Colorado mountain towns top the list of top micropolitan areas in the United States
Heartland Forward ranks Edwards, Breckenridge, Steamboat Springs and Montrose in top 25
STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, Colo. — In Colorado and nationwide, small metro areas, dubbed micropolitan areas, have found that mixing outdoor recreation with business and manufacturing has led to prosperity post-pandemic.
Four Colorado communities — Edwards, Breckenridge, Steamboat Springs, and Montrose — made the list of Heartland Forward's top 25 micropolitan areas in the country for 2022.
On the far northwestern edge of Steamboat Springs, tucked just off Main Street, sits a cluster of warehouses where small businesses and small manufacturing come to thrive.
“We are doing 60 pairs of poles today,” said Andrew Beckler, founder and owner of Grass Sticks bamboo ski poles. “We make bamboo ski poles. And we’ve started doing bamboo plungers, too. We’ve got 12 plungers going out today.”
The prosperity of businesses like Grass Sticks and Town Hall outdoor kids gear speaks to the diversified economy, workforce, and infrastructure in this small mountain town.
