CognitiveAristocracy
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Overview / Regions / Boulder

Boulder

US Power #145/162Per-capita #15National view: United States →
Metro Power
24.3
of 100 · #145
MPI
24.3
MCC
63.7
MDI
58.3

Pillar profile

Talent71.6
Capital44.8
Research72.2
Infrastructure71.5
Agentic58.3

Indicators

  • Population (m)0.3
  • GDP ($bn)35
  • GDP per capita ($k)106
  • AI investment ($bn)4
  • Tech employment %22
  • AI talent68
  • Research strength84
  • Notable AI orgs16
  • Compute / data centers50
  • Broadband %95
  • Tertiary degree %62
  • Digital skills88
  • Startup ecosystem72
  • Agent adoption60
  • Patents / 100k380

Nearest peers

Metro report · generated from Boulder's indicators

Boulder — metro standing in full

Boulder is the #149 metro by economic size ($35bn) in the panel and ranks #145/162 on absolute Metro Power and #15/162 on per-capita intensity. Its strongest pillar is Talent (71.6, Leading); no single pillar is a binding weakness. Locally it runs below the United States national average (MCC 63.7 vs CC 86.7).

National context: United States scores CC 86.7 per-capita; Boulder sits at MCC 63.7.

Economic & scale context curated v1 estimate

GDP (metro)
$35bn
#149 of 162
GDP / capita
$106k
Population
0.3M
AI investment
$4.0bn
#50 of 162
Notable AI orgs
16

Index & pillar read

For each metro index and pillar: what it means when high (the value) versus low (the gap), and Boulder's own standing.

Index / pillarValueStandingWhat a high vs low value means — and where Boulder sits
MPI Metro Power24.3Lagging · #145/162Low here — limited absolute weight — a smaller node that leans on capacity built in larger hubs.
▲ high: a heavyweight hub where capital, talent and AI organizations concentrate — it can anchor an entire national AI ecosystem  ·  ▼ low: limited absolute weight — a smaller node that leans on capacity built in larger hubs
MCC Metro Coefficient63.7Leading · #15/162High here — deep capability per resident — a concentrated, high-intensity ecosystem.
▲ high: deep capability per resident — a concentrated, high-intensity ecosystem  ·  ▼ low: thin intensity per resident — capability is sparse relative to the population
MDI Metro Agentic58.3Strong · #20/162High here — agents are widely deployed locally — a near-term productivity multiplier.
▲ high: agents are widely deployed locally — a near-term productivity multiplier  ·  ▼ low: agentic deployment is shallow — the local agent lever is under-used
Talent Talent71.6Leading · #4/162High here — a deep talent pool — the scarcest input to building AI.
▲ high: a deep talent pool — the scarcest input to building AI  ·  ▼ low: a shallow talent base that constrains how much can be built locally
Capital Capital44.8Strong · #33/162High here — abundant capital flowing into building cognitive infrastructure.
▲ high: abundant capital flowing into building cognitive infrastructure  ·  ▼ low: thin investment — good ideas struggle to scale locally
Research Research72.2Leading · #6/162High here — a strong research base feeding a pipeline of ideas and people.
▲ high: a strong research base feeding a pipeline of ideas and people  ·  ▼ low: a weak research base — fewer home-grown breakthroughs and spinouts
Infrastructure Infrastructure71.5Moderate · #52/162Mid-pack. High would mean the physical and digital rails to run AI at scale are in place; low would mean infrastructure gaps cap how much AI can actually be run locally.
▲ high: the physical and digital rails to run AI at scale are in place  ·  ▼ low: infrastructure gaps cap how much AI can actually be run locally
Agentic Agentic58.3Strong · #20/162High here — agents are actively deployed — an early-mover productivity edge.
▲ high: agents are actively deployed — an early-mover productivity edge  ·  ▼ low: little agentic deployment — the near-term lever is unused

Strengths to build on

  • Talent (71.6, Leading) — a deep talent pool — the scarcest input to building AI.
  • Research (72.2, Leading) — a strong research base feeding a pipeline of ideas and people.
  • Agentic (58.3, Strong) — agents are actively deployed — an early-mover productivity edge.

Risk factors

  • Depth without scale — high per-capita intensity (MCC #15) but limited absolute weight (MPI #145): dense per resident, but small in total.
Metro values are curated estimates (v1) on a consistent global scale — not yet measured sub-national data.