California vs Colorado: contractor markets, side by side
California has 222,093 active licensed contractors across the trades we cover; Colorado has 7,631 — about 29× more licensed contractors. Counts come from the California Contractors State License Board (CSLB) and the Colorado Division of Professions and Occupations (DORA); market figures are U.S. Census aggregates.
| California | Colorado | |
|---|---|---|
| Active licensed contractors | 222,093 | 7,631 |
| Licenses per 10k residents | 54.4 | 13.2 |
| Residents | 40,805,409 | 5,771,158 |
| Households | 14,984,242 | 2,500,219 |
| Median household income | $97,970 | $92,748 |
| Building permits (2025) | 103,856 | 33,754 |
| Top city by licenses | Los Angeles | Denver |
California is the denser market: 54.4 active licenses per 10k residents against 13.2 in Colorado. Density cuts both ways — more contractors to sell to per square mile, and more competition per job for the contractors themselves.
Household income runs higher in California — $97,970 median against $92,748 in Colorado — which generally shows up in project budgets and ticket sizes.
Trade by trade
| Trade | California | Colorado |
|---|---|---|
| Electricians | 29,015 | 4,637 |
| Plumbers | 18,070 | 2,994 |
| HVAC Contractors | 12,176 | — |
| General Contractors | 118,454 | — |
| Roofing Contractors | 5,678 | — |
| Solar Contractors | 1,217 | — |
| Landscape Contractors | 12,644 | — |
| Pool Contractors | 2,967 | — |
| Fire-Protection Contractors | 2,275 | — |
| Carpenters | 1,086 | — |
| Concrete Contractors | 5,674 | — |
| Masons | 2,149 | — |
| Drywall Contractors | 3,342 | — |
| Tile Contractors | 6,487 | — |
| Excavating Contractors | 2,516 | — |
| Painters | 16,279 | — |
| Flooring Contractors | 7,147 | — |
Counts are active licenses only, from each state's license board. A “—” means that board doesn't issue a statewide license for the trade, not that the trade doesn't exist there.