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Index: Economy / Subcategory: Business

Larimer County Employers

Date Updated: 08/16/2011

Major Employers, in the context of this measure page, are those establishments in Larimer County that employ the largest number of people. The majority of the employment figures came directly from the employer, with the exception of Wal-Mart, Center Partners and Hewlett Packard, which came from an Office of Economic Development and International Trade Report (Region 2) dated January 17, 2011. Responses ranged from an exact number to an approximation. Hence, it must be noted that the process of determining who the major employers are is not an exact science, and the numbers provided should be taken as estimates, not exact counts.

Data for the remaining charts are from the United States Census Bureau's County Business Patterns (CBP), a series that provides state and local economic data by industry (NAICS). Some NAICS industries are excluded. CBP's employee count consists of those who are on the payroll in the pay period including March 12; therefore employment numbers by industry on this page may not match data presented on the Employment & Average Wages by Industry COMPASS page, which presents annual average data. Additionally, data are released annually; however, because it is a composite of several sources, the data are two years behind the current year.

What this chart shows: Major Employers by Employee Count, Larimer County, 2010

Major Employers by Employee Count, Larimer County, 2010

*McKee Medical Center and Big Thompson Medical Group

Data Sources:

See data table

What the above data tell us:

Seven of the ten largest employers in Larimer County are involved in education, health services, or local government.

As stated earlier, these numbers are approximations. Employee counts are fluid throughout the year for various reasons such as retirement, hiring freezes, whether or not school is in session, and the use of temporary and seasonal labor. Additionally, the definition of 'employee' has an impact on the numbers given by the employers.

What this chart shows: Businesses Employing Fewer Than 10 Persons, United States, Colorado & Larimer County, 2000-2009

Businesses Employing Fewer Than 10 Persons, United States, Colorado & Larimer County, 2000-2009

Data Source: United States Census Bureau, County Business Patterns

See data table

What the above data tell us:

The national percentage of businesses employing fewer than ten persons varied only slightly during the ten years between 2001 and 2009 (73.1% to 73.5%). Larimer County percentages were 2.7 to 3.7 percentage points higher than the national percentage during the same period.

What this chart shows: Employers by Size (Number of Employees), Larimer County, 2009

Employers by Size (Number of Employees), Larimer County, 2009

Data Source: United States Census Bureau, County Business Patterns

See data table

What the above data tell us:

Businesses with up to four employees accounted for 58% of all establishments in Larimer County in 2009. Of Larimer County business establishments, 98.5% had fewer than 100 employees, which was slightly higher than Colorado (98.2%) and the nation (97.7%) during the same period.

What this table shows: Establishment & Employee Count by Industry (NAICS), Larimer County, 2009

Industry Code Description

Number of Employees

Number of Establishments

Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing, and Hunting (11)

57 20

Mining (21)

n/a 33

Utilities (22)

231 11

Construction (23)

7,802 1,101

Manufacturing (31-33)

11,148 403

Wholesale Trade (42)

5,710 363

Retail Trade (44-45)

16,643 1,270

Transportation and Warehousing (48-49)

2,169 164

Information (51)

2,605 159

Finance and Insurance (52)

3,569 540

Real Estate and Rental and Leasing (53)

1,964 508

Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services (54)

8,144 1,398

Management of Companies and Enterprises (55)

483 32

Admin Support; Waste Mgmt and Remediation Services (56)

4,864 518

Educational Services (61)

1,887 132

Health Care and Social Assistance (62)

16,756 961

Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation (71)

1,579 164

Accommodation and Food Services (72)

13,829 783

Other Services (except Public Administration) (81)

4,925 786

Unclassified (99)

52 15

Data Source: United States Census Bureau, County Business Patterns

What the above data tell us:

In 2009, Larimer County's Health Care & Social Assistance sector employed the most people (16,756). The Retail sector had the second highest employment numbers at 16,643 followed by Accommodation & Food Services at 13,829. The Manufacturing sector ranked second in the number of people employed until 2002, when the number of workers fell below 12,000 for the first time. In 2009, that sector ranked fourth with 11,148 employees.

In 2009, the Professional, Scientific & Technical Services sector (1,398) had the highest number of establishments in Larimer County. The Retail sector had the second highest number of establishments (1,270) in the County, followed by the Construction sector at 1,101.

