Colorado Springs Is No. 1 for Small Business. So Why Does It Still Feel Expensive?

Photo: Kiowa Street, downtown Colorado Springs, May 2025 · Lumen Wilde · CC BY 2.0.

By Tyson Liese | Ampeli CRE
November 5, 2026

Colorado Springs gets named the best city in America for small business. Then you open your insurance renewal, work on payroll, and wonder whether the people handing out awards have seen the same bills you have.

Both reactions are reasonable. Our city has strengths worth celebrating. The ranking also deserves a closer look.

What did we actually win?

Bluevine ranked Colorado Springs first among the 100 metro areas with the most Bluevine customers. Its score combines business survival, growth, costs and activity among its own customers. We performed particularly well on growth and customer activity, but placed near the middle on survival and in the bottom half on costs. Bluevine’s study

That supports a story of business momentum. It does not establish that Colorado Springs is the cheapest or easiest place to earn a living as an owner.

Regional prices account for just 5% of the score, while Bluevine customer activity contributes 30%. Account growth is useful information, but it can reflect a financial provider gaining customers. It does not directly measure whether local businesses are becoming more profitable. Methodology

Are we actually affordable?

Local economist Tatiana Bailey reported that Colorado Springs’ household cost-of-living index was slightly below the national average in the first quarter of 2026. Yet El Paso County’s average annual wage in 2025 remained 9.9% below the national average. These measures cover different periods, but the tension matters: nationally competitive prices can still feel expensive on local pay. The Gazette

For an owner, affordability reaches beyond the company’s bills. Employees need housing within a workable commute. Customers need money left after essentials. You need enough remaining after expenses to pay yourself.

A busy restaurant or a fully booked salon can still struggle if each sale leaves too little behind.

What would a fuller business scorecard consider?

There is no universal Chamber of Commerce ranking. Our local Chamber & EDC offers research on compensation, staffing, industry conditions and supply chains. Its SizeUp COS tool helps owners explore customers and competition. Chamber research, SizeUp COS

Those tools help answer questions a national award cannot:

• Is demand growing in your industry, or are more businesses chasing the same customers?
• Can you find and retain employees at wages your business can support?
• Are rising sales producing better profits?
• Can your customers afford to keep buying from you?

Housing belongs in that conversation too. The Chamber hosts the independent Pikes Peak Housing Network because housing affordability affects the region’s workforce and ability to grow. Housing Network

Does other research support the headline?

The broader picture is encouraging, with qualifications. Colorado Springs placed 18th in Milken’s 2026 economic ranking, down from fifth in 2025, according to Innosphere’s analysis. Milken examines jobs, wages, technology and access to opportunity. Different methods and data periods produce different results. Milken, Innosphere

Recent employment figures are mixed as well. Preliminary September 2026 data show metro payroll employment growing 0.8% over the year, with some industries expanding and others shrinking. That is an all-employer measure, but it cautions against describing every part of our economy as booming. BLS

My conclusion: Colorado Springs has a credible claim to being a strong small-business community. This award alone does not prove we are the best place for every owner to build a lasting livelihood.

What should you do with the news?

Celebrate it, then keep your own numbers in charge.

Before expanding, check whether growth is improving profit after paying yourself. Before hiring, understand what good employees need to stay. Before adding another monthly expense, test whether you can carry it through a slower stretch.

You can build on the city’s momentum without making a major investment. Try a referral partnership with another local owner. Ask customers what would bring them back. Research an idea before spending on it.

The real test of a top small-business city is whether owners can build something that lasts, pay their people and earn a decent living. Colorado Springs has reasons to be proud. Helping more businesses reach that point is the work behind the award.

Ampeli CRE operates under Keller Williams Clients' Choice Realty.