Metro Job Market Pulse · General Market Conditions · September 2026
General Market Conditions Labor Market Report: Boulder, CO MSA — September 2026
Boulder wages outpace the state while its workforce shrinks.
Boulder County employment fell 1.0% year-over-year even as average weekly wages jumped 6.6% to $2,107, a divergence from Colorado's statewide 4.0% unemployment rate and third consecutive month of job losses.
Free archive edition. Published by WageScape as sent to subscribers; data as of September 2026.
Key indicators
- Boulder County employment change: -1.0% — Year-over-year, March 2025 to March 2026
- Boulder County avg weekly wage: $2,107 — Up 6.6% YoY, vs 5.4% statewide
- Colorado unemployment rate: 4.0% — Up from 3.9% in July; US rate 4.1%
- Colorado net domestic migration: Negative in 2025 — Only out-migrating peer state
Key takeaways
Boulder's labor market is shrinking, not just slowing.
County employment fell 1.0% year-over-year to 185,013 positions even as wages rose sharply, a pattern more consistent with labor-supply contraction than demand weakness. For commerce leaders, this changes the diagnosis: expansion plans face a worker-availability constraint, not a cooling economy.
Wage growth here is outrunning the state and the nation.
Boulder County's 6.6% average weekly wage growth exceeds Colorado's statewide 5.4% and far outpaces the national wage-inflation gap flagged in September's federal data. That divergence signals Boulder retains pricing power in its labor market even as broader state and national wage growth loses ground to inflation.
Colorado's population drag is a Boulder problem too.
Colorado was the only peer state with negative net domestic migration in 2025, and reduced international immigration is compounding the labor-supply squeeze. Boulder's high cost of living and $16.82 local minimum wage make it especially exposed to this demographic constraint, a factor economic development planning should treat as structural rather than cyclical.
State softening has not yet fully reached Boulder.
Colorado lost 1,400 jobs statewide in August and unemployment rose to 4.0%, but Boulder County's April unemployment reading of 3.4% remained meaningfully tighter. Commerce leaders should watch whether statewide softness — concentrated in information, financial activities, and manufacturing — begins showing up in Boulder's more insulated research and tech-heavy base.
Median advertised pay by role — Boulder, CO MSA
| Role | 25th percentile | Median advertised pay | 75th percentile | Metro trend | National median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail Sales Associate | $32,904 | $38,229 | $41,543 | Stable | $33,325 |
| Retail Cashier | $32,180 | $36,227 | $38,293 | Stable | $31,200 |
| Warehouse/Fulfillment Associate | $34,084 | $40,528 | $42,899 | Stable | $38,000 |
| CDL Truck Driver | $60,312 | $78,000 | $87,994 | Stable | $78,000 |
| Delivery Driver | $34,174 | $37,445 | $40,768 | Moderate decline | $34,344 |
| Construction Laborer | $35,865 | $43,964 | $49,026 | Stable | $40,560 |
| Electrician | $56,395 | $72,490 | $80,070 | Stable | $71,404 |
| Manufacturing Production Worker/Assembler | $34,322 | $41,600 | $45,760 | Moderate decline | $39,520 |
| Customer Service Representative | $35,298 | $39,440 | $42,615 | Moderate decline | $39,520 |
| Food Service Worker | $30,123 | $34,729 | $37,716 | Moderate decline | $33,756 |
| Certified Nursing Assistant / Home Health Aide | $39,781 | $48,038 | $49,920 | Stable | $41,106 |
| Administrative Assistant/Office Clerk | $33,922 | $44,720 | $51,500 | Moderate decline | $43,680 |
| HVAC Technician | $61,733 | $66,397 | $70,993 | Moderate increase | $70,720 |
| Registered Nurse | $84,323 | $97,240 | $104,945 | Moderate increase | $102,581 |
| Software Engineer | $120,000 | $153,715 | $170,000 | Stable | $153,652 |
| Data Engineer | $99,285 | $146,675 | $159,248 | Significant increase | $139,500 |
| Accountant | $59,565 | $71,933 | $80,618 | Significant increase | $72,182 |
| Financial Analyst | $75,000 | $98,000 | $104,870 | Moderate increase | $94,782 |
| HR Generalist/Manager | $55,215 | $83,567 | $90,961 | Significant increase | $75,000 |
| Marketing Specialist | $43,660 | $58,265 | $70,713 | Stable | $62,354 |
| Operations Manager * | $78,593 | $95,453 | $103,143 | Significant increase | $85,216 |
| Elementary/Secondary School Teacher | $48,682 | $62,086 | $66,835 | Moderate increase | $56,731 |
| Account Manager | $63,209 | $95,000 | $117,500 | Significant increase | $92,749 |
| Warehouse Manager * | $51,506 | $52,225 | $53,015 | Significant decline | $75,000 |
| Business Analyst | $83,685 | $99,169 | $111,855 | Significant increase | $98,279 |
* State-level figure shown where metro postings were too few.
