The Alliance has developed a Request for Information (RFI) form to help connect businesses and property owners together in an effort to help businesses find room to expand in La Plata County. Check out the article in the Durango Herald. To learn more please contact the Alliance.
How is the economy right now in Durango and La Plata County?
Find out the latest on our employment, home construction, tourism, and other key measures of our local economic performance. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us and we can walk you through what the data means.
Economic conditions in La Plata County from August 2014 to August 2018.
| Summary | ||||
| Improved (+) | 9 | |||
| No Change (o) | 3 | |||
| Declined (-) | 7 | |||
| Improved (Declined) | 2 | |||
| Current | Last Month | Last Year |
Change (vs Last Year) |
|
| Workforce | ||||
| Labor Force | 32,872 | 32,915 | 31,739 | + |
| Unemployment Rate (%) | 3.1 | 3.0 | 1.9 | – |
| Labor Force Participation (%) | 58.3 | 58.5 | 57.0 | + |
| Job Openings | 1,175 | 1,013 | 1,860 | – |
| 8 | ||||
| Construction & Housing | ||||
| New Permits (to Date) | 184 | 165 | 178 | + |
| Value of Permits ($,000) (to Date) | 95,184 | 86,181 | 87,927 | + |
| Home Sales | 561 | 470 | 565 | o |
| Average Home Price ($) | 480,586 | 469,427 | 433,419 | + |
| Earnings Needed* ($) | 84,800 | 82,600 | 70,500 | – |
| 8 | ||||
| Travel & Tourism | ||||
| Enplanements | 18,648 | 18,959 | 18,003 | + |
| Lodgers Tax ($) | 142,785 | 125,498 | 164,387 | – |
| Train Visitors | 14,001 | 16,088 | 25,383 | – |
| 8 | ||||
| Gas & Oil | ||||
| New Permits (to date) | 79 | 76 | 81 | – |
| Production (mmcf) | 24,179 | 21,032 | 24,223 | o |
| 8 | ||||
| Other | ||||
| Sales Tax, Durango ($,000)** | 1,487 | 1,551 | 1,548 | – |
| Commercial Sales ($,000) (to date) | 22,487 | 16,063 | 18,376 | + |
| Foreclosures (to date) | 32 | 32 | 36 | + |
| Energy Use | ||||
| Commercial (mwh) | 58,867 | 58,859 | 55,282 | + |
| Commercial Accounts | 6,468 | 6,469 | 6,424 | o |
Notes:
*”Earnings needed” is the household income necessary to purchase an average-priced home in La Plata County.
**Sales tax for Durango includes Use Tax.
Sources: Employment: Colorado Department of Labor and US Census Construction & Housing: City of Durango, La Plata County, Mortgage-X.com, and the Wells Group Travel & Tourism: City of Durango, Durango Area Tourism Organization (DATO), and Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad Gas & Oil: Colorado Oil & Gas Conservation Commission Other: City of Durango (Sales tax and business permits), La Plata County Treasurers Office (Foreclosures), and LPEA (Energy Use) (LPEA data is unaudited)
How is the economy right now in Durango and La Plata County?
Find out the latest on our employment, home construction, tourism, and other key measures of our local economic performance. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us and we can walk you through what the data means.
Economic conditions in Durango and La Plata County, July 2014-July 2018.
| Summary | ||||
| Improved (+) | 9 | |||
| No Change (o) | 3 | |||
| Declined (-) | 7 | |||
| Improved (Declined) | 2 | |||
| Current | Last Month | Last Year |
Change (vs Last Year) |
|
| Workforce | ||||
| Labor Force | 32,915 | 32,625 | 31,594 | + |
| Unemployment Rate (%) | 3.0 | 2.7 | 2.1 | – |
| Labor Force Participation (%) | 58.5 | 58.0 | 56.8 | + |
| Job Openings | 1,013 | 1,008 | 2,218 | – |
| 8 | ||||
| Construction & Housing | ||||
| New Permits (to Date) | 165 | 126 | 149 | + |
| Value of Permits ($,000) (to Date) | 86,181 | 66,560 | 73,818 | + |
| Home Sales | 470 | 384 | 476 | o |
| Average Home Price ($) | 469,427 | 476,687 | 433,349 | + |
| Earnings Needed* ($) | 82,600 | 84,300 | 71,300 | – |
| 8 | ||||
| Travel & Tourism | ||||
| Enplanements | 18,959 | 17,724 | 18,499 | + |
| Lodgers Tax ($) | 125,498 | 99,671 | 144,637 | – |
| Train Visitors | 16,088 | 1,465 | 36,542 | – |
| 8 | ||||
| Gas & Oil | ||||
| New Permits (to date) | 76 | 76 | 62 | + |
| Production (mmcf) | 24,823 | 23,728 | 24,633 | o |
| 8 | ||||
| Other | ||||
| Sales Tax, Durango ($,000)** | 1,551 | 1,432 | 1,620 | – |
| Commercial Sales ($,000) (to date) | 16,063 | 14,742 | 17,631 | – |
| Foreclosures (to date) | 32 | 32 | 36 | + |
| Energy Use | ||||
| Commercial (mwh) | 58,859 | 54,896 | 55,789 | + |
| Commercial Accounts | 6,469 | 6,471 | 6,423 | o |
Notes:
*”Earnings needed” is the household income necessary to purchase an average-priced home in La Plata County.
