Denver tech employers paying more to land skilled workers
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There was little doubt in Moritz Plassnig’s mind that CloudBees would open an office in Denver.
The enterprise software company had ditched its Silicon Valley corporate office years ago to go fully remote during the COVID pandemic. But times have changed. The company is moving into integrating agentic AI technology to help customers manage software updates. And Plassnig, hired as CEO in June, happened to live in Boulder, where he moved after selling his company, Codeshift, to CloudBees in 2018.
“I grew up in Austria. My wife grew up in Austria,” said Plassnig this week, after CloudBees opened its one and only U.S. office at a coworking place on Platte Street in Denver. “We have the Alps. We love everything outdoorsy — skiing, hiking, running, biking, whatever it is. … We really moved here first and foremost because it’s just like a gorgeous place.”
That sentiment has fueled the city’s and state’s appeal to potential workers for years, as seen from above-average job growth last decade compared with the U.S. But even as growth has since slowed and operating costs and wages have increased, there are still employers picking the area as a place to plop down and expand, even as other companies exit.
Last month, ski resort operator Alterra Mountain Co. committed to moving its headquarters from the city’s River North neighborhood to the former Denver Post building in downtown Denver with plans to add 400 new jobs. On Thursday, Lockheed Martin announced that it expects to hire another 1,200 workers as part of an expansion to its space operations in metro Denver (more below). Both companies were offered public incentives.
And others have their reasons to stay put. Crusoe, which builds infrastructure for data centers, raised another $3.9 billion from investors last month. And while many of its data centers are being built out of state, and despite a city data center building moratorium, Crusoe’s headquarters remain in downtown Denver, said a spokesperson who shared a statement on why the hot AI company wants to be in Colorado.
“Our founders grew up here, and the idea for the company came from a conversation in the Colorado Rockies. We’ve grown from about 170 people in 2022 to more than 2,000 worldwide today, and Colorado is central to that, from our Denver HQ to our manufacturing teams in Arvada and our Crusoe Spark Factory in Brighton. Colorado gives us access to great engineering talent and skilled trades, and it’s a place people want to build a career.”
While CloudBees, which employs 360 globally, is starting smaller — Plassnig said there are a half-dozen employees in Denver today but the plan is to get to 20 soon — there are other reasons he picked Denver.
“For us, it’s not about cost, or is it cheaper or more expensive. For us, it’s really about where can we find good talent,” Plassnig said. “And I believe in Denver, we can actually stand out as a company, much more than if we were in San Francisco or New York where you are one of many.”
Colorado’s average hourly pay is higher than New York
Denver-area employers do pay more than they once did. But a new salary analysis from talent firm Robert Half found that they’re also paying more than expected for roles they’re currently trying to fill. About 65% of Denver employers end up paying more to hire skilled workers, a rate that ranked the city second behind San Francisco, at 66%, and just ahead of Seattle, at 64%. The national average is 57%.
There’s various reasons for that, Maggie Zeeb, the company’s regional director and jobs expert, said in an email.
“Employers here are no longer just competing with other Denver companies. They’re competing with organizations across the country for the same talent,” she said. “There has also been some compensation catch-up. Denver’s cost of living has increased significantly over the past several years, and some employers that could historically lean on Colorado’s lifestyle and quality of life as a differentiator are finding they need to be more competitive on pay.”
But the higher pay is also a sign “companies still recognize the need to offer competitive compensation, particularly for professionals with in-demand and specialized skills,” she said.
The data come from Robert Half’s internal records of how much clients pay new hires, as well as from Textkernel, an AI-powered recruitment firm.
Another set of data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that Colorado’s private average hourly wage is also higher than most, at $40.31 in August. That’s 6.8% more than the U.S. average and a half of a percentage point higher than New York’s average. The state’s private hourly wage ranked Colorado the sixth highest in the nation among the 50 states and Washington, D.C.
The state also ranks at the top for states with fully remote workers, second only to D.C., according to federal data. But including hybrid and remote workers, Colorado drops to third place.
Remote and hybrid work have expanded the talent market and that all makes Colorado stand out for better or worse, depending on one’s perspective, Zeeb added.
“Highly skilled professionals now have access to opportunities almost anywhere, so employers have to think more nationally when setting compensation,” she said. “To me, the data says less about Denver losing its luster and more about companies adjusting to a much broader and more competitive talent landscape. I would say that Denver is competitive with the hybrid work model. A lot of companies are having to do this in order to be competitive in the market and attract top talent.”
CloudBees plans to open another office hub in London next month, followed by offices in Singapore and Chennai, India. Its U.S. hiring is concentrated in Denver, where there are a number of local positions open. Wages are competitive, depending on the role. And there are benefits like health coverage on Day One, unlimited time off and a monthly stipend to cover work-from-home costs, even for hybrid workers.
But Plassnig also wants employees to come into the office, at least three days a week. He’s hoping this will help the company attract more recent college grads and junior engineers who will work alongside an experienced staff, which he’s hiring first.
