings, Colorado's four foundational strengths were:
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Workforce |
#7 |
Technology and Innovation |
#9 |
Infrastructure |
#11 |
Quality of Life |
#12 |
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Colorado has the foundation. This has not changed.
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Colorado Now Scores Poorly on What Determines Where Capital Goes
The 14-position drop is being driven by the categories where Colorado has been slipping for years — and the categories the 2026 methodology weighted more heavily. Colorado's most alarming category ranks in 2025:
CNBC category rank — out of 50 states
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Cost of Living
Third-worst in the country. Housing costs, insurance premiums (now nearly double 2020 levels), and daily living costs are pricing Colorado out of the competition for talent and companies.
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#47
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Cost of Doing Business
The lower third nationally. Tax structure, regulatory compliance costs, and operating expenses continue to rise.
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#38
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Economy
Down from #16 the year before — a five-position drop. Colorado's job growth rate has fallen below the national average.
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#21
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Business Friendliness
A middling national rank — but the Colorado Chamber's 2025 survey found 71% of business leaders describe the state's regulatory and political climate as more costly or burdensome than three years ago.
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#22
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And in 2026, CNBC elevated Infrastructure to the #1-weighted category (up from #3) and added ease of permitting as a measured dimension for the first time. Both changes penalize Colorado, where permitting timelines and grid capacity constraints have been growing pain points.
The categories that got heavier in the 2026 methodology are exactly the categories where Colorado has drifted the furthest.
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What This Means for Colorado
The CNBC ranking is the most widely-cited annual assessment of state business competitiveness in the country. Colorado was in the top 10 for fifteen years; the drop to #25 in a single year is a reason to sound a blaring alarm.
The finding aligns with every data point The Honest Assessment has laid out: 98 companies gone since 2019, net migration turned negative in 2025, 81% of large-employer executives saying state policy is negatively impacting their business, and now the most visible national ranking dropping Colorado into the bottom half of states.
This is harmful to every Coloradan. We need our political leaders to realize it is their leadership that is putting Colorado on this bad trajectory.
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Soon: From the Problem to the Solution
These newsletters will soon pivot from explaining the problem to focusing on the solution. The “drivers” series currently underway will complete Colorado's diagnostic. After that, the focus turns to what Colorado's leaders, business community, and citizens can do to reverse this trajectory.
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If We Work Together, We Can Reverse This Trend
If we work together, we can reverse this trend. But first, we have to diagnose the source of the problem — which is why this information is being shared.
If Colorado takes the appropriate steps, Colorado can be the most attractive innovation ecosystem in the world — and every Coloradan will share in the economic and cultural prosperity that leadership creates. This is the Innovation Vision for Colorado.
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Coming Thursday
The “drivers” series continues with Category 2b — State–Federal Friction.
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