Baca County, Colorado

• Income gap: Households earn meaningfully less than the national median, which directly affects retail demand, housing absorption, and tax base.
• Elevated poverty: At 24.6%, the rate is in economically distressed territory and supports federal funding narratives (CDFI, NMTC, EDA).
• Talent gap: Bachelor's-or-higher attainment trails the national average by 11.0 pts, relevant for advanced-services attraction strategy.
• Aging population: Median age of 43 is materially above the U.S. norm; succession planning and senior-services demand are real factors.

• Largest sector: Retail Trade employs 142 workers (47.8% of tracked sectors), at an average wage of $28,381.
• Economic scale: Regional GDP of $143M (2024).
• Wage stratification: Construction averages $52,200 while Health Care and Social Assistance averages $21,522, a 2.4x spread in the same local economy, with implications for workforce development and talent strategy.

• Top specialization: Gasoline Stations and Fuel Dealers concentrates at 4.21x the national norm, strong concentration that anchors the local economy and supports supply-chain attraction strategy.

• Affordable market: Home value to income ratio of 2.7x is well below the ~4.1x national average; supports talent attraction and family settlement narratives.
• High home ownership: 71.5% owner-occupied; rental supply may be tight for incoming workers.
• Elevated vacancy: 16.4% vacancy rate. In resort, rural, and seasonal markets much of this is recreational/seasonal (second homes), not available supply; confirm the vacancy-by-reason split before treating it as a redevelopment opportunity.
• Affordable rent tiers: 3 of 5 HUD Fair Market Rent bedroom tiers sit below the 30%-of-median-income affordability threshold (~$1,155/mo).

• Succession risk is real: 25% of working-age residents are 55-64. Plan for retirements over the next decade and pair attraction strategy with talent retention.
• Low participation: 58.5% labor force participation suggests untapped capacity; workforce development programs may unlock supply.
• Short commutes: 12.1-minute mean commute is a quality-of-life and labor-access advantage worth surfacing for site selectors.
• Talent pipeline: 6 regional institutions feed the workforce; the top three combined produce 25,233 annual credentials.

Baca County shows meaningful potential for gasoline stations and fuel dealers attraction, with a 4.21x concentration and 33 jobs in this sub-sector. Near-term succession risk is elevated, with 25% of the working-age population within 10 years of retirement age.