**Sales tax for Durango includes Use Tax.
Sources: Employment: Colorado Department of Labor and US Census Construction & Housing: City of Durango, La Plata County, Mortgage-X.com, and the Wells Group Travel & Tourism: City of Durango, Durango Area Tourism Organization (DATO), and Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad Gas & Oil: Colorado Oil & Gas Conservation Commission Other: City of Durango (Sales tax and business permits), La Plata County Treasurers Office (Foreclosures), and LPEA (Energy Use) (LPEA data is unaudited)
How is the economy right now in Durango and La Plata County?
Find out the latest on our employment, home construction, tourism, and other key measures of our local economic performance. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us and we can walk you through what the data means.
Economic conditions in La Plata County from June 2014 to June 2018.
| Summary | ||||
| Improved (+) | 10 | |||
| No Change (o) | 4 | |||
| Declined (-) | 5 | |||
| Improved (Declined) | 5 | |||
| Current | Last Month | Last Year |
Change (vs Last Year) |
|
| Workforce | ||||
| Labor Force | 32,625 | 32,245 | 32,619 | o |
| Unemployment Rate (%) | 2.7 | 2.1 | 2.1 | – |
| Labor Force Participation (%) | 58.0 | 57.4 | 58.7 | o |
| Job Openings | 1,008 | 881 | 1,729 | – |
| 8 | ||||
| Construction & Housing | ||||
| New Permits (to Date) | 126 | 98 | 115 | + |
| Value of Permits ($,000) (to Date) | 66,560 | 44,128 | 57,495 | + |
| Home Sales | 384 | 299 | 399 | – |
| Average Home Price ($) | 476,687 | 474,748 | 428,348 | + |
| Earnings Needed* ($) | 84,300 | 84,100 | 69,900 | – |
| 8 | ||||
| Travel & Tourism | ||||
| Enplanements | 17,724 | 15,449 | 16,896 | + |
| Lodgers Tax ($) | 99,671 | 59,335 | 91,575 | + |
| Train Visitors | 1,200 | 13,463 | 27,467 | – |
| 8 | ||||
| Gas & Oil | ||||
| New Permits (to date) | 76 | 66 | 56 | + |
| Production (mmcf) | 24,370 | 25,126 | 23,794 | + |
| 8 | ||||
| Other | ||||
| Sales Tax, Durango ($,000)** | 1,432 | 1,259 | 1,350 | + |
| Commercial Sales ($,000) (to date) | 17,298 | 13,698 | 17,298 | o |
| Foreclosures (to date) | 32 | 27 | 34 | + |
| Energy Use | ||||
| Commercial (mwh) | 54,896 | 55,288 | 53,385 | + |
| Commercial Accounts | 6,471 | 6,470 | 6,426 | o |
Notes:
*”Earnings needed” is the household income necessary to purchase an average-priced home in La Plata County.
**Sales tax for Durango includes Use Tax.
Sources: Employment: Colorado Department of Labor and US Census Construction & Housing: City of Durango, La Plata County, Mortgage-X.com, and the Wells Group Travel & Tourism: City of Durango, Durango Area Tourism Organization (DATO), and Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad Gas & Oil: Colorado Oil & Gas Conservation Commission Other: City of Durango (Sales tax and business permits), La Plata County Treasurers Office (Foreclosures), and LPEA (Energy Use) (LPEA data is unaudited)
How is the economy right now in Durango and La Plata County?
Find out the latest on our employment, home construction, tourism, and other key measures of our local economic performance. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us and we can walk you through what the data means.
Economic conditions in La Plata County from May 2014 to May 2018.
