BEA: GDP growth slows in NoCo, except for Weld County

Three counties in Northern Colorado and the Boulder Valley saw varying levels of slowing economic growth last year save for Weld County, which continued its rapid growth trend.

The county-level data was released Thursday morning by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. It is the first time the agency has released county-specific data for every county in the country instead of estimating regional growth levels by Census-defined metropolitan statistical areas.

Statewide GDP grew at a rate of 3.5 percent last year, but the rate of growth slowed from 2017, when Colorado notched 4 percent growth.

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Boulder County

Boulder County’s GDP grew 2.9 percent in 2018, a slowdown compared to the 5.1 percent growth figure in 2017. However, the county’s GDP growth was 3.3 percent in 2016, suggesting 2017 provided a temporary spike of economic activity for the region.

It had the fifth-largest GDP figure among Colorado counties, with an estimated $25.32 billion in economic activity.

Broomfield County

Broomfield’s economic growth shrank by 3.8 percent in 2018 after the city/county combination had a blockbuster 10.1 percent spike in GDP the year prior. It ranked 10th among Colorado counties in economic production value at an estimated $8.05 billion.

Larimer County

Larimer County’s GDP figure fell from 5 percent growth in 2017 to 4.2 percent in 2018. It had the eighth-largest economy among the state’s counties, producing $16.12 billion in activity.

Weld County

Weld County continued its rapid growth pattern in 2018, as its GDP increased by 9.4 percent in the year. It posted a 6.6 percent increase in 2017 and a modest 1.8 percent increase in 2016.

The BEA estimated the county generated $20.53 billion in economic activity last year, making it the seventh-largest county in the state by GDP and the fifth-fastest growing county among Colorado’s 64 counties.

The county-level statistics are somewhat in line with the 2018 Colorado Business Economic Outlook, where researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder Leeds School of Business expected the state’s growth to slow last year after a spike of activity in 2017.

Researchers at the Leeds School expect the slowdown in growth to continue through 2020, but do not expect a recession.