The NWCCOG Region is rich with the potential for innovation and entrepreneurship. One way to measure this is by examining the innovation assets available in the region through the Stats America Innovation Index. This data tool measures a number of variables within five sub-indexes:
- Human Capital and Knowledge Creation
- Business Dynamics
- Business Profile
- Employment and Productivity
- Economic Well-Being
The index allows for the creation of an innovation index – i.e. a measure of how innovative a region is – for multiple counties. Let’s examine how innovative NWCCOG’s region is:
Innovation Index: Counties in NWCCOG’s Region
| County | Innovation Index | Rank in U.S. (out of 3,110 counties) |
|---|---|---|
| Eagle | 97.6 | 524 |
| Grand | 81.5 | 1841 |
| Jackson | 79.6 | 1,993 |
| Pitkin | 86.6 | 1,316 |
| Summit | 88.2 | 1,167 |
Now, let’s look at how each of NWCCOG’s counties measure up in each component of the innovation index.
Human Capital and Knowledge Creation
This category suggests the extent to which a region’s population and labor force are able to engage in innovative activities.
| Eagle | Grand | Jackson | Pitkin | Summit | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Human Capital & Knowledge Creation OVERALL index | 85.9 | 101.9 | 69.8 | 90.4 | 94.1 |
| “Salad Days” Pop. Growth (ages 25-44) | 143.4 | 97.4 | 77.1 | 109.9 | 123.5 |
| Educational Attainment Core Index | 124.3 | 136.1 | 109.6 | 127.6 | 153.0 |
| High School Attainment (ages 18-24) | 89.3 | 83.0 | 142.0 | 68.2 | 164.4 |
| Some College, No Degree (Age 25+) | 57.7 | 98.8 | 159.2 | 80.5 | 105.3 |
| Associates Degree (Age 25+) | 96.5 | 162.4 | 69.2 | 92.3 | 97.6 |
| Bachelor’s Degree (Age 25+) | 199.9 | 199.2 | 91.4 | 200.0 | 199.9 |
| Graduate Degree (Age 25+) | 178.1 | 137.1 | 86.2 | 196.9 | 197.8 |
| Knowledge Creation & Technology Diffusion Core Index | 40.6 | 105.9 | 0.0 | 63.1 | 36.7 |
| Patent Technology Diffusion | 22.0 | 157.0 | 0.0 | 189.3 | |
| University-based Knowledge Spillovers | 0.0 | 78.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Business Incubator Spillovers | 0.0 | 82.7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| STEM Education and Occupations Core Index | 47.9 | 42.2 | 71.0 | 49.3 | 43.3 |
| STEM degree creation (per 1,000 population) | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Technology-based Knowledge Occupation Clusters | 54.4 | 50.7 | 80.6 | 56.4 | 52.2 |
| High-Tech Industry Employment Share | 89.3 | 76.1 | 132.4 | 91.4 | 77.7 |
Business Dynamics Index
This category gauges the competitiveness of a region by investigating the entry and exit of individual firms—the creative destruction measures.
| Eagle | Grand | Jackson | Pitkin | Summit | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Business Dynamics OVERALL index | 77.4 | 53.7 | 35.4 | 49.4 | 74.1 |
| Establishment Formation Core Index | 132.4 | 115.5 | 76.5 | 111.9 | 123.2 |
| Establishment Births to All Est. Ratio | 166.5 | 146.6 | 52.6 | 122.8 | 160.8 |
| Traded Sector Estab. Births to All Estab. | 126.2 | 83.4 | 186.3 | 102.8 | 105.4 |
| Jobs Attributed to Estab. Births | 138.6 | 153.9 | 0.0 | 106.2 | 110.3 |
| Total Employment Ratio | 83.4 | ||||
| Change in Estab. Births to All Estabs. Ratio | 98.5 | 78.1 | 67.2 | 115.6 | 116.3 |
| Establishment Dynamics Core Index | 92.2 | 96.7 | 63.2 | 81.6 | 93.8 |
| Estab. Expansions Divided by Estab. Contractions | 97.8 | 115.3 | 50.6 | 91.1 | 94.9 |
| Estab. Births Divided by Estab. Deaths | 97.4 | 96.9 | 64.6 | 79.6 | 96.1 |
| Traded Sector Estab. Dynamics | 81.5 | 77.9 | 74.5 | 73.9 | 90.4 |
| Venture Capital Dollar Measures Core Index | 43.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 44.2 |
| Venture Capital (Annual Avg. $) | 86.7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 87.8 |
| Expansion State Venture Capital $ | 86.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | |
| High-Tech Venture Capital $ | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 89.0 |
| Change in Venture Capital $ | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Venture Capital Count Measures Core Index | 34.7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 28.9 |
| Initial Public Offerings | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Venture Capital Deals (Avg. Annual) | 104.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 86.7 |
| Change in Venture Capital Deals | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Business Profile Index
This category measures local business conditions and resources available to entrepreneurs and businesses.