| Summary | ||||
| Improved (+) | 11 | |||
| No Change (o) | 3 | |||
| Declined (-) | 5 | |||
| Improved (Declined) | 6 | |||
| Current | Last Month | Last Year |
Change (vs Last Year) |
|
| Workforce | ||||
| Labor Force | 32,245 | 32,039 | 32,136 | o |
| Unemployment Rate (%) | 2.1 | 2.3 | 1.9 | – |
| Labor Force Participation (%) | 57.4 | 57.1 | 57.9 | o |
| Job Openings | 881 | 924 | 2,055 | – |
| 8 | ||||
| Construction & Housing | ||||
| New Permits (to Date) | 98 | 71 | 82 | + |
| Value of Permits ($,000) (to Date) | 44,128 | 31,095 | 35,843 | + |
| Home Sales | 299 | 209 | 310 | – |
| Average Home Price ($) | 474,748 | 486,673 | 426,968 | + |
| Earnings Needed* ($) | 84,100 | 85,000 | 70,600 | – |
| 8 | ||||
| Travel & Tourism | ||||
| Enplanements | 15,449 | 13,734 | 14,651 | + |
| Lodgers Tax ($) | 59,335 | 61,323 | 53,479 | + |
| Train Visitors | 13,463 | 3,737 | 12,536 | + |
| 8 | ||||
| Gas & Oil | ||||
| New Permits (to date) | 66 | 52 | 55 | + |
| Production (mmcf) | 25,426 | 23,948 | 24,766 | + |
| 8 | ||||
| Other | ||||
| Sales Tax, Durango ($,000)** | 1,259 | 1,363 | 1,158 | + |
| Commercial Sales ($,000) (to date) | 13,698 | 12,153 | 16,723 | – |
| Foreclosures (to date) | 27 | 19 | 29 | + |
| Energy Use | ||||
| Commercial (mwh) | 55,288 | 52,775 | 53,401 | + |
| Commercial Accounts | 6,470 | 6,461 | 6,425 | o |
Notes:
*”Earnings needed” is the household income necessary to purchase an average-priced home in La Plata County.
**Sales tax for Durango includes Use Tax.
Sources: Employment: Colorado Department of Labor and US Census Construction & Housing: City of Durango, La Plata County, Mortgage-X.com, and the Wells Group Travel & Tourism: City of Durango, Durango Area Tourism Organization (DATO), and Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad Gas & Oil: Colorado Oil & Gas Conservation Commission Other: City of Durango (Sales tax and business permits), La Plata County Treasurers Office (Foreclosures), and LPEA (Energy Use) (LPEA data is unaudited)
How is the economy right now in Durango and La Plata County?
Find out the latest on our employment, home construction, tourism, and other key measures of our local economic performance. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us and we can walk you through what the data means.
Economic conditions in La Plata County from April 2014 to April 2018.
| Summary | ||||
| Improved (+) | 10 | |||
| No Change (o) | 4 | |||
| Declined (-) | 5 | |||
| Improved (Declined) | 5 | |||
| Current | Last Month | Last Year |
Change (vs Last Year) |
|
| Workforce | ||||
| Labor Force | 32,039 | 31,381 | 31,589 | o |
| Unemployment Rate (%) | 2.4 | 2.9 | 1.9 | – |
| Labor Force Participation (%) | 57.1 | 56.0 | 56.9 | o |
| Job Openings | 924 | 881 | 1,863 | – |
| 8 | ||||
| Construction & Housing | ||||
| New Permits (to Date) | 71 | 52 | 55 | + |
| Value of Permits ($,000) (to Date) | 31,095 | 18,655 | 24,066 | + |
| Home Sales | 209 | 148 | 219 | – |
| Average Home Price ($) | 486,673 | 476,352 | 432,425 | + |
| Earnings Needed* ($) | 85,000 | 82,900 | 71,900 | – |
| 8 | ||||
| Travel & Tourism | ||||
| Enplanements | 13,734 | 15,201 | 12,370 | + |
| Lodgers Tax ($) | 61,323 | 42,056 | 55,983 | + |
| Train Visitors | 3,737 | 4,676 | 4,049 | – |
| 8 | ||||
| Gas & Oil | ||||
| New Permits (to date) | 52 | 47 | 47 | + |
| Production (mmcf) | 21,757 | 25,532 | 21,862 | o |
| 8 | ||||
| Other | ||||
| Sales Tax, Durango ($,000)** | 1,363 | 1,046 | 1,287 | + |
| Commercial Sales ($,000) (to date) | 12,153 | 11,673 | 7,040 | + |
| Foreclosures (to date) | 19 | 16 | 22 | + |
| Energy Use | ||||
| Commercial (mwh) | 52,775 | 56,074 | 50,812 | + |
| Commercial Accounts | 6,461 | 6,415 | 6,420 | o |
Notes:
*”Earnings needed” is the household income necessary to purchase an average-priced home in La Plata County.
**Sales tax for Durango includes Use Tax.
Sources: Employment: Colorado Department of Labor and US Census Construction & Housing: City of Durango, La Plata County, Mortgage-X.com, and the Wells Group Travel & Tourism: City of Durango, Durango Area Tourism Organization (DATO), and Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad Gas & Oil: Colorado Oil & Gas Conservation Commission Other: City of Durango (Sales tax and business permits), La Plata County Treasurers Office (Foreclosures), and LPEA (Energy Use) (LPEA data is unaudited)
How is the economy right now in Durango and La Plata County?