The predominance of the Retail sector in the number of establishments and the number of employees is reflected in statewide numbers as well, with 18,734 Colorado retail businesses employing 246,697 people in 2009. Retail business accounted for 15.9% of the employees and 13.6% of all establishments in Larimer County, compared to 12.3% of employees and 10.3% of establishments statewide.

Please note that the County Business Pattern's employee count consists of those who are on the payroll in the pay period including March 12; therefore employment numbers by industry on this page may not match data presented on the Employment & Average Wages by Industry COMPASS page, which presents annual average data.

Additional Information:

Related Information on COMPASS -

Other Resources -

Additional Definitions:

Data Tables:

Major Employers by Employee Count, Larimer County, 2010

Employer

# Employees

Banner Health Systems*

1,180

Hewlett Packard

1,500

City of Fort Collins

1,643

Wal-Mart (includes Greeley)

2,000

Center Partners

2,000

Larimer County

2,224

Thompson School District

3,388

Poudre R-1 School District

4,030

Poudre Valley Health Care

4,414

Colorado State University

6,183

*McKee Medical Center and Big Thompson Medical Group

See chart

Businesses Employing Fewer Than 10 Persons

 

United States

Colorado

Larimer County

Number

% of Total

Number

% of Total

Number

% of Total

2000

5,173,211 73.2% 103,982 75.6% 6,084 75.9%

2001

5,185,350 73.1% 104,800 75.3% 6,191 75.9%

2002

5,285,715 73.4% 107,917 75.9% 6,517 76.7%

2003

5,320,242 73.3% 109,881 76.3% 6,680 77.0%

2004

5,425,755 73.4% 113,050 76.7% 6,832 76.9%

2005

5,530,562 73.7% 116,354 77.0% 7,019 76.8%

2006

5,569,370 73.3% 118,388 76.6% 7,153 76.5%

2007

5,653,158 73.4% 121,326 76.8% 7,420 76.8%

2008

5,555,961 73.1% 119,783 76.4% 7,363 76.5%

2009

5,463,956 73.5% 117,874 77.0% 7,195 76.9%

See chart

Number of Establishments by Size (Under 100 Employees) by Industry (NAICS), Larimer County, 2009

Industry Code Description

Number of Employees

1-4

5-9

10-19

20-49

50-99

Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing, and Hunting (11)

16

2

2

0

0

Mining (21)

23

2

7

1

0

Utilities (22)

5

2

1

1

2

Construction (23)

784

159

86

47

17

Manufacturing (31-33)

196

66

63

37

23

Wholesale Trade (42)

204

69

59

18

7

Retail Trade (44-45)

547

359

206

95

31

Transportation and Warehousing (48-49)

111

21

18

7

3

Information (51)

81

31

18

16

8

Finance and Insurance (52)

371

93

43

23

6

Real Estate and Rental and Leasing (53)

384

73

36

14

1

Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services (54)

1,070

161

97

48

13

Management of Companies and Enterprises (55)

21

4

1

4

1

Admin Support; Waste Mgmt and Remediation Services (56)

318

82

62

38

10

Educational Services (61)

77

21

15

10

6

Health Care and Social Assistance (62)

500

196

125

95

22

Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation (71)

104

24

19

7

8

Accommodation and Food Services (72)

216

143

175

194

43

Other Services (except Public Administration) (81)

461

184

95

39

6

Unclassified

9

5

1

0

0

See chart

Number of Establishments by Size (100+ Employees) by Industry (NAICS), Larimer County, 2009

Industry Code Description

Number of Employees

100-249

250-499

500-999

1000+

Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing, and Hunting (11)

0 0 0 0

Mining (21)

0 0 0 0

Utilities (22)

0 0 0 0

Construction (23)

5 3 0 0

Manufacturing (31-33)

9 5 2 2

Wholesale Trade (42)

4 1 0 1

Retail Trade (44-45)

28 3 1 0

Transportation and Warehousing (48-49)

3 0 1 0

Information (51)

4 1 0 0

Finance and Insurance (52)

3 1 0 0

Real Estate and Rental and Leasing (53)

0 0 0 0

Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services (54)

7 1 1 0

Management of Companies and Enterprises (55)

1 0 0 0

Admin Support; Waste Mgmt and Remediation Services (56)

8 0 0 0

Educational Services (61)

2 1 0 0

Health Care and Social Assistance (62)

18 3 1 1

Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation (71)

2 0 0 0

Accommodation and Food Services (72)

12 0 0 0

Other Services (except Public Administration) (81)

1 0 0 0

Unclassified

0 0 0 0

See chart