Virtual data rooms for Denver deals, audits and legal matters

What sets Denver's economy apart

The industry that stands out most in the Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO metro, measured against the national mix, is data processing and hosting. Its 336 establishments are 1.7 times the share you would expect from the country as a whole. Next come securities and investment firms (1,882 establishments, 1.5 times) and real estate (6,603 establishments, 1.4 times). Of the 60 metros on these pages with published figures for data processing and hosting, Denver ranks 6th, behind Wilmington, DE and others.

Hosting and data businesses share security audits, customer contracts and infrastructure leases during diligence.

Fund managers and advisors share offering documents, investor reports and compliance files with limited partners and examiners. In securities and investment firms, Denver places 5th of 61 metros here; Wilmington, DE leads.

How Denver compares

The Census Bureau estimated the Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO metro's population at 3,052,498 in July 2024, up 88,692 or 3.0 percent on the April 2020 base of 2,963,806.

Measured against the 2023 estimate of 3,020,750, the same year as the business count, Denver has 69.3 offices of lawyers per 100,000 residents, 9th of the 59 metro areas on these pages against a median of 52.6; the nearest rates are Jackson, MS at 68.8 and Tampa, FL at 70.0.

The metro with the closest number of law offices is Detroit, MI, with 2,130; the metro closest in population, Orlando, FL at 2,940,513 residents, has 1,750 law offices and 1,385 accounting, tax, bookkeeping and payroll establishments.

Counted by accounting, tax, bookkeeping and payroll firms instead, Denver's nearest match is Seattle, WA, with 1,900.

• Residents, July 2024: 3,052,498
• Residents, April 2020 base: 2,963,806
• Change since 2020: +88,692 (3.0 percent), 28th of 59
• Law offices per 100,000 residents: 69.3, 9th of 59
• Accounting, tax, bookkeeping and payroll per 100,000 residents: 63.9, 2nd of 59
• Securities and investment per 100,000 residents: 62.3, 3rd of 59
• Managing offices per 100,000 residents: 18.7, 10th of 59
• Real estate agents and brokers per 100,000 residents: 121.2, 1st of 59
• Employees in offices of lawyers: about 14,000
• Employees in accounting, tax, bookkeeping and payroll: about 16,000

The courts and regulators behind Denver paperwork

When a Denver dispute reaches federal court, it goes to the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado, whose Denver courthouse is the Alfred A. Arraj Courthouse.

CPAs practicing in Colorado are licensed by the Colorado State Board of Accountancy.

At state level, securities offerings and investment advisers in Colorado answer to the Colorado Division of Securities, so a Denver fund raising money or an adviser facing an exam has documents to produce on request.

If personal information in a Denver deal, audit or case file is exposed, Colorado's data breach notification law sets who has to be told and when.