Colorado vs Minnesota: contractor markets, side by side
Colorado has 7,631 active licensed contractors across the trades we cover; Minnesota has 16,386 — about 2.1× fewer licensed contractors. Counts come from the Colorado Division of Professions and Occupations (DORA) and the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry (DLI); market figures are U.S. Census aggregates.
| Colorado | Minnesota | |
|---|---|---|
| Active licensed contractors | 7,631 | 16,386 |
| Licenses per 10k residents | 13.2 | 28.8 |
| Residents | 5,771,158 | 5,695,830 |
| Households | 2,500,219 | 2,494,239 |
| Median household income | $92,748 | $88,902 |
| Building permits (2025) | 33,754 | 20,947 |
| Top city by licenses | Denver | Minneapolis |
Minnesota is the denser market: 28.8 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 $88,902 in Minnesota — which generally shows up in project budgets and ticket sizes.
Trade by trade
| Trade | Colorado | Minnesota |
|---|---|---|
| Electricians | 4,637 | 3,037 |
| Plumbers | 2,994 | 1,882 |
| HVAC Contractors | — | 4,713 |
| General Contractors | — | 14,761 |
| Roofing Contractors | — | 173 |
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.