Colorado

Innovation Scorecard

Total Patents

48,503

National Rank

#15

Top Category

Software & Computing

YoY Growth

0.4%

Population

5,803,748

Patents / $B GDP

Patents / 100K Pop

836

Innovation DNA

Patent activity distribution across technology categories

Innovation Ecosystem

Economic and research indicators that shape Colorado's innovation landscape.

State GDP

$558B

Median Income

$92,911

Unemployment

3.8%

Bachelor's+

46.4%

Per Capita Income

$82,705

Fed. Spending

$20.2B

NIH Grants

1,517

NSF Awards

295

SBIR/STTR

9,921

~$3475M awarded

Biz Formation

3,789/mo

STEM Workers

10.1%

317,304 employed

Sources: FRED, Census ACS, USAspending.gov, NIH RePORTER, NSF, SBIR.gov

Patent Activity by Year

4,627

2016

4,796

2017

4,547

2018

5,224

2019

5,217

2020

4,847

2021

4,773

2022

5,240

2023

5,260

2024

3,972

2025

Top Patent Holders

Rank	Organization	Patents
1	Covidien LP	1,617
2	Cable Television Laboratories, Inc.	789
3	Charter Communications Operating, LLC	712
4	International Business Machines Corporation	683
5	Seagate Technology LLC	672
6	Level 3 Communications, LLC	639
7	Comcast Cable Communications, LLC	595
8	The Regents of the University of Colorado, a Body Corporate	594
9	Micron Technology, Inc.	459
10	Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP	442

Technology Categories

Category	Patents	Share
software & computing	14,502	32.7%
electronics & semiconductors	11,330	25.5%
biotech & life sciences	8,599	19.4%
mechanical & manufacturing	3,606	8.1%
chemistry & materials	2,554	5.8%
mechanical engineering	2,200	5.0%
construction	1,499	3.4%
textiles	99	0.2%

Universities in Colorado

Colorado

Innovation DNA

Innovation Ecosystem

Patent Activity by Year

Top Patent Holders

Technology Categories

Universities in Colorado

Colorado School Of Mines

Colorado State University

Fort Lewis College

Regis University

University Of Colorado Denver

University Of Denver

University Of Northern Colorado