Rural Colorado is emerging as a tech-driven economic power with new ventures and innovation.
COLORADO, USA — In this week’s 9NEWS Business Buzz, Business Expert Ryan Frazier shifts the focus beyond the Front Range to Colorado’s rural communities. These areas make up 73% of the state’s land area and are quietly becoming powerful hubs of innovation, business growth, and talent.
Frazier is joined by Executive Director of Startup Colorado Brittany Romano to break down the evolving landscape of rural entrepreneurship and why it’s becoming a strategic force in the state’s economic future.
The New Scale & Diversity
Despite long-standing perceptions that the rural economy is defined primarily by farming and tourism, the data tells a different story. Over the past five years, rural counties have seen 90,000 new business registrations, and national research shows these areas often have higher rates of entrepreneurship per capita than urban centers.
Romano notes that rural communities are now home to a growing mix of sectors, including cybersecurity, advanced manufacturing, and emerging quantum-tech roles. These new sectors are supported by significantly lower commercial real-estate costs, which are often 30% to 70% below Front Range prices.
The Economic Barriers
Capital is still the biggest barrier:
- Less than 1% of U.S. venture-capital dollars reach rural ZIP codes.
- Rural lending by traditional banks has fallen nearly 50% over the past decade.
- To counter that gap, Startup Colorado is developing the Rural Angel Investment Network (RAIN).
The power of social capital:
- Romano emphasizes that social capital—mentors, advisors, and networks—is the number one predictor of business success in rural areas.
- Startup Colorado works to bridge this divide through statewide networks that connect rural founders with resources well beyond their ZIP code.
A ‘Rural Operating System’ for the Future
Looking ahead, Romano describes a vision for a “Rural Operating System”—a blueprint designed to help residents build world-class careers without leaving home. With lower overhead costs and a growing tech talent pool, rural Colorado is positioned as an affordable, innovation-friendly environment for new ventures.
As entrepreneurship accelerates outside the metro corridors, the story of Colorado’s economy is expanding, and the state’s next major growth engine may be found far from Denver’s skyline.
For more, watch the full episode above.
