Colorado Springs

Colorado Springs exists because a business community gave away land. In 1941, with gold mining exhausted, the spa town economy dead, and the Great Depression lingering, local leaders bought ranchland south of the city and offered it free to the War Department. Camp Carson opened in 1942, and Colorado Springs never looked back. Every subsequent military installation—Peterson Air Force Base (1942), the Air Force Academy (1954), NORAD (1957), the Cheyenne Mountain Complex (1967)—built on that initial gift.

Today aerospace and defense account for over 40% of the city's economy. More than 200 companies employ 111,000 people, generating $10.2 billion in annual economic impact. Fort Carson alone has an associated population of 125,000—soldiers, retirees, families, and civilian employees who live, shop, and recreate in the city. Add Peterson Space Force Base, Schriever Space Force Base, and the Air Force Academy, and the military presence becomes overwhelming.

The specialization has served Colorado Springs well. When the Pentagon's basing decisions favor the city, the economy surges. When they don't, it stings. In September 2025, President Trump announced that U.S. Space Command would relocate its headquarters to Huntsville, Alabama—costing Colorado Springs approximately 1,000 positions. The city had hosted the command since 2018, but aging infrastructure and lower costs elsewhere won the competition.

Yet the defense ecosystem runs deeper than any single command. The Space Force is expanding from 9,800 to 10,400 guardians in 2026. Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, and Raytheon all made the 2,100-company cut for the $151 billion Golden Dome missile defense contract. Space startup Mobius announced 75 new high-paying jobs. Population reached 479,000. By 2026, Colorado Springs will test whether its concentration on national security creates resilience through indispensability—or vulnerability through dependence on political decisions made thousands of miles away in Washington.