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Not that we needed a study to tell us that Denver is an amazing place to live and work, but we got one anyway. According to economists at Savills Studley, a commercial real estate services firm, Denver is ‘A Rock Solid Place to Live and Work.’ And while the study didn't say anything groundbreaking, it did offer some interesting insights about where Denver is going.
The study points out that yes, Denver does get as much sun as Miami, but it also has some more tangible assets as well. For one thing, the city is a huge magnet for the young and educated. Millennials with college degrees are moving here in droves. That's partly because Denver has a fantastic quality of life, but also because there are a ton of really good jobs here. In fact, despite the city's steady population growth,there are still plenty of job opportunities. You’d think that as more people arrived there would be fewer available jobs, but it turns out unemployment is actually dropping.
Denver’s transportation network won’t be named alongside New York City's anytime soon, but the study notes it is improving quickly. The region’s FasTracks Program cost over $5 billion and will end up resulting in 122 miles of rail, 18 miles of rapid bus lines, and 57 new transit stations. It’s a good thing too, because if people keep showing up at the rate they are now we’ll need good public transit to keep the city moving.
Because a lot of those newly arrived people are highly educated, it means that the city is attractive for employers too. People looking for tech-savvy employees are increasingly looking to Denver. Today we boast a higher rate of college educated working age people than notoriously brainy cities like Seattle and Portland.
Of course the state's institutions help as well. Colorado is home to 24 federally funded research labs and boasts a fantastic college education system. The study says that in the last 20 years the CU system has spawned over 140 tech companies, 80 percent of which are still in business, and 70 percent of those have stayed in the state.
As if that wasn’t enough, office space in Denver is dirt cheap — at least compared to other places swarming with educated millennials. Denver’s office space is priced well below the national average, and new construction around downtown should ensure it stays that way for the foreseeable future. Denver office space costs less than half what it does in San Francisco, and less than a third of the cost of space in New York City. That’s why your friends living on the coasts are sharing a cubicle and you get your very own office with a view of the mountains.
All in all, it’s a great time to be in Denver, and now we even have a study to prove it. If you want to read the whole thing, or send it to that poor, misguided friend that chose to move to San Francisco, you can find it here.
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