It’s a good time to live and work in Douglas County. The local Douglas County economy is booming with unemployment figures dropping to their lowest level since 2008. The unemployment rate in the county fell to 3.2 percent in December — a 1.5 percentage-point drop from the same time the previous year — according to data released Jan. 27 by the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment,
The dip below 4 percent in recent months marks the first time the county has seen such healthy employment figures since 2008. Douglas County's jobless rate compares favorably to both that of Denver (4.2 percent) and the state as a whole (4 percent). The last time the Colorado unemployment rate was as low as 4 percent was October 2007, before the recession slammed the nation.
According to data compiled in September by Sentier Research, Douglas County has the sixth highest median household income in the nation at $99,767. That's nearly twice the national average of $52,300. “I think we have done our best to create an environment where people want to come and do business,” Douglas County Commissioner Jill Repella said. “That is one of our long-term goals for the county.” The County has worked to invite and stimulate economic growth by creating a climate of less red tape and a more streamlined process for licensing and building permits. Additionally, the use of a business personal property tax exemption created for new businesses in Douglas County has fostered new growth. Under the tax exemption, the first $100,000 of actual value is exempted for businesses
The exemption has seen so much success that the county has now made it available to all businesses. “We believe in strategic investment,” Repella said.
Andrea LaRew, the president of the Highlands Ranch Chamber of Commerce, said the ability of all of the county's municipalities to work together to promote the county as a whole has also played a key role in the booming economy.
“The people who work in economic development in the county do a great job of putting Douglas County front and center to attract new businesses,” LaRew said.
The strong employment numbers only tell part of the story. As one of the most prosperous areas in the state, Douglas County has also seen a substantial rise in home values. According to the Douglas Elbert Realtor Association, the median sale price of a single-family home in Douglas County in 2014 was $375,000 and the average sale price was $432,208. Both figures represent about a 9 percent rise over 2013.
“These numbers really are all related,” Repella said. “When you create a place where people want to come and invest, that investment touches the rest of the community — more people want to move to the community and buy homes and live and work here.”
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