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Adams County named great place to live in downturn

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Contributed by: Kathryn Richert/YourHub.com on 12/2/2008

Apparently Adams County residents don't have to travel far to find an ideal place to hibernate during the economic downswing - according to Forbes.com, their own backyard will suffice.

On Nov. 12, the business magazine's Web site published the top 10 counties nationwide to "weather the downturn" based on affordability, job growth and proximity to a major metropolitan area. Adams County placed third on the list that included counties in Arkansas, Ohio, South Carolina, Louisiana, Iowa, Alabama, Texas and Kansas.

The story cited Adams County's 3.4 percent job growth year-over-year, a "diversified" economy, which includes aerospace, aviation and bioscience jobs, low property taxes and inexpensive housing as the reasons why the county was chosen.

Positive publicity is always welcomed, although getting lauded as a desirable place to live when unemployed or in financial turmoil isn't exactly comforting news for people in distress, said Barry Gore, Adams County Economic Development vice president of investor relations.

Still, county officials are happy for the free press.

"It's exciting news. We've got a lot of land, a mix of affordable and executive housing and a great school district," Gore said, referring to Adams 12 School District.

He said Forbes probably considered well-paying aerospace, aviation and bioscience jobs in nearby counties in addition to Adams County, which includes Brighton, Commerce City, Federal Heights, Northglenn, Thornton, Aurora, Bennett, Westminster and a small section of Arvada.

Although Denver International Airport is in Denver County, a large number of employees live in Adams County, Gore said.

Additionally, Colorado Science and Technology Park at Fitzsimons in Aurora is the largest science and medical development site in the county and employs more than 40,000 bioscience and healthcare professionals, according to Fitzsimons' Web site.

Nearby Jefferson County also has the highest number of aerospace jobs in the Denver-metro area, Gore said.

Other businesses that might have been factored in include wind turbine manufacturer Vestas, which recently announced its expansion to the Weld County part of Brighton, and will be hiring 1,400 people. Ascent Solar, a developer of thin-film photovoltaic materials, is moving its headquarters to Thornton. The expansion is expected to create about 300 jobs by the end of 2009, Gore said.

As for the affordability factor, the average price of a house that sold in Adams County in 2007 was $175,000, according to multiple listing service data.
That makes Adams County an extremely affordable place to live, said Joan Pallone, real estate agent with Metro Brokers Realtors, who has been selling houses in the Northern Denver-metro area for 20 years.

In addition to inexpensive houses, property taxes range from a mere $1,088 to $1,639, according to Adams County's Web site.

Despite the housing market crash, Adams County is on the upswing, Pallone said. There is a scant three-month supply of houses on the market, she said.

"We're bringing in more jobs than homes," she said. "That's huge."

Adams County is bouncing back from high foreclosure rates and houses will start appreciating in value again as demand picks up, she said.

More jobs mean Adams County's unemployment rate of 6.1 percent for October - according to the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment Web site - is slightly lower than the national average of 6.5 percent, a 20-year-high according to the Forbes.com story.

With the mix of Colorado's economy faring slightly better than the national economy and job growth in the area, Gore and other county officials said it's no surprise Adams County was picked.

Alice J. Nichol, chairman of the Board of County Commissioners said in a statement, "We're one of the fastest growing counties in Colorado, so you'd expect that growth will bring new residents, new jobs and many new opportunities. We continue to attract great employers and I'm delighted that Adams County is being recognized for the many wonderful reasons to live here."

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