Boulder County, Colorado: Power, Data Centers and the Local Economy
Home to Boulder, Longmont and Lafayette
Boulder County is one of the places the data center build-out is physically happening. The SAVRN Data Center Map lists 3 data centers in Boulder County, 5% of Colorado's total. Boulder County is home to Boulder, Longmont, Lafayette and Louisville. The Moratorium Tracker holds 1 local measure here (1 in force); the latest is “Six-month data center moratorium”. Unemployment was 4.6% in August 2026, against 2.4% in 2019. Construction employs 5,062, down 12.4% since 2019.
Cities and towns in Boulder County
Boulder County is home to Boulder, Longmont, Lafayette and Louisville.
- Longmont also extends into Weld County.
- Erie also extends into Weld County.
Unincorporated communities (governed by the county): Allenspark, Altona, Bark Ranch, Bonanza Mountain Estates, Coal Creek, Crisman, Eldora, Eldorado Springs, Glendale, Gold Hill, Gunbarrel, Hidden Lake, Lazy Acres, Leyner, Mountain Meadows, Niwot, Paragon Estates, Pine Brook Hill, Seven Hills, St. Ann Highlands, Sugarloaf, Sunshine, Tall Timber, Valmont.
Residents are 2025 Census estimates for the part of each city, town or township inside this county. Census publishes no annual estimate for unincorporated communities.
What changed in Boulder County
1st = the most. Ranks cover counties with a value on record.
| Measure | Then | Now | Change | Rank in Colorado |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population (2020 → 2025) | 330,982 | 328,560 | ▼ 0.7% | 9th of 64 by size |
| Total jobs (2019 → 2025) | 188,452 | 191,487 | ▲ 1.6% | 44th of 64 by growth |
| Average annual pay (2019 → 2025) | $73,962 | $101,259 | ▲ 36.9% | — |
| Construction jobs (2019 → 2025) | 5,781 | 5,062 | ▼ 12.4% | 35th of 38 by growth |
| Electrical contractor jobs (2019 → 2025) | 891 | 684 | ▼ 23.2% | — |
| Electric utility jobs (2019 → 2025) | 209 | 444 | ▲ 112.4% | — |
| Data processing and hosting jobs (2019 → 2025) | 1,066 | 1,755 | ▲ 64.6% | — |
| Unemployment rate (2019 → August 2026) | 2.4% | 4.6% | ▲ 2.2pts | — |
| Generating capacity added since 2019 | — | 15 MW | — | |
| Generating capacity retired since 2019 | — | 0 MW | — |
Owners plan to retire 59 MW more by 2035, led by Valmont in 2028. 15 MW of that came online in 2019 or later, mostly solar. Its power plants have 266 MW of capacity, 88% of it natural gas. Employers here counted 191,487 jobs in 2025, up 1.6% from 2019. Public Service Co of Colorado is the largest utility serving Boulder County, one of 7 with territory here. Its residential customers paid an average 15.05¢/kWh in 2024. 328,560 people live here, down 0.7% since 2020, 9th of 64 Colorado counties by population. Electrical contractors employ 684, down 23.2% since 2019 against up 9.0% statewide, at an average $70,606 a year.
Who powers Boulder County
Net change in operating capacity since 2019: +15 MW. Colors follow the fuel legend above.
Utilities with service territory in Boulder County
| Utility | Ownership | Service | Residential customers (systemwide) | Residential price, 2024 | Commercial share of sales |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Public Service Co of Colorado | Investor Owned | Bundled | 1,365,053 | 15.05¢ | 44% |
| United Power, Inc | Cooperative | Bundled | 101,502 | 15.75¢ | 19% |
| Poudre Valley REA, Inc | Cooperative | Bundled | 49,587 | 12.21¢ | 28% |
| City of Longmont | Municipal | Bundled | 40,855 | 12.30¢ | 42% |
| Town of Estes Park | — | — | — | — | — |
| Town of Lyons - (CO) | — | — | — | — | — |
| WAPA-- Western Area Power Administration | Federal | Bundled | — | — | 72% |
Customer counts, prices and sales shares cover each utility's whole system in the state, not only this county. Commercial sales include data centers.
