Colorado vs Florida: contractor markets, side by side
Colorado has 7,631 active licensed contractors across the trades we cover; Florida has 108,645 — about 14× fewer licensed contractors. Counts come from the Colorado Division of Professions and Occupations (DORA) and the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR); market figures are U.S. Census aggregates.
| Colorado | Florida | |
|---|---|---|
| Active licensed contractors | 7,631 | 108,645 |
| Licenses per 10k residents | 13.2 | 50.2 |
| Residents | 5,771,158 | 21,634,506 |
| Households | 2,500,219 | 9,915,946 |
| Median household income | $92,748 | $71,602 |
| Building permits (2025) | 33,754 | 178,297 |
| Top city by licenses | Denver | Miami |
Florida is the denser market: 50.2 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 Colorado — $92,748 median against $71,602 in Florida — which generally shows up in project budgets and ticket sizes.
Trade by trade
| Trade | Colorado | Florida |
|---|---|---|
| Electricians | 4,637 | 13,814 |
| Plumbers | 2,994 | 8,257 |
| HVAC Contractors | — | 13,544 |
| General Contractors | — | 58,081 |
| Roofing Contractors | — | 9,917 |
| Solar Contractors | — | 431 |
| Pool Contractors | — | 4,601 |
| Excavating Contractors | — | 2,570 |
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.