Find out the latest on our employment, home construction, tourism, and other key measures of our local economic performance. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us and we can walk you through what the data means.
Economic conditions in La Plata County from March 2014 to March 2018.
| Summary | ||||
| Improved (+) | 10 | |||
| No Change (o) | 2 | |||
| Declined (-) | 7 | |||
| Improved (Declined) | 3 | |||
| Current | Last Month | Last Year |
Change (vs Last Year) |
|
| Workforce | ||||
| Labor Force | 31,381 | 31,411 | 30,750 | + |
| Unemployment Rate (%) | 3.0 | 3.3 | 2.2 | – |
| Labor Force Participation (%) | 56.0 | 56.1 | 55.4 | o |
| Job Openings | 881 | 975 | 1,807 | – |
| 8 | ||||
| Construction & Housing | ||||
| New Permits (to Date) | 52 | 33 | 33 | + |
| Value of Permits ($,000) (to Date) | 18,655 | 10,836 | 12,002 | + |
| Home Sales | 148 | 91 | 158 | – |
| Average Home Price ($) | 476,352 | 467,440 | 415,063 | + |
| Earnings Needed* ($) | 82,900 | 80,300 | 69,600 | – |
| 8 | ||||
| Travel & Tourism | ||||
| Enplanements | 15,201 | 12,588 | 15,901 | – |
| Lodgers Tax ($) | 42,056 | 34,185 | 38,893 | + |
| Train Visitors | 4,676 | 1,856 | 4,397 | + |
| 8 | ||||
| Gas & Oil | ||||
| New Permits (to date) | 47 | 35 | 2 | + |
| Production (mmcf) | 23,010 | 22,887 | 23,940 | – |
| 8 | ||||
| Other | ||||
| Sales Tax, Durango ($,000)** | 1,046 | 1,142 | 1,068 | – |
| Commercial Sales ($,000) (to date) | 11,673 | 10,284 | 3,950 | + |
| Foreclosures (to date) | 16 | 10 | 19 | + |
| Energy Use | ||||
| Commercial (mwh) | 56,074 | 53,890 | 52,718 | + |
| Commercial Accounts | 6,415 | 6,401 | 6,368 | o |
Notes:
*”Earnings needed” is the household income necessary to purchase an average-priced home in La Plata County.
**Sales tax for Durango includes Use Tax.
Sources: Employment: Colorado Department of Labor and US Census Construction & Housing: City of Durango, La Plata County, Mortgage-X.com, and the Wells Group Travel & Tourism: City of Durango, Durango Area Tourism Organization (DATO), and Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad Gas & Oil: Colorado Oil & Gas Conservation Commission Other: City of Durango (Sales tax and business permits), La Plata County Treasurers Office (Foreclosures), and LPEA (Energy Use) (LPEA data is unaudited)
Across the Divide
New ideas from around the world that could impact your business here in La Plata County!
Brought to you by your La Plata County Economic Development Alliance
May 11, 2018
In the April 6th Across the Divide, we talked about Census data showing that mid-sized cities and suburbs were making a comeback.
It’s not just anyone that is driving that population growth though. Anecdotal and increasingly statistical data is suggesting millennials are powering this trend:
https://www.curbed.com/2018/5/1/17306978/career-millennial-home-buying-second-city
Author Patrick Sisson finds that millennials can “boomerang” to midsized cities under the right conditions. First, it is typically millennials who are “settling down” and either getting married or considering starting families. Second, the economics also have to work: generally, the communities need to be cheaper than the big cities; as well as afford good home ownership opportunities. Finally, there should also be better career opportunities available. The article also finds that an increasing number of tech jobs are locating to smaller cities. Other writers, such as Joel Kotkin at City Journal, have documented that there has been strong growth in professional service jobs within small cities which could also be creating opportunities.
Are millennials moving to La Plata County? Over the last 16 years, the 25-39 year old population has been growing, at best, at the same pace as the county overall. Usually it’s slower though. But in the City of Durango, the story is startlingly different:
In the 1990s, barely anyone between 25 and 39 years old moved to Durango. However, in the 2000’s growth in the 25 to 39 year old age group was almost two times faster than the city as a whole. So far this decade, growth in older millennials is three times as fast as the city overall.
Durango is not only offering more professional opportunities, but remote working is allowing talented young individuals to work from anywhere. It is getting harder to find couples in and around Durango where at least one of them isn’t working remotely. If we lack local opportunities, high speed internet is allowing many young professionals to fill the gap.
So, it seems like Durango at least is seeing the millennial boomlet that other small cities are experiencing. Will other areas in La Plata County benefit? Only time will tell!
-Roger Zalneraitis, Executive Director
If you come across an article on business, politics, or economics that can have an impact here in the Four Corners, send it over to info@yeslpc.com and we will give you a special thank you courtesy of the investors in the Economic Development Alliance!