Larimer County Employers
Date Updated: 08/16/2011
Chart Directory:
- Major Employers by Employee Count - Larimer County, 2010
- Businesses Employing Fewer Than 10 Persons - United States, Colorado & Larimer County, 2000 - 2009
- Employers by Size (Number of Employees) (NAICS) - Larimer County, 2009
- Establishment & Employee Count by Industry (NAICS) - Larimer County, 2009
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

*McKee Medical Center and Big Thompson Medical Group
Data Sources:
- Individual employers (data not available online)
- Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade, Region 2 (Wal-Mart, Center Partners and Hewlett Packard)
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

Data Source: United States Census Bureau, County Business Patterns
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

Data Source: United States Census Bureau, County Business Patterns
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 |
| 57 | 20 | |
| n/a | 33 | |
| 231 | 11 | |
| 7,802 | 1,101 | |
| 11,148 | 403 | |
| 5,710 | 363 | |
| 16,643 | 1,270 | |
| 2,169 | 164 | |
| 2,605 | 159 | |
| 3,569 | 540 | |
| 1,964 | 508 | |
| 8,144 | 1,398 | |
| 483 | 32 | |
| 4,864 | 518 | |
| 1,887 | 132 | |
| 16,756 | 961 | |
| 1,579 | 164 | |
| 13,829 | 783 | |
| 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 -
- Agriculture in Larimer County
- Educational Attainment
- Employment & Average Wages by Industry
- Population Size & Growth
- Unemployment Rate
- Work Commute
Other Resources -
- Colorado Department of Labor and Employmenthttp://www.coworkforce.com/employers.asp
- Larimer County Workforce Center - employment and workforce development services.
Additional Definitions:
- County Business Patterns
County Business Patterns data are extracted from the Business Register, the Census Bureau's file of all known single and multi-establishment companies. The annual Company Organization Survey and quinquennial (five year) Economic Censuses provide individual establishment data for multi-location firms. Data for single-location firms are obtained from various programs conducted by the Census Bureau, such as the Economic Censuses, the Annual Survey of Manufactures, and Current Business Surveys. Additional data are obtained from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the Social Security Administration (SSA), and the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
County Business Patterns covers all NAICS industries except crop and animal production (NAICS 111,112), rail transportation (NAICS 482), Postal Service (NAICS 491), pension, health, welfare, and vacation funds (NAICS 525110, 525120, 525190), trusts, estates, and agency accounts (NAICS 525920), private households (NAICS 814), and public administration (NAICS 92).
For more information, see the Census website for County Business Patterns.
- NAICS Industrial Classification System
The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) replaced the United States Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) system in 2001. There were 350 new industries separately recognized for the first time, and 10 new sectors added for clearer definition: businesses that use similar production processes are grouped together. NAICS was developed jointly by the United States, Canada, and Mexico to provide new comparability in statistics about business activity across North America (United States Census Bureau).
- Full-time Equivalent Employment
Full-time equivalent employment is a computed statistic representing the number of full-time employees that could have been employed if the reported number of hours worked by part-time employees had been worked by full-time employees.
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
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% |
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 |
|
|
16 |
2 |
2 |
0 |
0 | |
|
23 |
2 |
7 |
1 |
0 | |
|
5 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
2 | |
|
784 |
159 |
86 |
47 |
17 | |
|
196 |
66 |
63 |
37 |
23 | |
|
204 |
69 |
59 |
18 |
7 | |
|
547 |
359 |
206 |
95 |
31 | |
|
111 |
21 |
18 |
7 |
3 | |
|
81 |
31 |
18 |
16 |
8 | |
|
371 |
93 |
43 |
23 |
6 | |
|
384 |
73 |
36 |
14 |
1 | |
|
1,070 |
161 |
97 |
48 |
13 | |
|
21 |
4 |
1 |
4 |
1 | |
|
318 |
82 |
62 |
38 |
10 | |
|
77 |
21 |
15 |
10 |
6 | |
|
500 |
196 |
125 |
95 |
22 |
|
|
104 |
24 |
19 |
7 |
8 |
|
|
216 |
143 |
175 |
194 |
43 |
|
|
461 |
184 |
95 |
39 |
6 |
|
|
Unclassified |
9 |
5 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
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+ |
|
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
| 9 | 5 | 2 | 2 | |
| 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 28 | 3 | 1 | 0 | |
| 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| 18 | 3 | 1 | 1 | |
| 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
|
Unclassified |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |