Denver's Business License Numbers Are All Over the Place This Year
Month-to-date licenses hit 13 vs. just 2 last year — a 550% jump that sounds wild until you realize the year-to-date picture is messier, with one measure down 35% and another up 143%. In short: the pace is anything but normal. New to Denver? The economy here moves in streaks.
Apr 1, 2026Drug Crime Is Up 14% This Year — But This Month Tells a Different Story
Denver logged 936 drug crimes so far this year, up 14.3% from 819 at this point last year — roughly 3 incidents every single day. But zoom in on this month and the picture flips hard: 258 cases vs. 342 last March, a 24.6% drop. Make of that whiplash what you will.
Apr 1, 2026Denver's Retail Scene Is Quietly Staging a Comeback
New business licenses are up 143% year-over-year — that's not a typo. Monthly filings jumped 550% compared to last year's pace, with 13 new licenses this month alone vs. just 2 prior. Net openings are outpacing closings right now, meaning more storefronts are lighting up than going dark. Early days, but the numbers are pointing in the right direction.
Apr 1, 2026Denver's Building Boom Has Officially Cooled — Permits Are Down Nearly 20%
So far this year, Denver has issued 805 residential construction permits — nearly 200 fewer than the same stretch last year. That's not a blip: permits are down 19.8% year-over-year, and even this month is running 19% behind last March. Translation? Fewer new homes are in the pipeline, which matters a lot in a city still wrestling with affordability.
Apr 1, 2026