The number of health and natural food stores in the Boulder area is already large, and keeps growing. With the recent opening of the 8,400 square-foot Vitamin Cottage, and plans to open an even larger store in the nearby community of Longmont, the competition in this industry is fierce. The city of Boulder and surrounding areas have seen the opening of Whole Foods, Alfalfa's, Wild Oats and other natural foods stores over the last few years, in addition to the numerous smaller, retail vitamin stores. Within the retail industry, these types of stores are expected to lead in growth over the next year. Data from The Boulder County Business Report, February 1999.
Boulder County is the Internet capital of the state, as more companies move into the area.
The key industry sectors, which will provide the basis of our economy for the next 20 years, will be bio-medical devices, software for telecom infrastructure, equipment for telecom infrastructure and computer storage. Huge relative growth is also forecasted in the Service and Finance, Insurance, and Real Estate sectors, although Construction and Manufacturing are likely to experience a slowdown. The completion of DIA and further development of the DIA area has and will continue to help the area boom in the next decade. Boulder County encompasses 748 square miles.