It shouldn’t be, but it is. Pueblo, southern Colorado’s economic heartbeat, is too often seen as a satellite city. Sitting a hundred miles or so away from the state capital, it is regularly viewed in this light by so many unfamiliar with its history and potential. But Pueblo, everyone should know, is a city that doesn’t know the meaning of fail.
So, while the state’s Front Range cities may be doing fine, Pueblo—once again—is showing its economic mettle and ‘can do’ attitude.
As 2024 ended, the city told everyone listening to pay attention. If you’re ready to set down roots and grow your business, consider Pueblo a place with untapped and unlimited opportunity.
While everything is not fine, restaurants come and go, some businesses shutter, Pueblo is weathering a temporary cold snap, not unlike every American town. It has its ups and downs. But, said Jeff Shaw, CEO of the Pueblo Economic Development Corporation, “We have a lot of positives.”
The city, he said, has what companies considering moving or expanding need, including water, infrastructure, cost of living, plenty of land and incentives. It also has a university and good workforce.
Colorado’s New Year began with a statewide unemployment rate of 4.3 percent which is more than a point and a half lower than Pueblo’s 5.9 percent. But Pueblo’s job trend is not different than the one impacting a number of southern Colorado communities where unemployment is also running higher. As an example, Huerfano County, Pueblo’s southern neighbor, has the state’s highest unemployment at 7.1 percent.
But Pueblo is buoyed by two large manufacturing operations, Evraz Rocky Mountain Steel Mill and CS Wind, one of the world’s largest manufacturers of wind turbine towers. Both are now in hiring mode.
Pueblo did take a job hit in 2024 with the shuttering of operations at the Pueblo Chemical Depot. The depot was the federal agency charged with the destruction of mustard agent, popularly referred to as mustard gas, a chemical weapon now outlawed by international treaty. When the final stockpile of the chemical agent was eliminated, so too were approximately 250 jobs at the 23,000-acre facility.
But former Colorado Governor and Denver Mayor and current U.S. Senator John Hickenlooper promised in a 2023 letter announcing the operation’s closure that the job at the depot won’t be fully completed until the government keeps its promise to restore the land back to its natural and healthy state and ready for redevelopment.
Pueblo, Hickenlooper said, “is the place to do business and raise a family, all with superb access to Colorado’s beautiful landscapes.” But before that, the city’s mayor said there’s some work to be done.
First term Pueblo Mayor Heather Graham acknowledged that 2024 left the city with a bitter taste—a sales tax dip—but points to a number of positives that body well for 2025 and beyond.
“Pueblo saw new growth in 2024 with single-family and multi-family residential unit building permits,” Graham said. In fact, growth in this area actually spiked, climbing from 173 in 2023 to 431 last year, “an increase of 249 percent.”
The drop off in sales tax forced the city to trim some services. But, again, Graham said the city is already looking to make up the shortfall with new revenue streams.
While sale tax revenues were down, the city was creative in using federal grants, said the mayor. Pueblo broke ground on three new fire stations, the last of which will be fully operational in 2026. Federal dollars also greenlit expansion of the city’s Riverwalk.
While the last year ended on a down tick for Pueblo, said Shaw, “2025 has the potential to be a very strong year.” The next twelve months, he said, have the “potential to be a very strong year” with the city in negotiations with companies on “some very large projects.”
But Shaw cautioned, Pueblo, not unlike every other city is subject to the same negative variables that “are out of our control,” including inflation, the cost of money, supply chains and worldwide political events.”