WageScape's median is calibrated to correct for spurious low-value postings (reported as the 60th percentile of raw advertised pay). Download: CSV · JSON
Industry snapshot
| Sector | Median advertised pay | Pay trend | Postings trend |
|---|---|---|---|
| Construction | $82,505 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Manufacturing | $115,744 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Retail Trade | $63,190 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Transportation, Warehousing & Utilities | $92,575 | Moderate increase | Significant increase |
| Information | $125,000 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Financial Activities | $108,338 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Professional & Business Services | $91,638 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Education & Health Services | $66,560 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Leisure & Hospitality | $44,408 | Moderate increase | Significant increase |
| Government | $72,162 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
Local market conditions
Boulder County employment slipped 1.0% year-over-year in the latest county data even as average weekly wages climbed 6.6% to $2,107, a combination consistent with a labor market where headcount is contracting in select sectors while remaining talent commands a premium. Statewide, Colorado's unemployment rate rose to 4.0% in August amid a third straight month of job losses and net domestic out-migration, trends that compound Boulder's already tight housing-constrained labor supply and point to population and participation, not demand, as the binding constraint on local commerce.
What it means
Thinning employment alongside rising wages suggests Boulder's economy is not slowing from weak demand but is instead constrained by a shrinking available workforce, a dynamic that affects commercial expansion timelines, site-selection competitiveness, and public revenue forecasting more than it affects any single payroll decision. Commerce leaders evaluating whether this is a window for local investment should weigh the premium of operating in a high-wage, labor-constrained metro against Colorado's statewide softening, since Boulder's wage growth (6.6%) is outpacing the state's already strong 5.4% figure. Current conditions suggest reviewing expansion plans against labor-supply realities rather than pay competitiveness alone, since the binding constraint appears to be available workers, not willingness to pay for them.
Looking ahead
Early indicator: Watch whether Boulder County's next BLS county employment release confirms the 1.0% year-over-year decline or shows stabilization; a second consecutive decline would mark a genuine trend rather than a single-quarter anomaly.
Potential inflection point: Colorado's minimum wage rises to $15.71 in 2027 and Boulder's CPI-indexed local wage floor will adjust accordingly; commerce groups should track how this interacts with already-elevated local wage levels relative to statewide and national medians.
Worth watching: National WARN filings remain elevated among large employers (Amazon, Meta, Oracle among others cited nationally), while Colorado's 2026 WARN activity is down 11% year-over-year; any uptick in Front Range filings would be a meaningful signal given Boulder's small, concentrated employer base.
Emerging pressure point: Colorado's Leeds Business Confidence Index rose but remains below the neutral 50 threshold, reflecting persistent pessimism despite modest gains. A sustained climb toward neutral over the next two quarters would be a credible signal that local business sentiment is turning, worth tracking for chambers and economic development corps planning outreach or investment campaigns.
Methodology
Advertised pay from active employer job postings, not survey data. WageScape's median is calibrated to correct for spurious low-value postings: distribution analysis shows roughly the lowest 10% of raw values are erroneous entries, so the reported median is the 60th percentile of raw advertised pay. WageScape observes 98% of U.S. job openings daily.
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