“I have done the remote setup. But if you’re in your first or second job out of school or if you’re doing an internship, I believe you will just learn so much more if you sit next to other people,” said Plassnig, who invites young talent to ping him on LinkedIn. “We, like everyone else, still struggle to find great people. And there’s so much talk about, oh, like nobody’s hiring junior employees now because of AI. I think that is complete bullshit. I would love to hire more junior employees. I will be in the office. I will mentor them.”
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Sun economy stories you may have missed
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➔ Nederland is seeking state funds, donations to complete purchase of Eldora Mountain Resort. After nearly two years, Nederland officials say they need $20M in donations and possibly state grants to help it convince potential bond buyers to fund a $120M acquisition of the local ski area. >> Read story
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➔ A robot entered a Denver comedy club. (This isn’t a joke.) What happens when a robot friend faces death? At a Denver improv performance, humans and robots talked it out, maybe for the first time. >> Read story
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➔ Colorado Medicaid spending on a single in-home care company jumped $21M in one year. The state has moved to terminate its agreement with Freedom Care, a nationwide for-profit company that state officials say targeted Medicaid clients with TV ads >> Read story
➔ Greeley is trying to close an $18M budget hole. Museum workers aren’t sticking around to see how they’ll do it. Every city department will have to make cuts in 2027, but it is up to each department leader to divvy them up >> Read story
Colorado’s next Attorney General? Attend The Sun’s AG debate on Oct. 14. Register for free!
Other working bits
➔ Lockheed adding 1,250 jobs in Colorado. Local aerospace and defense company Lockheed Martin announced Thursday that it will expand its space operations in Douglas and Jefferson counties. The announcement was shared during a dinner this week during the 2026 Site Selection Conference hosted by the Metro Denver Chamber of Commerce.
Lockheed is getting some public incentives. The Colorado Economic Development Commission approved a $26.6 million tax credit in April as part of the state’s Job Growth Incentive Tax Credit. That means if Lockheed adds a net new 1,250 jobs that pay above average for Broomfield County over eight years, they qualify for a credit for some state income taxes already paid.
Douglas County, where Lockheed plans to add 450 jobs over four years, will offer a rebate on the company’s business personal property taxes paid to the county, according to the Douglas County Economic Development Corporation.
Lockheed, which employs 12,000 Colorado, designed and built the Orion Spacecraft in Colorado. Orion took astronauts around the moon earlier this year, traveling behind the moon to observe a rare solar eclipse from lunar orbit, according to the company. >> Watch the lunar eclipse flyby
➔ Boulder’s short-term rental licenses tops 1,800 as Sundance nears. The city of Boulder had hoped to get 1,500 local residents to turn their homes into short-term rental housing for Sundance Film Festival visitors (tickets go on sale Oct. 15). As of Friday, the city has 1,848 issued or pending licenses for festival housing.
The special Festival Lodging Rental license is limited to 29 days, which will include the 11-day film festival plus a few days before and after. The application’s annual fee is $75 for applicants who already have a long-term rental license, and $190 for those without a current rental license. Based on those rates, licenses have pulled in at least $138,600, though we’re checking with officials to see if there’s a fee revenue-to-date number.
For attendees looking for a place to stay during the film festival, expect to pay between $250 to $300 a night for a one-bedroom condo, to $1,100 to $1,400 for a four-bedroom house, according to Visit Boulder’s pricing guide. >> Details
➔ Loveland shopping center signs new stores as makeover underway. Is the trend of dying suburban malls and shopping centers battered by online competition nearly over? Galway Companies sure hopes so. The investors who purchased the Promenade Shops Centerra in Loveland for $55 million last year have invested even more to freshen up the property. They also just signed up nine new tenants, including a MINISO, Hot Topic and Los Dos Potrillos, which plan to open by spring 2027.
“Online shopping isn’t going away, but I think people increasingly recognize that shopping is about more than just making a purchase,” said Steve Doran, Galway’s founding principal, in an email. “One of the biggest trends supporting in-person retail is the growing demand for experiences and destinations that bring shopping, dining, entertainment and social interaction together. People want places where they can spend time with friends and family, not just run in to buy something. That’s something online shopping simply can’t replicate.”
Speaking of something you can’t do online: The redesigned ice rink opens in late November.
➔ What’s the coolest thing made in Colorado? Voting has begun. Last year, a vertical-farm kit maker in Aurora, FarmBox Foods, was named the Coolest Thing Made in Colorado in the annual awards event hosted by the Colorado Chamber of Commerce. Who will it be this year? Could it be LavaBox, a propane alternative to wood-burning campfires that’s made in Denver? Or a sub-$70,000 ready-to-fly airplane that’s built in Grand Junction by Spirit Engineering? Or a robot-welding arm from Vectis Automation in Loveland?
The Chamber narrowed it down to 10 finalists and now they’re looking for your vote in the People’s Choice Award. >> Vote here
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Thanks for sticking with me for this week’s report. As always, share your 2 cents on how the economy is keeping you down or helping you up at cosun.co/heyww. ~ tamara
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