According to a new analysis conducted by CBRE, the Denver/Boulder area is the 11th-leading market for U.S. life sciences talent. The inaugural report identifies the 25 top U.S. life sciences labor markets — ranging from established hotbeds like Boston and San Diego to developing hubs like the Denver/Boulder area — illustrating the expanding reach of the fast-growing industry.
The Denver/Boulder market ranked 11th overall but higher in several specific metrics. The region has the second-highest density of bioengineers and biomedical engineers in the U.S., behind only Minneapolis/St. Paul. The number of bioengineers and biomedical engineers grew by 116 percent in Denver/Boulder between 2015 and 2020, giving the area the greatest absolute number of these occupations in the U.S.
The overall number of life sciences researchers in the Denver/Boulder area grew 20 percent from 2015 to 2020, the 11th-fastest growth rate among the 25 leading markets. With 7,860 researchers, Denver/Boulder is the 14th largest U.S. market for life sciences talent.
“The Denver/Boulder region has a deep life sciences talent pool with some of biotech’s biggest names first planting their flag in Colorado decades ago. The region also benefits from the presence of leading medical research institutions, including the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, and from its highly educated talent pipeline. Colorado frequently ranks among the top five most-educated states in the nation, and Boulder specifically has claimed the top spot in rankings for its concentration of workers in the science, technology, engineering and math fields,” said Erik Abrahamson, a first vice president with CBRE in Boulder specializing in life sciences.
CBRE assessed each market against multiple criteria, including its number of life sciences jobs and graduates, life sciences’ share of each market’s overall job and graduate pool, its number of doctorate degree holders in life sciences, and its concentration of jobs in the broader professional, scientific and technical services professions. The analysis produced CBRE’s inaugural ranking of the leading markets for U.S. life sciences talent.
To read the full report, click here.
