Market Conditions

DEMOGRAPHIC AND ECONOMIC INDICATORS

Demographic and economic characteristics in the trade area are indicators of overall trends in real estate development. The following discussion provides data on trends among the following economic and demographic indicators:

- Population and Households
- Household Income
- Employment
- Retail Sales
- Population and Households Growth

As shown in Table I, the total population of the Pueblo Trade Area grew at a slower rate than the State of Colorado as a whole through the 1990s. However, over the next few years, population growth rates are expected to become much more in line with those of the State of Colorado, as Pueblo becomes an increasingly attractive area in which to live.

Table I.
HISTORICAL AND PROJECTED POPULATION ESTIMATES
Pueblo Trade Area and State of Colorado
1990 to 2010

Year Pueblo 
Trade Area
State of 
Colorado
1990 222,700 3,304,000
1995 245,300 3,782,000
2000 266,400 4,250,100
2005 287,800 4,653,300
2010 307,400 5,085,500
Compound Average Annual Growth Rate (CAACR):
1990-1995 2.0% 2.7%
1995-2000 1.7% 2.4%
2000-2005 1.6% 1.8%
2005-2010 1.3% 1.8%
SOURCE: Colorado Division of Local Government, Demography Section

Projected household growth rates in both the Pueblo Trade Area and the State of Colorado are expected to follow population growth rates over the next five to ten years, as shown in Table II. The annual average growth rate of households in the Pueblo Trade Area is anticipated to converge with the growth figures for the State of Colorado as a whole.

Table II.
HISTORICAL AND PROJECTED NUMBER OF HOUSEHOLDS
Pueblo Trade Area and State of Colorado
1990 to 2010

Year Pueblo Trade Area State of Colorado
1990 83,900 1,282,500
1995 89,700 1,451,400
2000 97,500 1,641,000
2005 106,200 1,810,600
2010 114,300 1,994,300
Compound Average Annual Growth Rate (CAACR):
1990-1995 1.3% 2.5%
1995-2000 1.7% 2.5%
2000-2005 1.7% 2.0%
2005-2010 1.5% 2.0%
SOURCE: Colorado Division of Local Government, Demography Section

Growth in Household Income

As shown in Table III, the median household income in the Pueblo Trade Area, historically has been lower than that of the State of Colorado, and has grown at a somewhat lower rate. It is expected that within the next ten years, income annual growth rates will approach those of Colorado as a whole, if for no other reason than the rate of new household formations for the Pueblo Trade Area is less than the State of Colorado.

So that even though income growth for the Pueblo Trade Area may remain moderate, the fact that household growth is less rapid than for Colorado statewide means that each household will have a larger share of the total income pie.

Table III.
HISTORICAL AND PROJECTED MEDIAN HOUSEHOLD INCOME
Pueblo Trade Area and State of Colorado
1990 to 2010

Year Pueblo Trade Area State of Colorado
1990 $20,000 $30,200
1995 $24,600 $38,200
2000 $28,700 $47,800
2005 $32,000 $57,500
2010 $40,300 $71,300
Compound Average Annual Growth Rate (CAACR):
1990-1995 4.2% 4.8%
1995-2000 3.1% 4.6%
2000-2005 2.2% 3.8%
2005-2010 4.7% 4.4%
SOURCES: Claritas, Inc., Colorado Division of Local Government, 
Demography Section, Center for Business and Economic Forecasting (CBEF)

Employment

For the ten-year periods of 1990-1999, employment growth in the Pueblo Trade Area has lagged somewhat behind the State of Colorado growth rates. However, considering the economic downturn that plagued Pueblo during the 1980s, the growth rate during the 1990s has been impressive, with annual compounded growth within the Pueblo Trade Area being in at least the same general range as for Colorado as a whole. The 1999 rate of unemployment for the Pueblo Trade Area (4.7%) was one half of a percentage point higher than the U.S. National average-although significantly higher than Colorado's phenomenally low 2.9%. Recent projections based on data from the Center for Business and Economic Forecasting (CBEF) suggest that employment growth rates will tend to converge with the State of Colorado rate of growth, as would be expected as Pueblo becomes more fully integrated into the State's economy. Table V summarizes the major employers in the Pueblo Area.

Table IV.
HISTORICAL AND PROJECTED EMPLOYMENT
Pueblo Trade Area and State of Colorado
1990-2010

Year Pueblo Trade Area State of Colorado
1990 87,500 1,678,000
1999 106,500 2,198,100
2005 117,800 2,446,400
2010 128,200 2,674,600
Compound Average Annual Growth Rate (CAACR):
1990-1999 2.0% 2.7%
1999-2005 1.7% 1.8%
2005-2010 1.8% 1.8%
SOURCE: Colorado Dept. of Labor and Employment, 
Labor Market Information; Center for Business and Economic Forecasting.

Table V.
TRADE AREA MAJOR EMPLOYERS
Pueblo County Primary Trade Area

NAME CLASSIFICATION TOTAL EMPLOYMENT
School District 60  public schools 2,400
Parkview Medical Center  health care 1,950
St. Mary Corwin Medical Center  health care 1,230
Loaf N' Jug convenience store 1,100
Convergys  inbound telemarketing  1,100
Colorado Mental Health Institute  mental health care  1,050
Pueblo County  county government  1,025
Trane Company  commercial air conditioners 980
Wal-Mart Stores retail sales 850
School District 70  public education 835
Rocky Mountain Steel  steel products 800
Target Distribution distribution 780
City of Pueblo  city government  705
Colorado State University - Pueblo four-year university 650
Pueblo Community College  community college 540
Safeway Stores, Inc. retail supermarket chain 525
Qwest Communications telecommunications 525
U.S. Postal Services  mail service 340
Innotrac Corp. marketing support service 325
King Soopers retail supermarket chain 315
Mission Foods-Pueblo  flour/corn tortillas and shells 300
Pueblo Diversified Industries Inc. vinyl products, heat sealing, recycling 300
Goodrich Corp.  manufacturing/assembly 250
Transportation Technology Center research/development and test facilities 250
The Pueblo Chieftain newspaper 245
Bene Sight health insurance 215
Aquila Inc. utility company 204
  TOTAL EMPLOYEES  19,789
NOTES: 

SOURCE: Greater Pueblo Chamber of Commerce - Images Magazine 2006 Edition, Volume 12

Retail Sales

As shown in Table VI, between 1990 and 1999, retail sales growth in the Pueblo Trade Area was somewhat below the State as a whole. This reflects not so much a lack of growth in the Pueblo Trade Area, as the fact that the State of Colorado as a whole has seen phenomenal rates of growth in retail sales. Analysis of growth in the Denver-Boulder Consumer Price Index reveals that retail sales in the Pueblo Trade Area has grown at a much faster rate than inflationary growth. It would be expected that for the immediate future, retail sales will show a rate of growth that is similar to the growth in household incomes.

Table VI.
HISTORICAL RETAIL SALES GROWTH ($'000)
Pueblo Trade Area and State of Colorado
1990 to 1999

Year Pueblo Trade Area State of |Colorado Denver-Boulder 
CPI
(1982-84=100)
1990 $1,288,547 $27,543,634 120.9
1995 $1,800,101 $39,940,823 147.9
1999 $2,238.439 $52,218,705 166.6
Compound Average Annual Growth Rate (CAACR):  
1990-1995 6.9% 7.7% 4.1%
1995-1999 5.6% 6.9% 3.0%
SOURCE: Colorado Department of Revenue; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
 

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