Colo.’s economy one of the best in U.S.

It shouldn’t be a surprise that two new studies rank Colorado’s economy as one of the best in the nation.

After all, the state’s unemployment rate dropped to 2.9 percent in April, according to the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment, and that came after a seven-month run at 3 percent.

Broomfield economist Gary Horvath praised the state for having steady, cruise control-like growth. “Growth that is not too fast and not too slow is the dream of every economist and public policymaker,” he said in an April interview.

Now, WalletHub, a personal finance website, says that, according to its research, Colorado is the country’s second best for jobs and has the country’s fifth-best state economy.

The company ranked the best states for jobs using an 100point scale, with 60 points falling under the “Job Market” category and 40 points falling under the “Economic Environment” category. These two categories were then broken down into 29 metrics, including factors such as “Employment Growth,” “Job Security” and “Median Annual Income.”

Colorado was named the best for its job market, but it ranked only 19th for “Economic Environment.” Overall, it was beaten only by Washington, which took home the title as the country’s best state for jobs.

WalletHub rated the state’s economies using a similar 100 point scale, with three, equally-weighted categories: “Economic Activity,” “Economic Health” and “Innovation Potential.” These groupings were then broken down into 28 metrics, including “GDP Growth,” “Share of Fastest-Growing Firms” and “Share of Jobs: STEM Professionals.”

Colorado was ranked eighth in “Economic Activity,” third in “Economic Health” and fourth in “Innovation Potential.” Once again, Washington, home to Amazon’s headquarters, in Seattle, took first in the rankings for having the nation’s best state economy. It was followed by Utah, Massachusetts and California.

Colorado also was recognized for having the secondhighest GDP growth. It also tied with Hawaii, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota and Vermont for having the lowest unemployment rate.