Brain Gain: Americans are Heading West

Bloomberg reports that three cities in Colorado are among the top 10 leading destinations for the nation’s smartest. Boulder ranks #1 nationally in the Bloomberg Brain Concentration Index, which tracks business formation, employment, and STEM education. Fort Collins ranks #4 and Denver #10. According to the Northern Colorado Economic Alliance, the region is “nerdy and proud of it.”

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United States Small Business Friendliness

The Thumbtack Small Business Friendliness Survey has surveyed thousands of entrepreneurs on policies that impact their ability to start, operate, and grow a business. In 2017, more than 13K small business owners participated in the study. Colorado scored A’s in overall friendliness, ease of starting a business, health and safety, and government websites, but scored a C in ease of hiring (not a surprise, given the current low unemployment rate). As a comparison, Massachusetts and California also received C’s in hiring.

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10 Cities that Changed the Most in 10 Years

MagnifyMoney has created a list of major U.S. cities they consider have changed the most in 10 years. Denver and Portland are tied at #5. As noted by the article, change is not necessarily a positive or negative thing and can encompass job and income growth, as well as challenges such as rising rent. The rankings are based on commute times, income, house prices, crime rates, building permits, etc.

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What To Know About Amazon HQ2

Lately we’ve heard a lot about Amazon. The Brookings Institution has compiled an executive summary of seven key items to take into account. Notably, the scholars at the think tank believe that the list of competitive cities is short–just 20 locations, including Denver–due to the availability of talent, transit, land, and other criteria.

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