Operating power plants 12
| Technology | Capacity | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Natural gas | 234 MW | 88% |
| Solar | 16 MW | 6% |
| Hydro | 15 MW | 6% |
| Largest plants | Owner | Technology | MW | Since |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Valmont Combustion Turbine Project | Public Service Co of Colorado | Natural gas | 142 MW | 2000 |
| Valmont | Public Service Co of Colorado | Natural gas | 59 MW | 1973 |
| University of Colorado | University of Colorado | Natural gas | 33 MW | 1992 |
| IBM Solar | Madison Energy Investments LLC | Solar | 8 MW | 2019 |
| Boulder Canyon Hydro | Boulder, City of - (CO) | Hydro | 5 MW | 2013 |
| Pivot Solar 34 | Pivot Energy | Solar | 4 MW | 2025 |
Scheduled to retire
| Plant | Technology | MW | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Valmont | Natural gas | 59 MW | 2028 |
The Boulder County labor market
| Industry (2025) | Jobs | Average pay | Concentration vs U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| All industries | 191,487 | $101,259 | 1.00 |
| Construction | 5,062 | $82,131 | 0.50 |
| Electrical contractors | 684 | $70,606 | 0.50 |
| Electric utilities | 444 | $200,922 | 0.86 |
| Data processing and hosting | 1,755 | $220,952 | 2.95 |
Concentration is the BLS location quotient: 1.0 means the industry holds the same share of local jobs as it does nationally. Industry rows count private employers; cells BLS suppresses are left out.
Data centers and local rules in Boulder County
3 data centers in Boulder County are on the SAVRN Data Center Map: see them by city and operator.
Local measures 1
| Measure | Status | Date | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Six-month data center moratorium | In force | 2026-06 |
Boulder County and its neighbors
Of the 6 counties that border Boulder County, Weld County carries the most build-out activity: data centers, planned generation and operating plants combined.
| County | Population | Jobs since 2019 | Operating MW | Planned MW | Data centers | Local measures |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boulder County | 328,560 | ▲ 1.6% | 266 MW | — | 3 | 1 |
| Broomfield County | 79,174 | ▲ 0.7% | 8 MW | — | 1 | — |
| Gilpin County | 6,073 | ▲ 2.6% | — | — | — | — |
| Grand County | 16,496 | ▲ 5.9% | 6 MW | — | — | — |
| Jefferson County | 580,451 | ▲ 1.7% | 277 MW | — | 2 | 1 |
| Larimer County | 377,292 | ▲ 3.3% | 1,055 MW | 225 MW | — | 1 |
| Weld County | 378,426 | ▲ 7.9% | 4,151 MW | 914 MW | — | 1 |
More of Colorado
Boulder County, answered from the record
Who provides electricity in Boulder County, Colorado?
7 utilities have service territory in Boulder County in the EIA-861 2024 report: Public Service Co of Colorado, United Power, Inc, Poudre Valley REA, Inc, City of Longmont. The largest, Public Service Co of Colorado, charged residential customers 15.05¢/kWh on average in 2024.
What county is Boulder, CO in?
Boulder is in Boulder County, Colorado. About 105,689 people live there (2025 Census estimate).
What county is Longmont, CO in?
Longmont is in Boulder County, Colorado. About 98,807 people live there (2025 Census estimate).
What county is Lafayette, CO in?
Lafayette is in Boulder County, Colorado. About 30,116 people live there (2025 Census estimate).
What power plants are in Boulder County?
12 operating plants with 266 MW of capacity. The largest is Valmont Combustion Turbine Project (142 MW, natural gas).
Are there data centers in Boulder County?
Yes. The SAVRN Data Center Map lists 3 data centers in Boulder County.
Is Boulder County adding jobs?
Employers counted 191,487 jobs in 2025 against 188,452 in 2019 (+1.6%, BLS QCEW). Construction went from 5,781 to 5,062.
Does Boulder County have a data center moratorium?
The SAVRN Moratorium Tracker holds 1 local measure for Boulder County, 1 in force.