| Eagle | Grand | Jackson | Pitkin | Summit | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Business Profile OVERALL Index | 109.3 | 76.3 | 82.0 | 90.5 | 78.8 |
| Foreign Direct Invst. (FDI) Attractiveness Core Index | 96.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 45.0 | 0.0 |
| FDI Employment Index, Foreign Source | 91.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| FDI $ Index, Foreign Source | 96.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| FDI Employment Index, National Source | 104.4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 87.3 | 0.0 |
| FDI $ Index, National Source | 94.0 | 87.3 | 87.3 | 92.6 | 87.3 |
| Connectivity Core Index | 114.3 | 134.0 | 64.3 | 101.0 | 107.6 |
| Residential High Speed Connectivity Density | 199.4 | 189.3 | 73.4 | 199.9 | 199.9 |
| Change in Residential High Speed Connections | 0.0 | 81.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Farm Operators with Internet Access | 143.5 | 131.5 | 118.5 | 103.0 | 122.8 |
| Dynamic Industry Profile Core Index | 159.5 | 133.4 | 114.3 | 162.2 | 180.9 |
| Small Establishments (Average) | 199.7 | 199.9 | 178.6 | 198.2 | 199.8 |
| Large Establishments (Average) | 99.2 | 79.4 | 0.0 | 94.3 | 161.8 |
| High-Tech, Early-in-life-Cycle Estab. Ratio | 179.6 | 120.8 | 164.3 | 194.2 | 181.0 |
| Proprietorship Core Index | 103.2 | 94.7 | 151.1 | 101.8 | 89.7 |
| Proprietorship Rate | 135.6 | 137.6 | 199.7 | 109.5 | 113.3 |
| Change in Propietorship Rate | 94.4 | 63.8 | 190.2 | 99.4 | 71.9 |
| Proprietor Income to Total Wages and Salaries | 98.5 | 93.9 | 59.1 | 114.7 | 90.2 |
| Availability of Capital from All Banks | 83.7 | 83.5 | 155.4 | 83.7 | 83.6 |
Employment and Productivity Index
This category describes economic growth, regional desirability or direct outcomes of innovative activity.| Eagle | Grand | Jackson | Pitkin | Summit | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Employment & Productivity OVERALL index | 105.9 | 78.7 | 94.8 | 99.0 | 84.4 |
| Job Growth to Population Growth Ratio | 135.6 | 91.9 | 182.2 | 117.7 | 111.2 |
| Change in Share of High Tech Industry Employment | 75.5 | 97.4 | 74.8 | 69.3 | 80.8 |
| Industry Performance Core Index | 77.1 | 95.8 | 138.5 | 73.2 | 68.0 |
| Cluster Diversity | 53.1 | 53.5 | 198.2 | 55.2 | 53.0 |
| Cluster Strength | 87.7 | 86.7 | 136.9 | 85.5 | 87.1 |
| Cluster Growth Factor | 95.4 | 147.1 | 80.5 | 78.8 | 63.8 |
| Gross Domestic Product (GDP) Core Index | 79.8 | 72.4 | 90.4 | 90.1 | 74.6 |
| GDP per Worker | 96.2 | 76.9 | 66.4 | 118.5 | 78.8 |
| Change in GDP per Worker | 63.4 | 68.0 | 114.5 | 61.8 | 70.4 |
| Patents Core Index | 175.1 | 43.5 | 0.0 | 152.2 | 107.1 |
| Change in Avg. Patenting Rate | 176.0 | 87.1 | 0.0 | 172.5 | 93.7 |
| Patent Diversity | 174.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 131.9 | 120.5 |
Economic Well-Being Index
This category explores standard of living and other economic outcomes.
| Eagle | Grand | Jackson | Pitkin | Summit | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Economic Well-Being OVERALL index | 113.6 | 114.9 | 137.7 | 108.2 | 135.2 |
| Per Capita Personal Income Growth | 95.3 | 57.2 | 88.2 | 96.1 | 123.8 |
| Income Inequality (Mean to Median Ratio) | 63.4 | 174.1 | 180.4 | 50.0 | 110.2 |
| Poverty Rate (Average) | 167.7 | 165.2 | 152.2 | 170.2 | 140.2 |
| Unemployment Rate (Average) | 141.2 | 143.8 | 170.3 | 130.9 | 165.1 |
| Dependency Based on Income Sources (Ratio) | 197.4 | 180.7 | 147.4 | 198.4 | 196.2 |
| Net Migration (Average) | 91.1 | 53.7 | 166.3 | 77.0 | 146.8 |
| Compensation Core Index | 76.2 | 72.0 | 98.4 | 71.4 | 99.6 |
| Growth in wage/salary earnings per worker (Avg. Annual) | 72.4 | 80.0 | 143.9 | 70.3 | 70.4 |
| Change in Proprietor’s Income per Proprietor (Avg. Annual) | 80.1 | 64.1 | 53.0 | 72.6 | 128.7 |